Business of the House

Justin Madders Excerpts

Thursday 28th January 2016 Commons Chamber

[Chris Grayling]

We took the view early on that the best thing to do was to provide financial support as quickly as possible to those areas affected, and we have done that. The hon. Lady will be able to question the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs next week, but the priority for us has been to get money and support into the areas affected and we have been doing that for weeks.

[Justin Madders (Ellesmere Port and Neston) (Lab)]

I was hugely impressed to hear about the work of the Ambitious College in London, which caters for young people with autism between the ages of 16 and 25. In my constituency, Hinderton School has had four outstanding reports from Ofsted on its educational provision up to the age of 11, but it is a sad fact that three out of four young people with autism do not access any kind of education after school age. May we have a debate, please, on widening opportunities in education for young people with autism?

[Chris Grayling]

That is a good point and some very good work is being done. I am not aware of the college that the hon. Gentleman refers to, but it clearly plays an important role. We want to see people, when they leave school, have the opportunity to move into work or move into apprenticeships—that should be a priority for us as well. The Minister for Skills will be here on Tuesday and I will make sure that he is aware of the concerns that have been raised.