Lifelong Learning Strategy

Debate between Josh MacAlister and Grahame Morris

Wednesday 4th November 2026 Westminster Hall

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Education (Josh MacAlister)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Wishart. I start by congratulating my hon. Friend the Member for Colne Valley (Paul Davies) on securing this important debate and highlighting the opportunities that lifelong learning presents for learners, education providers, employers and our economy.

I particularly want to thank my hon. Friend for setting out the historical context of this debate and for drawing Members’ attention to the efforts of previous Governments during reconstruction and some of the economic tumult that the UK has experienced in recent years. It certainly makes the historic comparison very relevant. I also want to thank the Workers’ Educational Association, representatives of which are in the Public Gallery for this debate. The association has been in existence for 123 years, following an inspirational mission. I start my contribution by confirming that the Government would very much welcome working with the WEA on these matters and many others.

The world of work is changing, and our education and skills system must change with it. New technologies and changing skill needs mean people will benefit from more opportunities to learn, retrain and upskill throughout their working lives. We need to move beyond the idea that education happens just once, at the start of life. People should be able to return to learning as their lives and careers—and the economy—change. If we want to grow our economy, we need a workforce who are able to adapt as industries, jobs and technology change. Lifelong learning helps people to develop the skills they need to seize those new opportunities.

There is a clear case for action. Recent polling indicates that nearly half of adults in England are considering a career change, but for many, finding the time to retrain around work and family life remains a major obstacle. That is why this Government are delivering a more flexible post-18 education and skills system with the lifelong learning entitlement at its heart, giving people greater flexibility over what, when and how they study. Student finance in England is changing to reflect that, and this debate is timely, because last Friday 30 October, the application service for the new student finance system, the lifelong learning entitlement was launched. The policy was announced by the previous Government just over six years ago, and I want to acknowledge the cross-party working that has been pivotal to achieving the successful launch of the lifelong learning entitlement.

[Grahame Morris]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend the Minister for addressing these issues. I did not want to break his flow, but on that specific issue, there are regional disparities. My constituency is in the north-east of England and many people in that region are denied opportunities, not through lack of ability but through lack of opportunity. Will the youth guarantee include the opportunity to access lifelong learning, particularly for younger people who have been denied that opportunity previously?

[Josh MacAlister]

I thank my hon. Friend for his intervention and for highlighting the need for both the youth guarantee—which is a separate but related policy area to the LLE—and the LLE to ensure greater flexibility over not just what can be studied but where people can access those opportunities. If someone is in a rural or more remote part of the country and physically further from a higher education institution, that should in no way be a barrier to being able to access those units of study that the LLE is designed to give people the right to access.

Alongside full qualifications and degrees, learners will, for the first time—this is the crucial thing about the LLE—be able to access student finance for individual modules of higher education. People need that kind of flexibility to fit around their work, family life and other commitments, while others may want to return full-time to upskill or retrain. Ultimately, the LLE is about creating an education system that keeps pace with people’s lives and our changing economy. It will help people build the knowledge and skills they need throughout their careers and support the workforce and economy into the future.

The Government’s response to lifelong learning, however, is broader than that single programme. We are building a system of post-18 education, skills, adult learning, career advice and higher education. Adult education helps people access new opportunities, enables employers to find the skills they need, helps the economy and builds stronger, healthier and more resilient communities. A number of Members have referenced the impact on isolation.