Breaking Down Barriers to Opportunity

Wendy Morton Excerpts

Wednesday 8th November 2023 Commons Chamber

[Wendy Morton (Aldridge-Brownhills) (Con)]

I thank His Majesty King Charles III for delivering the Gracious Speech yesterday, as others across the House have done.

I make my contribution as the Member of Parliament for Aldridge-Brownhills, a patchwork of communities, each with its own identity and a uniqueness to be recognised and celebrated, echoing the industrial spirit of our past while looking to the challenges and opportunities of the future. It is this theme of opportunity that I want to focus on, starting with houses and homes.

It is well known in this place and beyond that, together with the Mayor of the West Midlands, Andy Street, I am a passionate advocate of a brownfield-first approach to developing new homes. In doing so, we can be that truly regeneration generation, building new homes and protecting our precious green belt and green spaces, for which I will keep advocating. I welcome measures in the King’s Speech to regenerate our town centres. By regenerating, reusing and recycling existing brownfield town centres and empty high street properties, we can adopt a circular-economy approach to housing. It can be a win-win.

Good regeneration is also helpful—in fact, vital—in protecting our green belts, which are critical to preventing urban sprawl. That is why they were created back in 1935, and they must continue to be protected to prevent areas such as those I represent from becoming subsumed into the suburbs of a greater Birmingham. Yes, I would have liked more mention of planning in the King’s Speech, building on the previous Session’s Levelling-up and Regeneration Act. It is about time we stopped using the green belt as a scapegoat for our country’s housing shortage.

Housing and homes are about not just building new homes but making the most of what we have and developing a mix of housing. That brings me back to my point on regeneration, but it also brings me on to another housing matter, which I am pleased to see come forward at last. That is leasehold reform. I must declare an interest as a leaseholder, as I am sure many other Members are, but I raise it because, far from its being an issue that affects only our cities, leasehold affects constituencies across the country, including my own. The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities estimates that there are around 4.98 million leasehold homes in England. That is a lot of homes.

It has become apparent in recent years—and in my inbox—that a raft of problems can affect leaseholders. [Interruption.] I see the Housing Minister, my hon. Friend the Member for Redditch (Rachel Maclean), nodding in agreement. Examples include extortionate service charges and the complexity of extending lease agreements and marriage values. That causes stress and uncertainty for leaseholders and barriers for buyers, and it is time we sorted it out. A report from the Law Commission has been sitting in DLUHC for some time, so I gently say to the Minister, “Can you get a move on with this, please, in the remaining time in this Parliament?”

A lack of transport can be a barrier to opportunity. Access to a good local train station will be transformative for communities such as mine in Aldridge-Brownhills. Stations can help to reconnect small communities, regenerate local economies and improve access to opportunity—to jobs, homes and education. There are currently only eight places with a population of 30,000 or more without an operational railway station situated within 5 km. Aldridge is one of them. I urge the Government to push ahead with the next stage of this important project and to work with me and Mayor Andy Street to deliver a train station in Aldridge as part of Network North. We are making progress, so let us continue to do that. My constituents deserve to share the benefits of greater connectivity.

Transport, housing, a safe community—all that matters, but so do skills to take advantage of job opportunities. I welcome the Government’s determination to strengthen education for the long term, and invest in skills and education both for the future and for today. Right now, the UK has 1.1 million job vacancies, yet there are still people seeking work. We have to ask why. It could be partially explained by the misfortune of having a deficit of highly skilled people to take those jobs. The skills shortage is set to cost our country £120 billion by 2030 due to a shortfall of 2.5 million highly skilled workers. That should not be the case. The UK is a renowned global leader in academic excellence in education, so why are we suffering from a shortage of highly skilled workers when we should be a high-skill, high-wage economy?

Maybe we are not investing enough in the right skills in the right areas. There is a mismatch between skills and industry that we need to address urgently. I know, from speaking to local businesses in my constituency, that there are vacancies for technicians, mechanics and toolmakers. Across the Black Country and the broader west midlands, manufacturing jobs are available, but there is a deficit of skilled people to take up those positions.

