Technical and Vocational Education

Julie Hilling Excerpts

Wednesday 9th July 2014 Commons Chamber

[Julie Hilling (Bolton West) (Lab)]

Does my hon. Friend agree that not only careers guidance but work experience is vital as a way of trying out different types of work and different professions?

[Stephen Twigg]

That is absolutely vital, and I welcome the fact that it is integral to what is set out in the motion.

It is crucial that advice is personalised to the individual student. I want to warn against us getting into a position where we have to choose between the forgotten 50% and widening participation in higher education; we need to do both. I am proud of the fact that the previous Labour Government expanded higher education, but we did not do enough on vocational education.

I am working with schools in Liverpool to encourage more of the most academic young people to consider applying to top universities, including Oxford and Cambridge. I want to put on the record a tribute to Calderstones school, which I have already mentioned, because that comprehensive school in the heart of Liverpool gets a lot of its young people to go to Oxford or Cambridge. I want to mention Elle Shea, the head girl of St John Bosco school in my constituency, who has an offer of a place at Cambridge university. There are still not enough young people from low-income families getting into our top universities, but we should not have to choose between saying that and saying that we are passionate about the forgotten 50% and want to improve technical and vocational education; we need to do both.

The motion draws on the excellent work done for the Labour party during the past two years by Chris Husbands, from the Institute of Education in London, on how we can best strengthen the status of vocational and technical education. I particularly welcome the proposal for a national baccalaureate that seeks to put alongside fit-for-purpose qualifications, whether academic or vocational, concepts such as extended projects, personal development and an emphasis on character, resilience and employability. Those things matter, and it is very welcome to have such an emphasis in the motion.

I want to echo what my right hon. Friend the Member for Southampton, Itchen (Mr Denham) said about the new forms that higher education will take. I particularly welcome the proposal made by the Leader of the Opposition yesterday for new technical degrees.

Let me finish by making a point about how we can take this matter forward. In my opinion, the Husbands review for the Labour party worked because it engaged with all those who have an interest in the area. They have all been mentioned in this debate—the further and higher education sectors, businesses and other employers, and young people themselves and parents—and it is important for their voices to be heard. Getting the national framework right is absolutely critical to the success of this work, but as several hon. Members on both sides of the House have said, in the end it cannot simply be imposed from on high; it is in our communities that it will make a real difference.

In Liverpool, I certainly pay tribute to the extraordinary work, yes, in our schools and further education colleges, but also what is done in partnership between businesses or other employers and the mayor of Liverpool, Joe Anderson, and Liverpool city council in particular in delivering more high-quality apprenticeships. We can say things in the House and the Government can set a framework, as they should, but if we are to transform life chances, in the end the differences must be made on the ground in our communities.

Oral Answers to Questions

Julie Hilling Excerpts

Thursday 26th June 2014 Commons Chamber

[Matthew Hancock]

I agree with my hon. Friend so much that we put such measures in the Bill we published yesterday.

[Julie Hilling (Bolton West) (Lab)]

I recently held a listening event for businesses across Bolton West. A major concern for them, and a definite barrier to success for micro-businesses, is business rates. As they have gone up by £1,500 already in this Parliament and by another £270 in April, will the Minister support a cut in business rates in 2015 and a freeze the year after?

[Matthew Hancock]

It is interesting to hear another Labour proposal that is uncosted and unfunded. We have instead taken action to reduce by £1,000 the business rates on retail premises. We are clear that business rates need reform, and that reform will happen, but what we need are sensible contributions to the debate, given the enormous hole in the public finances that we are still having to fill.

Oral Answers to Questions

Julie Hilling Excerpts

Thursday 10th April 2014 Commons Chamber

[Mr Willetts]

My hon. Friend indeed represents an area with, shall we say, some very distinctive skills in cyber and big data, and yes, absolutely, it is very important that places like his have the opportunity to apply to have the Turing centre. We will be running a consultation on its best location.

[Julie Hilling (Bolton West) (Lab)]

In answer to a written question I was told that the Government know next to nothing about the number of jobs they claim to have created, not even how many of them are new jobs rather than simply a transfer from the public sector, so why will the Secretary of State not tell us how many of these jobs are minimum wage, unpaid or zero-hours?

[Vince Cable]

We are perfectly happy to provide information where it is available. It is obviously easy to quantify jobs created in projects. Collecting a vast inventory of information on fluctuating wages is a much more difficult proposition.

Oral Answers to Questions

Julie Hilling Excerpts

Monday 24th March 2014 Commons Chamber

[Matthew Hancock]

I will. A very high proportion of those who go into apprenticeships, and STEM apprenticeships in particular, stay on in a job or continue into a higher-quality apprenticeship. That progression is one reason why apprenticeships are such a valued institution.

