Access to Sport: PE in Schools

Rebecca Paul Excerpts

Thursday 3rd April 2025 Commons Chamber

[Rebecca Paul (Reigate) (Con)]

I am grateful for the opportunity to respond to today’s important debate on access to sport and physical education in schools. I thank the hon. Member for Stafford (Leigh Ingham) for securing this debate, and all hon. Members here for speaking about this vital issue, which cuts across our approach to education, health, mental wellbeing and social mobility. At its heart, physical education is about giving every child, regardless of background, the chance to lead a healthy, active life, while learning important life skills such as teamwork, resilience, perseverance and respect for others. Sport is about so much more than just being healthy. It creates opportunity and can transform lives. Indeed, many of our country’s most famous sporting heroes began their athletic journey while still at school. Olympic champion Dame Jessica Ennis-Hill wrote about the positive impact that sport had on her:

“Playing sport as a child helped me enormously. I met lots of different people, both teammates and competitors and faced new challenges. The camaraderie and support that you get from sport massively helped build my confidence and my ability to overcome setbacks and defeats both on and off the track.”

It is precisely because sport has the power to do so much good that Conservative Members worked so hard to make real, measurable progress on improving access to sport and PE in our schools when we were in government. Let me start with what we did. The last Conservative Government took a clear stand in favour of equal access to sport for all children, girls and boys alike. In March 2024, the Department for Education published new guidance for schools, making it clear that boys and girls must be offered the same sports, both during curriculum PE and in extra-curricular activities. For too long, some pupils have missed out because of outdated or inflexible provision, and that is no longer acceptable. Our new standards ensure that opportunity in school sport is not determined by sex; it is driven by fairness, aspiration, and choice. That guidance followed the success of the Football Association’s #LetGirlsPlay campaign, which aimed to change perceptions and ensure that girls got the chance to play football as part of the school curriculum, as well as at break time, after school, and at local clubs. It has proved very successful; much larger numbers of girls are playing football, inspired by our amazing Lionesses, following their success at the Euro 2022 tournament.

But that is not all we did. Our 2023 school sport and activity action plan set out the clear expectation that schools would provide a minimum of two hours of PE per week. We took that step because we know that exercise is not a luxury or an optional extra. It is fundamental to children’s physical health, mental wellbeing, and ability to focus and succeed in the classroom. In addition to considering what happens during school hours, we took decisive action to boost participation across the country. In August 2023, we launched our Get Active strategy, which provided for a new national taskforce, including Government officials, education experts and former sports professionals. The taskforce was given the bold mission of getting 2.5 million more adults and 1 million more children physically active by 2030. Those serious ambitions were backed by serious actions, and they reflected a long-term strategic commitment from the last Conservative Government to increasing participation, promoting inclusion, and tackling the root causes of inactivity. I do not pretend for one moment that the job is done. There is more to do, but I am proud of our record in this field.

However, I regret to say that there has been fallout from this Government’s Budget. We are seeing evidence that the decision to end business rates relief for independent schools is having damaging consequences. Some such schools now question whether they can continue to operate community sports facilities, including school playing fields. Lest we forget, those facilities are used not just by the schools, but by local primary schools, community groups, youth sports teams and families. I see the benefits of that on my doorstep. Many children in my constituency attending local primary schools are learning to swim and getting the benefit of other sports facilities at their local independent school. If this policy ends up forcing the sale or closure of those facilities, it will only have succeeded in reducing access to sports for the very communities who most need it.

I am disappointed that the Government have chosen to scrap the opening school facilities fund, a programme designed to keep school sports halls and playing fields open over the holidays and outside school hours. That fund enabled schools to support healthy, active lifestyles all year round, not just during term time. In addition, will the Minister end the uncertainty and finally confirm the Government’s plans for the School Games network, which is set to end this year? The network supports 2.2 million participation opportunities for children and is hugely valuable. Will she confirm that that has not been scrapped as well?

I want to take a moment to recognise the importance of access to sport for disabled young people, as powerfully set out by the hon. Members for Beckenham and Penge (Liam Conlon) and for Thornbury and Yate (Claire Young). It is vital that barriers to inclusion are removed, so that disabled young people can benefit in the same way as all other children in school.