I am pleased to hear that the Government are focusing on that and in particular on apprenticeships and technical qualifications to ensure, most importantly, that our young people have choices and that they understand what those choices are. I am very fortunate to have in my constituency a company called In-Comm, which is one of the UK’s leading training providers, delivering engineering skills, apprenticeships, training and upskilling. The Minister with responsibility for apprentices is on the Government Front Bench. Maybe he would like to come along and visit, and see the amazing work that it does with businesses and young people.

I turn to the topic of safer communities, which was also a theme and focus in the King’s Speech. Safer communities are stronger communities and crime, sadly, is a scourge on our society. In recent years it has become all too prevalent in too many of our communities. Office for National Statistics data shows that in 2022-23 across the west midlands we recorded the highest rate of offences across England and Wales, with 178 knife crimes per 100,000 of population. That equates to a staggering average of 5,197 knife crime offences per year. But those are not just numbers, are they? Behind every number is a story—a family, a loved one, friends, colleagues, a community.

In my constituency, James Brindley fell victim to an unprovoked fatal stabbing in 2017 as he walked home from a night out. The James Brindley Foundation has a campaign to bring about positive social change and reduce youth violence. We urgently need the legislation now to deliver the promised ban on machetes and zombie-style knives, and for the police to have the powers to seize and destroy any weapon they find. That is something that I have campaigned for. Our local newspaper, the Express & Star, is also actively campaigning on that. Good work is going on locally, and it is connected to breaking down barriers to opportunity, but we need legislation now. I hope that measures will be included in the criminal justice Bill. Perhaps someone on the Government Front Bench will be able to confirm whether that is the case.

Local policing also matters when it comes to opportunity. [Interruption.] I am keeping an eye on the clock, Madam Deputy Speaker. I will get my skates on. I just want to touch on policing, bobbies and buildings, which are at the heart of our communities. We need safer communities to remove barriers to opportunity. That is why I am disappointed that our police and crime commissioner is pushing ahead with sweeping cuts to 30 police stations across the west midlands, including in Aldridge. That is a reckless choice from someone who is saving Quinton while sacrificing Aldridge. [Interruption.] I can hear people chattering, and I have said that I will bring my speech to a conclusion.

We need long-term decisions for the future, not short change for the short term. I urge Ministers to work with me and Andy Street, who knows the west midlands better than anybody when it comes to breaking down barriers of opportunity. I will continue to press the Government to do more for my constituents and to continue delivering opportunities for the people, businesses and organisations I represent.

[Several hon. Members rose—]

Oral Answers to Questions

Wendy Morton Excerpts

Monday 6th November 2017 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

Order. I do not know why the hon. Member for Cardiff West (Kevin Brennan) is hollering from a sedentary position. I always had him down as an academic, indeed a rather cerebral fellow, who is capable of somewhat statesmanlike behaviour, from which he seems to be departing this afternoon—not to be repeated.

[Wendy Morton (Aldridge-Brownhills) (Con)]

Ryders Hayes Primary School in my constituency recently opened a new teacher training facility—it is in a fantastic wood cabin. What are Ministers doing to promote teacher training opportunities and to encourage more participation?

[The Minister for School Standards (Nick Gibb)]

I congratulate the school in my hon. Friend’s constituency. More than half of teachers are trained through school-led systems, which means that schools have more control over the quality of the training that their teachers receive, and that schools can look for graduates and undergraduates to join their staff in the most effective way.

Higher Education (England) Regulations

Wendy Morton Excerpts

Wednesday 13th September 2017 Commons Chamber

[Angela Rayner (Ashton-under-Lyne) (Lab)]

I beg to move,

That the Higher Education (Higher Amount) (England) Regulations 2016 (S.I., 2016, No. 1206) and the Higher Education (Basic Amount) (England) Regulations 2016 (S.I., 2016, No. 1205), both dated 13 December 2016, copies of which were laid before this House on 15 December 2016, in the last Session of Parliament, be revoked.

