Business of the House

Mark Sewards Excerpts

Thursday 10th October 2024 Commons Chamber

[Lucy Powell]

My hon. Friend does indeed have a great surname! He is absolutely right that e-bikes can be a blight and a challenge, and there are safety issues. The Government are currently considering these issues, and we have introduced the Product Regulation and Metrology Bill that will consider some of these matters further, so I am sure there will be plenty of debate.

[Mr Mark Sewards (Leeds South West and Morley) (Lab)]

During the recess, I had the privilege of visiting Elliott Hudson college, an outstanding institution delivering excellent post-16 education in my constituency. The students had some fairly tough questions for me—the future is very bright in Leeds South West and Morley—but my question today is about the decision to pause and review the cancellation of the applied general qualifications, and specifically the impact of that on the ability of colleges such as Elliott Hudson to plan for the future. The review is absolutely the right course of action for the Government to take, but will the Leader of the House provide time for this House to be updated on its progress, so that post-16 education institutions such as of Elliott Hudson can have some clarity on what qualifications they can offer next year?

[Lucy Powell]

As I know from my own constituency, this matter is raised with Members regularly by further education colleges. The Government have paused the planned defunding of those qualifications, which means that 95 qualifications are again available to learners. The review is taking place as quickly as possible. I hope we will publish it before Christmas, and I can guarantee that there will be a statement to this House at that time.