I cannot speak about the importance of sport without touching on the subject of sex. The concerning trend of gender ideology threatens to undermine efforts to promote sport among young women and girls. Let me be clear: it is bodies that play sport, not feelings. In women and girls’ sports, participants must be separated by sex, not only for safety reasons but for fundamental fairness. Former Olympic swimmer Sharron Davies MBE has been warning about the negative impact of this issue on women’s sport for many years, and it is important that she and other advocates for women are listened to. I urge the Minister to ensure that, as soon as possible, we finalise and issue the draft guidance for schools and colleges on gender-questioning children, which was prepared under the last Conservative Government, and which makes it clear that sports participants should be split by sex. Until we act to address the rise in environments where young female athletes feel unsafe or simply cannot ever win, how can we feign surprise when girls are less inclined to participate in sports?

The Conservatives believe that access to sport and PE is a fundamental part of good education for boys and girls. We believe that children should be given the tools to live healthy, active lives, and that sport builds confidence, resilience and teamworking skills, not just health and fitness. Those are beliefs that we put into practice in Government, through new equality standards, mandated PE entitlement and a joined-up national strategy, and by allocating funds to widen access to facilities. That is how we build a healthier, fairer and more active future for every child in this country.

I look forward to hearing from the Minister about how the Government will seek to ensure access to sport, and to her responses to all the excellent questions asked by Members, including mine.

Universities: Funding and Employment

Rebecca Paul Excerpts

Wednesday 2nd April 2025 Westminster Hall

[Rebecca Paul (Reigate) (Con)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Vickers. I thank the hon. Member for Bedford (Mohammad Yasin) for securing this important debate, which could not be more timely, and I am grateful to all colleagues who have contributed.

Our universities are among the most important institutions in our national life. They are centres of research, innovation and learning, and for many thousands of young people every year, they are the route to opportunity, economic independence and personal growth. Despite its great importance, the higher education sector has come under increasing pressure in recent years. The latest modelling from the Office for Students suggests that nearly three quarters of English higher education providers could be in deficit by 2025-26, and 40% would have fewer than 30 days’ liquidity. Indeed, as we have heard from many Members today, redundancy programmes are already under way in some institutions and, across the country, university staff are understandably anxious about the future.

I will say at the outset that I am deeply sympathetic to those who work in institutions that have found themselves in financial difficulty. Nevertheless, I believe it is past time for us to have a grown-up conversation about university finances, in which we look seriously at what is driving the pressures and what it might be possible to do to alleviate them.

I will begin by stating the obvious: decisions taken in recent years have increased the financial pressure on students and graduates, without necessarily addressing the deeper questions of value and sustainability. We have seen steady rises in student loan interest rates and tuition fees, which both fall heavily on students, and now, the spike in employer national insurance contributions is putting further cost pressures on universities.

Meanwhile, the Government’s proposals to cut funding for level 7 apprenticeships, which are essential qualifications in a number of fields, including education, health and engineering, risk further undermining key parts of the post-18 education ecosystem. Many university departments rely on that funding not just to sustain course provision, but to attract and retain highly qualified staff. The impact of the cuts will not be evenly spread, and it is right that we consider how they will affect institutions already under financial pressure.

[Pam Cox]

Will the shadow Minister take some responsibility, on behalf of her party, for the situation that many universities find themselves in?

[Rebecca Paul]

I suggest to the hon. Member that we need to deal with the situation that we have now, and that her questions should be targeted towards the Minister. We should make the right decisions to do the right thing for our country, and for our students and university staff.

We must confront an uncomfortable truth: there is mounting evidence, including from the Institute for Fiscal Studies, that a sizeable share of higher education courses simply do not provide good value for money either for the taxpayer or for the individual student. The IFS has concluded that around 30% of graduates, both men and women, would have been better off financially had they not gone to university at all. That raises important questions about how we can ensure that our higher education system delivers for those who fund it—namely, the students who invest years of their lives and take on significant debt, and the public whose taxes support the student loan system.

The current funding model is failing under the enormous weight of rapid expansion, marketisation and insufficient quality controls. The ability of an institution to prop itself up on the backs of overseas students who pay vast fees is coming to an end. Although fee income from international students has grown by an average of 15% a year between 2017 and 2023, the recent international recruitment environment has been challenging. Recent Home Office data indicates that 393,125 visas were issued to main applicants in 2024. That is down 13.9% year on year and down 18.8% compared with two years ago.