It has taken a long time to get to today’s debate. The Government first snuck out this fee rise in a written statement on the last day before the summer recess, and they tabled the regulations we are debating the day before the Christmas recess. The Opposition tabled a prayer against the regulations on the first sitting day after that, but it took some time until the Government eventually allowed a vote, which was scheduled for 18 April—only for the Prime Minister to dissolve Parliament before that vote could even be held. It was almost as if the Government did not want to discuss their plans to raise tuition fees again during an election. And judging by the way young people voted in that general election, we can see why. Perhaps it is not surprising that the Government have been even more desperate to avoid votes in this House since the election result.

Let me remind Ministers of what the then Leader of the House, now the Justice Secretary, said from the Dispatch Box when he granted us a vote:

“The Government have delivered on the convention, and slots have been provided for debates on the prayers against the statutory instruments concerning tuition fees and the personal independence payment. The Opposition will get their opportunity to debate those after the recess. The Government will act, as all Governments do, on the basis of what Parliament decides.”—[Official Report, 30 March 2017; Vol. 624, c. 409.]

That was a commitment made by a Minister to this House. Perhaps the Ministers here today can tell us why they are breaking it—because, of course, we were not given those debates. We had to secure an emergency debate on the regulations, and even then the Minister refused to allow a vote. In fact, Mr Speaker, it was during that debate that you yourself had to intervene and tell the House:

“I had thought there was an expectation of a debate and a vote, and that the Opposition had done what was necessary”.—[Official Report, 19 July 2017; Vol. 627, c. 895.]

But eventually we have had to provide Opposition time on an Opposition motion that we are voting on today.

Today’s discussion goes beyond policy choices on tuition fees, although that is extremely important: it goes to the role of this House and our democracy. We have heard a lot about parliamentary sovereignty from Conservative Members, and we have heard a lot from Ministers about how they can be trusted with delegated powers such as those in the European Union (Withdrawal) Bill. Unfortunately, the Ministers here today have shown by their behaviour that they will now go to unprecedented lengths to deny this House a vote on a serious legislative decision made using delegated powers. Frankly, their attitude would put Sir Humphrey to shame. They refused a vote on annulment within 40 days, despite the clear convention that we were entitled to one. They then provided a vote, only to dissolve Parliament before it could even be held. Then, after the election, they delayed even longer, and when we called a debate they said it was too late.

[Wendy Morton (Aldridge-Brownhills) (Con)]

Is the shadow Secretary of State suggesting that the reason we had an election was to stop this measure?

[Angela Rayner]

I hope that the hon. Lady notes that after having to bring this Government to the House to discuss this really important issue time and again, we have had to do this in Opposition time. I hope that Conservative Members who promised the electorate that they were against rises in tuition fees will take that on board today and support the Opposition’s motion.

Ministers seem to have found a parliamentary Catch-22 which, in effect, makes it impossible for this House to have a say on regulations like these if they decide that they do not want to grant one. They refuse a vote within the time limit, and then afterwards say that the deadline has passed. Even more incredibly, they seem to be suggesting that they would simply ignore this House if we voted the wrong way on today’s motion—that is, of course, if they allow us even to have a vote. In the space of this week they have gone from Henry VIII to King Charles I. Let me be clear that so far as we are concerned, it is unthinkable that this House would pass a substantive motion and that the Government would refuse to honour it.

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[Wendy Morton (Aldridge-Brownhills) (Con)]

I welcome the opportunity to speak in the debate. It is a pleasure to follow the hon. Member for Kingston upon Hull West and Hessle (Emma Hardy). It was also a pleasure to have been in the Chamber to listen to the maiden speech of a fellow west midlands MP, the hon. Member for Birmingham, Edgbaston (Preet Kaur Gill). She gave an absolutely delightful maiden speech setting out some of her family values and her community values, which are shared by so many of us across the House. I do not know whether I am supposed to say this of someone from the Opposition Benches, Madam Deputy Speaker, but I wish her well in her parliamentary career.

I would imagine that many Members in the Chamber went to university. Some will have paid their own fees, which were introduced by Labour in 1998. Some will not have paid fees, because they are a little bit older and a different system was in place. Some will have been educated in Scotland. There will be others who, like me, did not go to university. At 18, I chose to go straight into the workplace and to study later. I went to the institution that the hon. Member for Blackpool South (Gordon Marsden) knows very well, the Open University. As he will know, students at the Open University pay as they go along. I was paying and working throughout taking that education route. In the end—it may have taken me some time—I did get my master’s degree.