[Julie Hilling (Bolton West) (Lab)]

19. We know that girls and young women like to try before they buy. They therefore need practical experience of engineering before they will apply for it. Among other companies, MBDA in my constituency has a great programme through which it goes into schools and takes pupils on work experience placements. What is the Minister doing to ensure that every young person has a similar opportunity?

[Matthew Hancock]

I pay tribute to MBDA, which I visited to see its work on apprenticeships. The apprentice of the year was a young woman from MBDA. It does great work, but there is much more to be done so that all employers can engage in schools and colleges to show young people what they can do.

Oral Answers to Questions

Julie Hilling Excerpts

Thursday 6th March 2014 Commons Chamber

[Matthew Hancock]

I add to those in that list, all of which I congratulate, my hon. Friend, who has obviously played an important role in bringing people together. Apprenticeships, especially high-quality ones, can happen only as a partnership between training providers and employers, and of course the Government, with some of their funding, to give young people the opportunities they need.

[Julie Hilling (Bolton West) (Lab)]

On Monday, I had the pleasure of hosting a group of apprentices from MBDA here in Parliament. The group included Anna Schlautmann, the manufacturer apprentice of the year, and Jade Aspinall, Semta’s apprentice of the year. MBDA has a fantastic apprenticeship programme, so what is the Department doing to promote best practice in apprenticeships?

[Matthew Hancock]

These apprentices clearly had an interesting time, because they met not only the hon. Lady, but the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, my right hon. Friend the Member for Sevenoaks (Michael Fallon)—and indeed, I also met them. They were extremely impressive, and showing the highlights of the best apprentices is something we should all celebrate across this House.

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[Jenny Willott]

As my hon. Friend knows, responses to last year’s Government consultation numbered in the thousands. We are looking at all the evidence that was put before us, including the research he mentioned. We also received evidence from thousands of individual tenants who contacted us to tell us about their circumstances and the impact the proposed measures could have on their business. We are looking at all of that and will bring forward proposals shortly.

[Julie Hilling (Bolton West) (Lab)]

Apprentices in Bolton West have told me that teachers tried to dissuade them from undertaking apprenticeships, particularly if they were high-flying students. What is the Department doing to educate teachers and ensure that proper careers guidance is in place?

[Matthew Hancock]

That is properly a matter for the Department for Education but, as I am also a Minister there I will take this opportunity to explain that we are introducing stronger statutory guidance. There was no guidance for schools before, so we have introduced a new legal requirement on them to secure independent and impartial advice, and we are introducing stronger statutory guidance to ensure that they do so, alongside the new National Careers Service, which this Government introduced.

Oral Answers to Questions

Julie Hilling Excerpts

Monday 10th February 2014 Commons Chamber

[Michael Gove]

I rely on the evidence with which I am presented by Ofsted, by league tables and by every possible measure, so I look forward to having the chance, whenever the hon. Gentleman wants to ask me again, to demonstrate how well these schools are doing. However, I note that when he came to the Dispatch Box, he did not disabuse the House of the view that it will have taken following the shadow Secretary of State’s statement to The Sunday Times—that Labour would halt the free school programme. I hope the hon. Gentleman will do so when he has the chance again.

[Julie Hilling (Bolton West) (Lab)]

6. What assessment he has made of the effects of changes to work experience on employability.

[The Minister for Skills and Enterprise (Matthew Hancock)]

With your permission, Mr Speaker, I would like to answer this question in conjunction with Question 22. Over half of the—

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[Matthew Hancock]

I apologise if any mis-communication happened before these questions.

Over half of employers report that not enough young people leave education with work experience or having developed employability skills.

[Julie Hilling]

“Businesses and the Government need to put their shoulders to the wheel and get our young people job-ready.” So says the CBI head John Cridland. I absolutely agree, but sadly the Secretary of State does not. Is he proud of his record of scrapping work experience and being in complete disarray on careers guidance?

[Matthew Hancock]

We encourage, and have not scrapped, work experience. We want more work experience and we are putting policies in place to make that happen. For instance, the new study programmes, which started this September, encourage work experience and an all-round education to help people to acquire the skills they need to succeed.

Oral Answers to Questions

Julie Hilling Excerpts

Thursday 23rd January 2014 Commons Chamber

[Matthew Hancock]

A scheme exactly like the one my hon. Friend calls for is coming his way very soon.