While some institutions have embraced innovation, strong outcomes and world-class research, others have pursued growth at all costs, adding courses with limited market value, often to attract overseas students or to maximise short-term income. We cannot and should not return to a time when university was accessible only to a wealthy minority, but we do need to have a serious conversation about the purpose of higher education, who it is for, and how it can be sustainably funded in a way that delivers for students, taxpayers and the wider economy. That means looking at systemic reform, rather than simply demanding that young people pay more without addressing the underlying issues. We need to examine course quality, graduate outcomes, student choice, and the role of further education and apprenticeships alongside traditional degrees.

[Stephen Gethins]

Will the hon. Member give way?

[Rebecca Paul]

I will in a moment.

Such a reform could begin by addressing the unacceptable lack of transparency around the student loan system. The public have a right to know how the system is operating, who is borrowing, who is repaying, and where there may be a risk of fraud or misuse. I understand that a paper on this very subject, compiled by the IFS and commissioned by the last Government, remains unpublished, despite efforts to obtain it via freedom of information requests. I hope the Minister will explain why that is the case, and will understand that transparency builds trust, while withholding data only fuels suspicion.

On a related theme, questions have rightly been asked about the eligibility criteria for student loans, particularly for non-UK nationals and EU citizens with settled status. It is surprising to many that, even several years after Brexit, more than 180,000 individuals were granted settled status in the first six months under this Government. That figure deserves scrutiny, and it is legitimate to query the implications for access to taxpayer-funded support for accessing higher education. It has been widely reported that the Student Loans Company is now accepting a mere certificate of application for settled status in order to approve loans. If that is the case, I urge Ministers to review that policy as a matter of urgency. We must ensure that eligibility checks are robust and that the system is not open to exploitation.

[Stephen Gethins]

Will the hon. Member give way?

[Rebecca Paul]

I am going to continue because of the time.

On the concerns about the quality of some higher education provision, the Government have said they are considering changes to the regulation of franchise providers, some of which have been implicated in cases of poor-quality provision and potential fraud. Although I welcome the consultation launched by the Department for Education, I caution that many of the largest franchise providers are already regulated by the Office for Students, so the key question is not simply whether they are regulated, but how well the regulatory framework is working and whether it is actually driving up standards.

Finally, we have heard Ministers speak in recent months about “tweaking” the role of the Office for Students to strengthen its focus on value for money. In September, the Department said that it was

“developing options for legislative change,”

and the Secretary of State has since re-announced that commitment, but as far as I can tell no tangible progress has been made. When will we actually see legislation brought forward? We have also heard mention of the Public Sector Fraud Authority being brought in, but that sounds remarkably similar to the Internal Audit Agency investigation mentioned in last year’s National Audit Office report. What is changing, exactly? Are we simply hearing the same announcement robed in new language?

I conclude by emphasising that the largest losses to the taxpayer do not always come from outright criminal fraud, and can come from legally operating institutions that provide poor value. These providers operate within the letter of the law, but not within its spirit. They enrol students on low-value courses with high drop-out rates and weak earnings potential, while drawing down large sums from the student loan system—sums that in many cases will never be repaid. We cannot continue like this. Our goal should be a higher education system that is sustainable, high quality and genuinely life-changing. I look forward to continuing this discussion in the months ahead.

Relationship Education in Schools

Rebecca Paul Excerpts

Tuesday 1st April 2025 Westminster Hall

[Rebecca Paul (Reigate) (Con)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir Jeremy. I thank the hon. Member for Epsom and Ewell (Helen Maguire) for securing this important debate on relationship education in schools, as well as for touching on the harrowing stories of violence against women and girls in her constituency. Before I proceed further, I offer my heartfelt condolences to the families, friends, colleagues and pupils of those impacted.

In the decade between 2008 to 2018, around three women a week were killed by men in the UK. Shockingly, around one in four women have been raped or sexually assaulted. This shows the gravity of the misogyny in our society faced by women and girls. Although relationship education can only go so far in addressing male violence against women and girls, it plays an important role in educating our young people on what positive and healthy relationships look like and the importance of putting in place clear boundaries. Those skills are vital in navigating relationships, recognising potential abuse, including that of coercive control, and knowing how and when to seek help.

Relationship education was made compulsory in all primary and secondary schools in 2020. Although schools are able to determine their own curriculum, they must have regard to the statutory guidance released in 2019. From my experience of looking at some of the school materials used, it seems that focus in relationship education has a tendency to gravitate towards other topics rather than spending the necessary amount of time on propagating positive and respectful relationships between boys and girls and addressing many of the issues raised today. That is something that schools and the Government need to reflect on.

