Oral Answers to Questions

Mike Kane Excerpts

Monday 25th January 2016 Commons Chamber

[Alex Cunningham (Stockton North) (Lab)]

3. What discussions she has had with education providers on reviews of post-16 education and training.

[Mike Kane (Wythenshawe and Sale East) (Lab)]

10. What discussions she has had with education providers on reviews of post-16 education and training.

[The Minister for Skills (Nick Boles)]

I have had several meetings with college leaders, often represented by hon. Members, and will continue to do so as the area review process unfolds.

[Nick Boles]

This is absolutely the first I have heard about that, and it is certainly not my intention that a single pound of taxpayers’ money should go to benefit banks. The whole point of the area review process is to strengthen institutions so that, like Middlesbrough College in the Tees area, they can offer an excellent service by providing high-quality technical and professional education to local people.

[Mike Kane]

How does the Minister reconcile the Government’s commitment to a devolved skills settlement in Greater Manchester with slashing a quarter of the further education college budget and slapping an apprentice tax on business?

[Nick Boles]

It is fairly amazing to hear an Opposition Member attack the apprenticeship levy, which is something that the Opposition thought was so extraordinarily left-wing that they were not willing to propose it in their manifesto. I should have thought that the modern Labour party would consider it a thoroughly mainstream suggestion. As for the hon. Gentleman’s other comments, he will have observed that his party organised an Opposition debate to attack the 25% to 40% slashing of further education budgets, which did not happen when the Chancellor stood at the Dispatch Box and confirmed that we were going to maintain adult skills funding and 16 to 19 funding.