I passionately believe in choice in education, whether university, technical or apprenticeships. The Government have an excellent track record on apprenticeships. In my constituency, there is an excellent apprenticeship provider, In-Comm training, which is at the heart of developing the skills required not just for today’s employers, but for those in the future. The point is about choice and providing a fair deal for students whichever route they choose, while at the same time ensuring our universities are properly and sustainably financed. It is about funding. Whatever the choice, it has to be paid for, either by the individual or the Government, or by a combination of the two. What really matters is that the education system is accessible.

The student funding system removes financial barriers for anyone hoping to study. It is backed by the taxpayer, and, as we know, any outstanding debt is paid off after 30 years. To those on the Opposition Benches who say that increases in tuition fees will reduce access to university for young people from disadvantaged backgrounds, we have heard today that the figures do not bear that out. Recent figures show that in the academic year 2016-17 the entry rate for 18-year-olds from disadvantaged backgrounds is at a record high: 19.5% in 2016 compared to 13.6% in 2009.

I appreciate, Madam Deputy Speaker, that I do not have many minutes left in which to speak. That is the disadvantage of speaking towards the end of a debate of this nature.

I struggle with the definition of a disadvantaged background. The figures bear out that one can come from a disadvantaged background and still receive a good education, increasingly so through the university route. At the heart of that is choice and availability of places. Whatever the educational route, the education system is about merit, not background. It should be a system that is based on hard work and aspiration, and I believe the Conservative party is the party of aspiration and hard work.

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[Joseph Johnson]

We are determined to secure good value for money for students and taxpayers who are investing in the system. That has been at the heart of our reforms. As the hon. Gentleman knows from being a dedicated member of Committees that have scrutinised our reforms in various ways, we are securing the value for money that will ensure that students and taxpayers feel the system is delivering for them and for their needs.

The sector has made it clear that an inflation-linked fee cap is essential for our universities to maintain and improve on their current high standards and to prosper in the long term. Gordon McKenzie, the chief executive of GuildHE, made that clear recently when he said that

“fees had to rise by inflation at some point and it was fairer for students if those rises were linked to an assessment of quality.”

The Government’s policy is that fee caps should be linked to the quality of teaching, as we are doing in these regulations, and it is counter to Government policy for fee caps to rise in any other circumstances.

[Wendy Morton]

As the Minister will be aware, the OECD has said that the UK is

“one of the very few countries that has figured out a sustainable approach to higher education financing”.

Does he agree that Labour’s approach risks undermining that sustainability?

[Joseph Johnson]

Yes, I certainly do. To see that, we only need see what the OECD said yesterday in its latest report on global education systems. Andreas Schleicher, its eminent director, once again gave a ringing endorsement of the sustainability of our higher education system and pointed out that the way we have been successful in sharing the costs of funding the system between individual students and the general taxpayer has enabled us to meet rising demand for higher education and to lift the student number controls, which have been holding back young people from disadvantaged backgrounds for so long.

Oral Answers to Questions

Wendy Morton Excerpts

Monday 11th September 2017 Commons Chamber

[Justine Greening]

One of the things that we have pushed in England through the apprenticeship levy is to ensure that large firms will be able to pass some of that levy down to smaller firms for them to use. It is critical that we reach our target of getting 3 million apprentices by 2020. This is about having a strong economy, producing strong opportunities and ensuring that SMEs can help to connect young people with apprenticeships.

[Wendy Morton (Aldridge-Brownhills) (Con)]

T2. As the Secretary of State is aware, apprentices and technical education are an important part of our educational offering, and I am fortunate in my constituency to have an excellent-rated apprenticeship provider called In-Comm. What more are the Government doing to increase the number of high-quality apprenticeships for young people?

[The Minister of State, Department for Education (Anne Milton)]

As my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State said, we have introduced the levy, which is an important part of encouraging sustained employer investment in high-quality apprenticeships. The Institute for Apprenticeships, which was set up in April, has developed standards to replace frameworks, ensuring consistency of achievement, and we have enshrined the term “apprenticeship” in legislation, which is important for raising their prestige. My hon. Friend is absolutely right to praise the work done in her constituency; I recently visited an employer that has 54 apprentices on the go at any one time.