An important part of relationship education is teaching young people about the risks and harms of the internet and social media. With damaging online porn available at the touch of a button on smartphones, young men are fed a constant stream of misogynistic content that will change how they view women and girls. While they are able to access hours of degrading and violent content directed at women whenever they like, the relatively small amount of time spent learning the opposite in a classroom cannot hope to offset the harmful influence. That is why the Conservatives have called for a ban on smartphones in schools for under-16s, which would at least go part of the way in promoting children’s wellbeing and protecting them from harmful content on social media during the school day.

It is also important to note that, for many young people, the distinction between the online and media world can be blurred, so they need the skills to navigate that safely. We all know that people feel more anonymous online, say things that they would never say face to face and may even present themselves as someone different to who they actually are. On top of this, they are fed a stream of factually incorrect information and unobtainable body images.

In accordance with Department for Education guidance, schools should be alive to issues such as everyday sexism, misogyny, homophobia and gender stereotypes, and take positive action to build a culture where those are not tolerated. In spite of this, sexual violence and harassment does, I am afraid to say, take place in schools. It is vital that such behaviours are not tolerated and are never acceptable. Any reports of sexual violence or harassment should be taken seriously, and it must be recognised that girls are much more likely to be victims, with boys the most likely perpetrator. With that being said, it is vital that our boys are not made to feel that this behaviour is inevitable as a result of them being male. Indeed, it is only a minority who behave in this way.

When it comes to our boys, we should value their unique attributes and not demonise them or make them feel bad for having masculine traits. These traits are not, in the great majority of cases, toxic. The requirement to deliver RHSE has led to a surge in outside providers making available their resources to schools. Some are good, and some are not so good. The guidance is clear that schools should not, under any circumstances, work with or use materials produced by external agencies that take or promote extreme political positions. Accordingly, schools are required to assess each resource to ensure it is age-appropriate and sensitive to their needs, and should provide examples to parents on request. Parents should be given every opportunity to understand the purpose and content of materials, and it is certainly not appropriate for such materials to be withheld under the guise of copyright restrictions.

All parents have a right to know what a school is teaching their child. It was confirmed by the previous Education Secretary in the Conservative Government that materials used in the classroom can be shared, irrespective of copyright restrictions. It should never be forgotten that parents and carers are ultimately responsible for the education of their children, so in most cases teaching in schools should be done with parents, not contrary to them, and in a way that is sympathetic to their values and beliefs. That starts with being transparent about what is being taught.

It is also important to note that schools have a legal obligation to be politically impartial when teaching, which means that children must be offered a balanced presentation of opposing views. It seems that many schools have struggled with the impartiality requirement on this specific topic, which drove additional guidance to be released in 2022. I note the reference to a backlash—

[Sir Jeremy Wright (in the Chair)]

Order. I know the hon. Lady will be swiftly coming to a conclusion so that we can get the Minister in.

[Rebecca Paul]

Thank you, Sir Jeremy.

I note the reference to a backlash against RHSE lessons due to anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric, and I want to push back on that. It is not unreasonable for parents to raise their concerns about schools teaching factually incorrect, ideological and damaging content about gender identity. They are right to do so, and it is the responsible thing to do. I agree that the teaching of such harmful concepts as fact has done damage to the important subject of RHSE as a whole.

In closing—

[Sir Jeremy Wright (in the Chair)]

Order. I am sorry to interrupt the hon. Lady, but we really must move on to the Minister.

Looked After Children (Distance Placements) Bill

Rebecca Paul Excerpts

2nd reading
Friday 28th March 2025 Commons Chamber

[Rebecca Paul (Reigate) (Con)]

I am pleased to contribute to this important debate, and I congratulate the hon. Member for Rother Valley (Jake Richards) on bringing the Bill before the House. I commend him for shining a spotlight on an issue that affects some of the most vulnerable children in the country. These children are not simply statistics or case numbers; they are young people who have experienced trauma, instability and, in many cases, loss. It is essential that they get the loving home and the support that they deserve, so that they can flourish. He has brought this issue to the House with compassion and care, and I commend him for doing so.

As a serving Surrey county councillor and a former member of the corporate parenting board, this is an issue close to my heart, too. I have seen at first hand many of the challenges and systemic failings that have been talked about. As was set out, local authorities have a duty, so far as reasonably practicable, to ensure that looked-after children are placed in accommodation that meets their needs in the local area, but many local authorities fail to achieve that, and often shockingly high numbers of children are placed out of area.