[Julie Hilling (Bolton West) (Lab)]

16. What recent estimate he has made of the number of apprentices being paid at a rate below the apprenticeship minimum wage.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills (Jenny Willott)]

The Government have zero tolerance for employers who break the law, which is why we have introduced a range of enhanced enforcement measures to crack down on rogue employers. HMRC prioritises apprentice enforcement cases, and the Government have overseen one of the most successful expansions of apprenticeships with around 1.5 million apprenticeship starts in England since 2010.

[Julie Hilling]

Does the Minister agree it is worrying that the proportion of apprentices who are not being paid the apprentice minimum wage has increased to more than one in four? What action is she taking to clamp down on rising non-compliance of employers with the apprentice national minimum wage, which is increasing under her watch?

[Jenny Willott]

The hon. Lady is right and the Government are also concerned about the level of non-compliance. Since 1 July, HMRC has been prioritising complaints from apprentices about non-payment of the national minimum wage, and we are ensuring that every single case is investigated. We also started an awareness campaign in November that targets schools, colleges, jobcentres and so on, so that those starting apprenticeships are aware of what they are entitled to. From 1 October the skills Minister has been writing to all apprentices starting a Government-funded scheme to ensure that they know what they are entitled to and that businesses know what they must pay, so that we reduce non-compliance.

Oral Answers to Questions

Julie Hilling Excerpts

Monday 11th November 2013 Commons Chamber

[Michael Gove]

There is less secrecy around these schools than there is around local authority schools. We have published the internal audit report on what happened at the Kings science academy. We informed the Home Office of our concerns about that school, and the reason the hon. Gentleman knows so much about the school is that this Government have been far more transparent about institutional failure than the Government of whom he was a member. [Interruption.] However much he may prate and cry from a sedentary position, he knows that this Government have been more transparent about failure and more determined to turn schools around and generate success than his ever was.

[Julie Hilling (Bolton West) (Lab)]

15. What plans he has for teacher supply and recruitment.

[The Minister for Schools (Mr David Laws)]

We are improving initial teacher training in a number of ways. We are enhancing the Teach First programme and taking measures to increase the number of young people who can join teaching through the School Direct programme.

[Julie Hilling]

The primary duty of the Secretary of State is surely to provide enough good school places and enough good teachers. It seems that he is failing on both counts. Why have the Government not published the 2014-15 teacher training number allocation by providers, subject and phase, as normal? What is he trying to hide?

[Mr Laws]

We are not trying to hide anything. We have already published the headline figures for allocations to initial teacher training. The detailed allocations, including the breakdown by subject, will be published in the next few weeks, once they have been confirmed by universities and schools. I will be happy to ensure that the hon. Lady receives a full set of figures.

Qualified Teachers

Julie Hilling Excerpts

Wednesday 30th October 2013 Commons Chamber

[Michael Gove]

In a moment; all in good time. [Interruption.] I know the hon. Gentleman is impatient; he is a young one as well.

We have the best ever generation of teachers in our schools. Gerard Kelly of The Times Educational Supplement has said:

“Contrary to most reports, teaching in Britain has never been in better health”

and it

“is a more respected profession and a more attractive graduate destination than it has been for many years.”

We are also fortunate that we have, as the OECD has reminded us, the best generation of heads in our schools, and more and more of them are now enjoying the autonomy from bureaucracy and freedom from micro-management that the coalition Government have brought. They need that freedom because of the problems we inherited in our education system. As the OECD reported just last month, our 16 to 25-year-olds—those who were educated under Labour—have some of the worst levels of literacy and numeracy in the developed world. We are the only country in the developed world whose oldest citizens are more literate and numerate than our youngest adults, and what makes matters worse is that educational underperformance under Labour was concentrated in the poorest areas.

[Julie Hilling (Bolton West) (Lab)]

rose—

[Michael Gove]

I am happy to give way to the hon. Lady.

[Julie Hilling]

I thank the Secretary of State for giving way. It seems to me that his maths is not quite adding up, because surely those teachers who are coming into our schools now, and who are, as he just said, the best teachers that have ever come through, will have been educated under a Labour Government. Why is he running down the profession and why does he not agree that those teachers who are qualified should be joined by the other teachers becoming qualified?

[Michael Gove]

How could I be running down the profession when I have just applauded this generation as the best ever? Why is the hon. Lady so ungracious that she does not acknowledge that under this coalition Government we have the best quality of teaching ever?

Let me answer the question that the hon. Member for Stoke-on-Trent Central failed to answer. He has one sole criterion by which a good teacher will be judged: the possession of a single piece of paper which entitles someone to QTS. That is all he talked about in his speech. [Interruption.] He cannot have a second bite at the cherry. No resits for the hon. Gentleman. That was his case. But the truth is that under Labour the number of unqualified teachers rose and under the coalition it has fallen. When we came to power there were 17,800 unqualified teachers in our schools. The figure decreased to 15,800 and is now 14,800. Under Labour, the number of unqualified teachers rose to a high point of 18,800, so by the criterion that the hon. Gentleman applies the last Labour Government were a signal failure and this coalition Government have been a resounding success.