Free Childcare Entitlement

Wendy Morton Excerpts

Wednesday 6th September 2017 Commons Chamber

[Mr Goodwill]

When we selected the areas for the early roll-out pilots, we were careful to select places that were representative of different parts of the country. For example, York would have many parallels with Oxford. Indeed, 100% of providers delivered that childcare in York and 100% of families looking for childcare got it. I would be more than happy to visit Oxford and see the successful policy being delivered for parents who need it so much.

[Wendy Morton (Aldridge-Brownhills) (Con)]

I welcome the Government’s extra investment in childcare. The availability and accessibility of good childcare can make a huge difference to working families. Does the Minister think that the introduction of 30 hours of free childcare will have a positive and direct impact on the finances of working families?

[Mr Goodwill]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. Evidence from the pilot areas demonstrates that almost a quarter of women and 10% of men are able to take more hours at work. Indeed, the policy has been transformational in some people’s lives. I heard a story the other day of a family who, during the working week, only really met in the car park of the factory where they work shifts. As the husband arrived with the child strapped into the back of the car, the mother got back in the car and drove home, so they were not able to enjoy time together. The delivery of 30 hours’ free childcare will mean that they will be able to enjoy a better family life. The policy will address the situation of people passing in the hallway as one person comes in from work and another goes out.

Oral Answers to Questions

Wendy Morton Excerpts

Monday 19th December 2016 Commons Chamber

[Caroline Dinenage]

Yes. The pupil premium, which we introduced, will continue and will continue to go to the most vulnerable children.

[Wendy Morton (Aldridge-Brownhills) (Con)]

2. What steps the Government are taking to improve the number of available places in good and outstanding schools.

[The Secretary of State for Education (Justine Greening)]

We are committed to making sure that as many children as possible have a good place at school. The latest Ofsted annual report clearly shows that standards have risen compared with 2010, with almost 1.8 million more pupils now taught in good or outstanding schools. Proposals on additional measures to increase the supply of good new school places are set out in the “Schools that work for everyone” consultation.

[Wendy Morton]

I welcome that very encouraging reply from the Secretary of State. One issue raised with me by constituents and school governors is securing school places for siblings so that brothers and sisters can attend the same school. Will my right hon. Friend look at that as part of her plans to improve the number of places available?

[Justine Greening]

Any changes to the overall operation of the code would of course be scrutinised by this House. My hon. Friend will probably be aware that admissions authorities are responsible for setting their own admissions arrangements, but the code already allows them to prioritise siblings, and some admissions authorities already choose to do so.

Oral Answers to Questions

Wendy Morton Excerpts

Monday 14th November 2016 Commons Chamber

[Wendy Morton (Aldridge-Brownhills) (Con)]

15. As the Minister is aware, developing skills through apprenticeships is key for today and for the future, and across my constituency businesses such as JC Payne are playing their part in creating apprenticeships. Will he reassure me, though, that, as we move forward and develop more apprenticeships, this will not just be about quantity but about quality?

[Robert Halfon]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right: this is about quantity as well as quality. We made it a requirement that all apprentices have to be employed and have to do a certain amount of training. We tightened the definition of apprenticeships in law to ensure they are real apprenticeships. We are creating the new Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education, and we are moving from frameworks to standards to improve apprentices’ qualifications. Everything we do—in addition to the 3 million apprentices and the 619,000 apprentice starts since May—aims to drive up quality as well as quantity.

Oral Answers to Questions

Wendy Morton Excerpts

Tuesday 28th June 2016 Commons Chamber

[Nick Boles]

I congratulate the hon. Gentleman on being one of the few people to resist the temptation to resign in the past 48 hours. He and the shadow Home Secretary, the right hon. Member for Leigh (Andy Burnham), will go down in the history books as brave champions of modern opposition.

I am delighted that the hon. Gentleman is an avid reader of FE Week; it is an interesting publication. He will know that traineeships are not only about pre-apprenticeship programmes. The whole point of traineeships is to take people into apprenticeships, jobs or further training—whatever is best for them—and he would seek to narrow this programme, the great strength of which is its versatility.