I am sure that the inclusion of the words, “so far as reasonably practicable” was intended to give some leeway to local authorities where needed, and to recognise that sometimes distance placements are in the best interests of the child. However, I am afraid that in far too many cases those words have become a licence for abject failure. Yes, I accept that there are many challenges for local authorities in meeting their duties, including the higher cost of living, which makes it difficult to recruit and retain foster carers; the increased national demand for placements; and even the recent ban on using unregulated accommodation for 16 and 17-year-olds. Those pressures are real, but it is unacceptable that high numbers of looked-after children are being placed in accommodation far away from the communities that they know—far from their schools, their extended family and their support networks.

Such placements are often made not because they are seen as the best option for the child, but because there is simply nowhere else to put them. The problem is that it becomes almost normal to send high numbers of children out of area, so it becomes more acceptable. I am here to say that, except in specific cases, it is not acceptable. Local authorities and national Government need to do more to ensure that the sufficiency duty is met. The wellbeing and safety of these vulnerable children depend upon it.

The damaging consequences of these long-distance placements are obvious. Children placed miles away are more likely to experience educational disruption, go missing and lose contact with friends, siblings and trusted adults. In some cases, the sense of being cut adrift from everything familiar only deepens an already present feeling of abandonment. It should be noted that these placements are often beyond the local authority boundary, giving rise to myriad further risks.

It is self-evident that the system needs further intervention, and I am pleased that any policy decisions taken in the future will build on the major reforms introduced by the previous Conservative Government. Perhaps the most impactful reform in this space was the introduction of the staying put policy in 2014, which allowed young people in foster care to remain with their foster family until the age of 21. That was a transformational step. For the first time, young people in care were offered the stability and ongoing familial support that many of their peers take for granted.

It was also the previous Conservative Government who rolled out regional adoption agencies, which are designed to reduce delays in the adoption process and increase the number of children finding permanent, loving homes. Since their introduction, adoption timeliness has improved, and agencies have been better able to match children with prospective parents across wider geographical areas.

We also published our strategy and consultation, “Children’s Social Care: Stable Homes, Built on Love”. Our strategy was backed initially by £200 million of additional investment over two years to transform children’s social care, including by delivering a decisive multi-agency child protection system and ensuring that every child has a valued, supported and highly-skilled social worker when needed.

Finally, the publication of the independent review of children’s social care in 2022, commissioned by the last Government, was a landmark moment. It provided a comprehensive and honest assessment of the system’s challenges, and offered a road map for reform focused on early intervention, family help and a more relational, less transactional model of care. Those milestones, taken together, demonstrate that we have always taken the needs of looked-after children seriously, and we will continue to work constructively alongside Government Members to improve the support available to these children; I know Government Members have the same overarching objective of transforming life outcomes for these children.

I return to the Bill. The ambition of improving the transparency of data about placements of looked-after children is much welcomed. The Bill would place a duty on local authorities to publish such information, making it easier to identify where there are issues, and where local authorities are not performing. We will start to see tangible improvement only when the extent of the issue nationally is clearly laid out. As is often the way, measurement prompts improvement.

Undoubtedly, one of the most consequential aspects of the Bill is the requirement for the Secretary of State to produce a national sufficiency strategy for looked-after children. Local authorities can and should do more to collaborate at regional level to ensure that children are put in placements close to their homes, but the structural challenges faced likely cannot be solved by local government alone. National leadership is essential, and I urge Ministers to look seriously at how best to increase placement capacity where there are shortages, and at how to ensure that the right children end up in the right locations, not just the cheapest locations.

That is not to say that local authorities are not at the heart of this challenge—they are—but I know that they find it increasingly difficult. The residential care market is now heavily dominated by private providers, and the cost of placements continues to rise, placing a huge strain on local authority budgets. A shift to a more strategic approach is needed, and I recognise that the hon. Member for Rother Valley has sought to kick-start that shift with the requirement in his Bill for local sufficiency strategies to be published by local authorities in England.

At this point, I should acknowledge that for all the justifiable talk today against distance placements, there is a very limited set of circumstances in which they are appropriate and necessary. Some children need specialist provision that simply does not exist locally. Others may need to be placed at a distance to ensure their safety if they have become involved with gangs or are threatened by an abuser. The question is not whether distance placements should be banned—they should not—but how we can get to a point where they are used only when it is truly and demonstrably in the best interests of the child.