The Labour Front Benchers talk about Teach First—

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[Michael Gove]

I know that the hon. Gentleman is interested in splits, because he embodies one. He is a one-man walking split-generating machine. On the one hand, he is determined to remove schools from the hands of local authorities, whereas on the other he wants to impose them on them.

I fear that one thing the hon. Gentleman does not appreciate is the fact that academies and free schools face a greater degree of scrutiny than local authority schools. He has argued that we need local authority oversight because the current regime is not enough, but is he aware that academies face an annual audit from the Education Funding Agency? They must have independently audited financial accounts. They must appoint an accounting officer who has personal responsibility to the National Audit Office and, through that office, to Parliament. Those accounts must have a regularity opinion from external auditors that sets out how regularity over income and expenditure has been obtained. Free schools must also undergo their own financial management evaluation, which is counter-checked by the Education Funding Agency. That is regulation.

What about local authorities, by contrast? The National Audit Office has said:

“Local authorities do not publish systematic data to demonstrate how they are monitoring schools’ financial management and that they are intervening where necessary.”

There we have it: academies are properly regulated whereas local authority schools are not, according to the National Audit Office, regulated with anything like the same degree of intensity.

As laid out in the academies financial handbook, if there is any problem with their finances academies must ensure that they comply with the financial notice to improve and seek consent to any non-routine financial transaction. Local authorities, of course, have similar powers to suspend delegated financial functions, but there is no central record of their doing so in local authority schools, whereas there are many records and examples of academies and free schools being subject to precisely the sort of regulatory oversight that local authority schools lack. For that reason, academies and free schools are better regulated and better protected.

The hon. Member for Stoke-on-Trent Central mentioned one particular free school, the Al-Madinah free school, and there were certainly grievous problems there. However, that is just one school with problems; a number of local authority schools, unfortunately, also have the same ranking from Ofsted and have been graded as 4—inadequate—in every conceivable area. He has not mentioned them because he is entirely selective in his use of evidence. He has not mentioned Hawthorn primary school, Oakhill primary school, Newtown primary school, Doncaster Road primary school, St John’s primary school, Stanhope primary school, Long Cross primary school, Wellfield, Roydon, Rosebrook or a number of others. He has not done so because his selective use of evidence has been designed to discredit a programme under which, just a few weeks ago, he said he would put rocket boosters. The problem, I am afraid, is that those rocket boosters have blown up in his face.

As a historian, the hon. Gentleman should know that excessive reliance on just one source leads to errors. Of course, there have been other historians whose selective reading of evidence has allowed them to make a splash at times in the past, such as Hugh Trevor-Roper, for one, with the Hitler diaries. But although he caused a stir, he also sacrificed his credibility permanently. That is what the hon. Gentleman has done by refusing to acknowledge the brilliant record of free schools overall. He has refused to acknowledge that 50% of new local authority schools have been rated good or outstanding in the latest Ofsted ranking, whereas 75% of free schools have been ranked good or outstanding. The evidence overwhelmingly shows that where it counts, free schools are outperforming local authority schools.

[Julie Hilling]

I thank the Secretary of State for giving way. I have forgotten why I wanted him to give way earlier, but on his last point, how many of those free schools are teaching less pupils—[Hon. Members: “Fewer pupils.”]—fewer pupils because they have not filled all their places? My local free school has far smaller class sizes because it cannot fill those places.

[Michael Gove]

rose—

Oral Answers to Questions

Julie Hilling Excerpts

Thursday 24th October 2013 Commons Chamber

[Matthew Hancock]

Yes, I am an enthusiastic supporter of Tomorrow’s Engineers, and the Government are backing that project in every way that we can. Tomorrow’s Engineers is about demonstrating that engineering is part of the future of our economy, and that it is an exciting career for someone to get into, whether they are a man or a woman. It is where the future of our economy is going, and providing the necessary skills is a vital part of what we are doing.

[Julie Hilling (Bolton West) (Lab)]

The Secretary of State has spoken proudly about the new businesses that have started up, but can he tell us how many businesses closed last year, and how many jobs were lost as a result of those closures?

[The Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (Michael Fallon)]

I shall be happy to write to the hon. Lady with the number of deregistrations, but overall there are more businesses being created than are being closed. We have, I think, 400,000 more new businesses than we started with two and half years ago.