[Wendy Morton (Aldridge-Brownhills) (Con)]

8. What steps he is taking to address skills shortages in the workforce.

[The Minister for Skills (Nick Boles)]

As has been often discussed, we are introducing an apprenticeship levy, which will have two main outcomes. First, we will dramatically increase spending on apprenticeships. It will also require large employers either to invest in apprenticeships or to see their money used by someone else.

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[Byron Davies (Gower) (Con)]

12. What steps he is taking to address skills shortages in the workforce.

[Wendy Morton]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for his answer. He will be very aware, as I am, that certain employers have said that they are not happy with the apprenticeship levy and have asked the Government to rethink, but does he agree that the levy is the best way to ensure that businesses invest in their employees’ skills and for the Government to put apprenticeship funding on a sustainable footing?

[Nick Boles]

Forgive me, Mr Speaker; we are all somewhat discombobulated at the moment. I should have mentioned that I am seeking to group this question with a later one.

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. What we are trying to design with the apprenticeship levy is actually something of an innovation in government: it is a new tax, but the companies that pay the tax will be able to spend it on training that directly benefits them, so it creates a huge incentive for those employers who pay the levy to get maximum benefit from it by creating more apprenticeships, and I believe that it will have a powerful impact in her constituency.

“Educational Excellence Everywhere”: Academies

Wendy Morton Excerpts

Monday 9th May 2016 Commons Chamber

[Nicky Morgan]

I have lots of conversations all the time, but one thing I was being asked for before the publication of the White Paper was a very clear statement about where we were going and whether we wanted schools to become academies. That is exactly what the White Paper offers.

[Wendy Morton (Aldridge-Brownhills) (Con)]

I, too, thank the Minister for her statement and for listening not only to Back Benchers and Members on both sides of the Chamber, but to teachers. I sense that they have concerns, but that they are willing to work with us. Will she assure me that, throughout the process, she will continue to focus on raising standards and raising aspirations, which are really at the heart of this?

[Nicky Morgan]

I thank my hon. Friend very much for her comments. She is absolutely right to say that high aspirations and raising standards must be at the heart of our education policy. Education is the greatest investment that we can make in the future of our country, and it has to be about making sure that all our young people fulfil their potential and are set up for the world of work. We will absolutely keep that as the focus of all our reforms.

Oral Answers to Questions

Wendy Morton Excerpts

Tuesday 3rd May 2016 Commons Chamber

[Sajid Javid]

We are working with the Labour First Minister and his Government. Both Governments understand just how important this is, and I think it is also important for us to continue to work together. As for the question of timing, I believe, as I said earlier, that Tata is sincere in its commitment to a reasonable time frame and a reasonable process. I have no reason to think that that will not be the case. Tata continues to show flexibility, and I hope that things stay that way.

[Wendy Morton (Aldridge-Brownhills) (Con)]

9. What steps his Department is taking to support people who want to start their own businesses.

[The Minister for Small Business, Industry and Enterprise (Anna Soubry)]

We have a growing and healthy economy, which is good for all business, but which, in particular, encourages people who want to start up their own businesses. We are looking at ways in which we can improve, for example, practices for self-employed people, which is also very helpful. Our start-up loans scheme has provided more than 37,000 loans worth over £210 million.

[Wendy Morton]

In my constituency, the number of registered businesses increased by about 10% between 2014 and 2015. As I am sure my right hon. Friend will agree, that is very welcome. I recently visited Streetly Vets, a new business that has been set up by two sisters in my constituency. Does my right hon. Friend agree, however, that the first few years of being in business can be some of the most challenging, and will she assure me that the Government are doing all that they can to support new and small businesses?

[Anna Soubry]

I absolutely agree with my hon. Friend that it is the first few years that are the trickiest. If you can jump that hurdle, you can achieve almost anything; you can certainly make sure that your business will grow. I have explained about the start-up loans that we do, but the other great achievement of this Government in the past 12 months is our work on cutting business rates. This has been the biggest ever cut in business rates, reducing the burden by £6.7 billion, which will benefit 900,000 smaller properties. That is very good news, especially for small businesses.