A key focus is how we recruit, retain and support foster carers, and how we encourage local authorities to invest in local residential provision at a time of such pressure on their budgets. Many of the answers lie in not only legislation but funding, training and leadership, both local and national. I look forward to the Minister’s comments on these important issues.

When a child is taken into care, the state becomes their parent. That is not a responsibility to ever be exercised lightly. We must hold ourselves and the systems we put in place to the highest standard—the standard we would expect and demand for our own children. The hon. Member for Rother Valley has brought this Bill forward in precisely that spirit, and I congratulate him once again on doing so. It was truly a pleasure to speak on it.

Financial Education

Rebecca Paul Excerpts

Thursday 6th February 2025 Commons Chamber

[Rebecca Paul (Reigate) (Con)]

I warmly congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Broadland and Fakenham (Jerome Mayhew) on securing this important debate, and I commend him for his sustained efforts to drive up the quality and availability of financial education offered to our young people. There is sometimes a tendency in this House—perhaps an understandable one—to gravitate towards short-termism. It is therefore a sincere pleasure to follow my hon. Friend, who, along with his colleagues in the all-party parliamentary group on financial education for young people, has been doing such excellent work to promote reforms that take a longer view and are geared towards boosting the life chances of future generations.

Good financial education, delivered not only by schools, but by parents and families and within communities, has the potential to produce a generation wise to the dangers of credit card debt, alert to the practices of predatory payday lenders, and confident in their ability to open a bank account and budget appropriately. I believe that all of us in this place are truly committed to reducing inequality and ensuring that everyone has the best possible start in life, and I can think of few better ideas than ensuring that all young people enter adulthood with a sound grasp of how to manage their money.

The British public seem to share that assessment. A research survey of UK adults conducted by Santander revealed that a full 70% felt that better financial education in their younger years would have improved their ability to manage their finances through the ongoing cost of living crisis. Meanwhile, two thirds of young people believe that a lack of financial education has played a role in them amassing the debts that they hold.

Indeed, it is not just adults but children who are deeply concerned about financial matters. The London Institute of Banking and Finance reported in 2023 that 68% of children worry about money and their personal finances. That figure is hardly surprising when we consider that today’s children are the most digitally exposed in history; they face a constant barrage of offers to spend money in alluring but wasteful ways. Many of the apps downloaded on to the phones that our children spend so much time on are full of shining icons, inviting them to spend real-world money, with the tap of a finger, in exchange for worthless in-game currencies. Young players of online games are prompted to spend, in some cases, hundreds of pounds on loot boxes or so-called cosmetic items—that is, a virtual in-game weapon, or an outfit that is a slightly different colour from the default option. Financial literacy is clearly a skill that our children and young people need, to protect them and prepare them for the future.

Although there is undoubtedly still work to be done, I briefly draw the House’s attention to the solid foundations laid by successive Conservative Governments over the past 14 years. After all, the Conservatives left England as one of the top-performing countries in education. Under the Conservative Government, children in England were named the best in the west for reading, and were ranked best at maths in the western world in the 2023 TIMSS—trends in international mathematics and science study. It was a Conservative Government who created the national network of 40 maths hubs to support schools in improving their mathematics teaching. That network is a partnership between schools, colleges and other organisations that work together to provide support for maths teaching in their regions. The positive impact of those hubs on young people’s ability to manage and understand money and finance is obvious. We were clear that we intended to go further: at the last election, we set out a comprehensive plan to ensure that every child studied maths to the age of 18, so that they would leave school with good numeracy skills. That would help them to navigate their finances with confidence.

That is not to suggest that the entire burden of providing robust financial education can or should fall upon our schools. As is so often the case, families also have a central role to play in ensuring that children are imbued with good financial common sense. That does not need to be overly complex; simple measures, such as offering children small amounts of weekly pocket money, can help to normalise good habits such as saving and thinking carefully before making purchases. According to an ING survey of 12,000 parents across Europe, giving children pocket money reduces the risk of them getting into debt as adults.

[Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)]

I am a great example of that. Whenever I was 16, my mum took me down to Northern Bank, as it was then, gave me £10—I could have bought a second-hand car for that in those days—and told me to put it in my bank account. Does the hon. Lady agree that if everybody had a mother like mine, they would be a lot better off?

[Rebecca Paul]

I thank the hon. Member for that great contribution to the debate. I agree that all those small things add up and make a difference to our financial literacy. I am a chartered accountant, but that is not what made me financially literate; it was the lessons I was taught by my family, and the jobs that I did when I was young. Members have given great examples of how they came to understand finance. In an increasingly contactless world, it is important that children and young people physically see and feel cash. That is the way in which value is tangibly understood.

