Oral Answers to Questions

Sarah Owen Excerpts

Monday 4th July 2022 Commons Chamber

[Alex Burghart]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. Local skills improvement plans, drawn up by employer representative bodies, will start to bring about that collaboration. There are already excellent training options for aspiring heat pump installers, such as the level 3 heat pump engineering technician apprenticeship or the T-level in building services engineering for construction—both of which are backed by Government funding.

[Sarah Owen (Luton North) (Lab)]

The fantastic Luton Sixth Form College in my constituency is successfully offering BTECs for biomedical science. What is the Department doing to promote that qualification with universities, medical colleges and employers, so that more BTEC students can become the much-needed doctors that we need them to be?

[Alex Burghart]

I thank the hon. Lady for her question. As she will know, we are currently reviewing level 3 qualifications. The overlap list was published a couple of months ago, and we will be responding to it in the new year. We are going through technical qualifications at the moment to make sure they provide students both with a route into work and with experience while they are studying for their qualification. That is what T-levels are all about.

--- Later in debate ---

[Nadhim Zahawi]

Yes I do. The more runways that we can build from which people’s careers can take off, the better.

[Sarah Owen (Luton North) (Lab)]

T9. I am sure that I am not alone in hearing worrying reports of faith-based bullying and sexual harassment in schools. If this week has taught us anything, it is that we need to lead by example. Will the Secretary of State tell us when the Department for Education’s own bullying and harassment policies were last reviewed and updated?