To return to schools, financial education is not, as has been noted, a statutory part of the national curriculum in primary schools in England, but in contrast, in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, it is very much embedded at primary level. Given the way in which our children are relentlessly pressured to spend money that they may not even have, and in the light of Cambridge University research suggesting that habits and attitudes towards money are formed by the age of seven, there is much logic to the argument that financial education—whether delivered by schools, parents or even community hubs and other organisations—should not wait for the later years, and should be continuous.

Teachers also feel that starting good financial education early is important for the future wellbeing of young people. According to a 2020 survey, 82% of primary teachers consider teaching financial education to be very important. We may hear more about that when the Francis review of the national curriculum is complete. I urge the Minister to answer the question that my hon. Friend the Member for Broadland and Fakenham asked about the Government’s plans for the curriculum.

In secondary schools, the picture is somewhat different. In 2014, the then Conservative Government acted to ensure that financial education was placed on a statutory footing in local authority schools. However, the all-party parliamentary group on financial education for young people—which I once again praise as an outstanding example of everything an APPG should aspire to be—noted in its 2023 “Building Beyond Barriers” report that over half of teachers did not know that financial education was part of the curriculum at all. That is a matter of some concern.

It is certainly important that the topic of financial education is addressed in the classroom in an appropriate way. I have no doubt that our hard-working teachers are keen to play their part in delivering that content. The same report found that three in four teachers believed that they should play a leading role in imparting financial skills to children. The obstacles were reported to be inadequate training, limited funding and an understandable feeling that there is simply not sufficient time in the school year to deliver those lessons. In government, the Conservatives sought to mitigate the funding issue with an investment of over £1 million to embed and scale teacher training in financial education.

The Money and Pensions Service did excellent work developing and testing approaches to supporting teachers, and practitioners working with children and young people in vulnerable circumstances, to deliver financial education. Ultimately, though, we must acknowledge that the school timetable is already under intense pressure, and there are many competing calls on limited time. That is why I would argue that the good financial education that every child deserves is best delivered not only in schools, but in the family setting, in communities, and with the help of valuable resources.

I conclude with a simple message, which I hope underscores some of the excellent contributions that we have heard today: financial education is invaluable and transforms life outcomes. Research undertaken by Compare the Market tells us that today, just two fifths of young adults rank as financially literate. We can and must do better. Conservative Members will keep these matters under careful review, and I hope that the Minister will address the questions that have been raised. Once again, I thank all those who have spoken, and in particular my hon. Friend the Member for Broadland and Fakenham.

Apprenticeships

Rebecca Paul Excerpts

Tuesday 4th February 2025 Westminster Hall

[Rebecca Paul (Reigate) (Con)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr. Jardine, and to respond today for the first time for His Majesty’s Opposition. I congratulate the hon. Member for Peterborough (Andrew Pakes) on securing this debate on the value of apprenticeships and National Apprenticeships Week.

We have heard some tremendously insightful points this morning and, like others, I thank all Members for their contributions. I think it is apparent that everyone who has spoken today recognises the inherent merit of apprenticeships and it was we in the Conservative party who acted to deliver a world-class apprenticeship system that has created opportunities for countless young people, which would otherwise have remained out of reach, allowing them to earn while they learn.

Since 2010, there have been more than 5.8 million apprenticeship starts, with 736,500 people participating in an apprenticeship in England in the 2023-24 academic year alone. The numbers are impressive, but what truly makes the system we put in place one of the most laudable in the world is the sheer diversity of occupations that have been opened up to our young people. In England today, the apprenticeship system reaches into nearly 700 different occupations—everything from finance to agriculture to construction to nuclear physics. That means that today it is more viable than ever before for young people to chart their own paths and take those vital first steps into the careers that they have been dreaming of.

Of course, a robust apprenticeship scheme offering access to qualifications ranging from level 2 through to master’s degrees at level 7 cannot be delivered on the cheap. That is why successive Conservative Governments always sought to fund apprenticeships properly. In our final year in office, we delivered £2.7 billion for apprenticeships. As Members will appreciate, even the most excellent apprenticeship schemes are of little use without the anticipated uptake. That is why, when in government, we set out to cut red tape for businesses offering apprenticeships. We fully funded young people up to the age of 21 undertaking apprenticeships in small businesses, increased the amount of money apprenticeship levy payers could give to SMEs to hire an apprentice and put all apprenticeships on UCAS so that young people can compare apprenticeships in the same way they would a university degree.

[Pam Cox]

Will the hon. Member give way?

[Rebecca Paul]

I am sorry; I will need to make progress so that the Minister has sufficient time.

Crucially, it was a Conservative Government that brought the Skills and Post-16 Education Act 2022 into law, ensuring that all pupils now meet providers of technical education so that they understand the wide range of career routes and training available to them, such as apprenticeships, T-levels or traineeships—not just the traditional academic options.

I know that Members will have their own accounts of how this fantastic system is working to nurture and support young people in their constituencies, and we have heard many of them today. I could not miss the opportunity presented by the debate to highlight one of my own. I was recently fortunate enough to visit the UK headquarters of Toyota, located in Burgh Heath, in the Reigate constituency. The visit included the chance to meet and hear from some of the outstanding apprentices working at the company. I was struck by the truly impressive enthusiasm, intelligence and dedication of these young workers. Though still in the early stages of their careers, the apprentices were already making hugely valuable contributions across departments from engineering to finance to marketing. In return, they received experience and training that I have no doubt will leave them in excellent standing for the duration of their working lives. That is an example of apprenticeships done right—an exemplar of what Conservative Governments have been working to enable and support for the last 14 years.

It is of real concern that today the very framework that made these apprenticeships, and so many others like them, possible now appears to be in some jeopardy. That jeopardy arises from a Government commitment to replace the apprenticeship levy with a growth and skills levy that will allow firms to spend up to 50% of their levy contributions on non-apprenticeship related training. If we make the plausible assumption that businesses will take maximum advantage of that flexibility, the number of apprenticeships on offer could slump from about 350,000 to just 140,000, a 60% decrease.

Of particular concern is that the worst of the impact would be felt by our youngest workers at the very first stages of their careers. If we again assume the full 50% decrease in spending, the number of apprenticeships available to those under the age of 19 would crash to below 40,000. That would be a drop from 106,000 in 2017. I concede that the Government’s intended approach might make some degree of sense if a significant portion of the apprenticeship levy remained unspent and would otherwise be serving no useful purpose. However, this is simply not the case. A full 98% of the apprenticeship budget has been used up over the last two years. That funding has gone to support high-quality, career-boosting apprenticeships of the sort we have been discussing this morning. It is concerning that this commitment risks seeing apprenticeship funding diffuse out into lower value courses, or even seminars and programmes that employers would have offered anyway. That is clearly not in the best interests of our young people, and risks creating a cohort with markedly worse life chances than that which came before.

It may well be the case that the Government intend to have their cake and eat it. It would be possible to both allow firms the flexibility to spend 50% of their levy contributions elsewhere and to maintain the current number of apprenticeships, but that could only be achieved with additional Government spending. To maintain the number of apprenticeship starts at the current level—assuming the 50% flexibility on levy spending—the Government would be forced to invest an additional £1.5 billion of new funding.

I ask the Minister to provide clarity on the Government’s intentions. Will firms be given 50% discretion to divert funding away from apprenticeships, as was previously announced? If so, will the Government step in with fresh investment to maintain numbers or will they allow our dynamic apprenticeship system to wither? If Ministers intend to intercede, where will the £1.5 billion they need be found? I pose those important questions not to score political points, but because we derive enormous value in this country from the transformative effect of apprenticeships and want to see as many young people benefit from them as possible.

With one eye on the clock to ensure the Minister has sufficient time to respond, I will say a brief word on defence. As of November 2023, the Ministry of Defence was the largest single deliverer of apprenticeships in the UK, with over 22,000 personnel engaged on a nationally recognised apprenticeship programme at any one time. In addition, over 95% of our non-commissioned military recruits are offered an apprenticeship after their trade training. That includes schemes with focuses on digital, nuclear, analytics and much more. Apprenticeships are a thread that runs through our armed forces, the Ministry of Defence and those private sector organisations that support both. It is of great importance that in their rush to redefine the way apprenticeships are delivered in this country the Government do not deprive our armed forces of the much-needed talent and capacity that is now nurtured and developed through apprenticeship schemes.

I have left the Minister much to address, so will now end where I began, by congratulating the hon. Member for Peterborough on providing us with this valuable opportunity to express our support for, and commitment to, apprenticeships. I wish everyone participating from 10 February a successful National Apprenticeship Week.