Contributions
1,317 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDSkills and Post-16 Education Bill [ Lords ] (Third sitting)I am grateful to my hon. Friend for raising this important point, because it is, quite frankly, flabbergasting that in a skills Bill there is very little mention—in fact, almost…02 Dec 2021HANSARDSkills and Post-16 Education Bill [ Lords ] (Third sitting)It is a pleasure to serve again under your chairmanship, Mr Efford. I rise to support the Opposition amendment—a modest amendment that simply asks for a review of the…02 Dec 2021HANSARDSkills and Post-16 Education Bill [ Lords ] (Third sitting)I know how to warm up a Committee. It was also the year that 16-year-old Andrew Gwynne left Egerton Park High School in Denton with a clutch of good GCSEs, but I did not know what…02 Dec 2021HANSARDSkills and Post-16 Education Bill [ Lords ] (Fourth sitting)We really do not need to get drawn into the merits of T-levels against BTECs—that is a false choice. For many young people in particular in this country, BTECs are their route…02 Dec 2021HANSARDSkills and Post-16 Education Bill [ Lords ] (Fourth sitting)We have heard enough from the hon. Lady. If she has nothing positive to add, I will not give way to her.02 Dec 2021HANSARDSkills and Post-16 Education Bill [ Lords ] (Fourth sitting)I support the amendments because, as I alluded to earlier, I feel passionately about the role that BTECs can play. The way in which the Government have handled the whole…02 Dec 2021HANSARDSkills and Post-16 Education Bill [ Lords ] (Fourth sitting)I find that quite offensive—to suggest that Opposition Members have been lobbied by Pearson to support a qualification. It was not always Pearson’s. The hon. Lady talked about a…02 Dec 2021HANSARDSkills and Post-16 Education Bill [ Lords ] (Fourth sitting)I am not giving way to the hon. Lady, because I am still answering her. I have BTEC qualifications at levels 3, 4 and 5. I am proud to have gone through the BTEC route, and I want…02 Dec 2021HANSARDSkills and Post-16 Education Bill [ Lords ] (Fourth sitting)The hon. Lady can shake her head, but I invite her to Ashton Sixth Form College and Stockport College, and she can get into the real world.02 Dec 2021HANSARDSkills and Post-16 Education Bill [ Lords ] (Fourth sitting)My hon. Friend is absolutely right that BTEC is not a brand.02 Dec 2021HANSARDSkills and Post-16 Education Bill [ Lords ] (Fourth sitting)No, and I said clearly that that is not the intention of Ministers, but it is already happening de facto on the ground. Although colleges do not need to consider whether someone…02 Dec 2021HANSARDSkills and Post-16 Education Bill [ Lords ] (Fourth sitting)My hon. Friend is absolutely right. I believe that just one university in the whole of the United Kingdom does not accept BTEC qualifications, and it is not Oxford or…02 Dec 2021HANSARDSkills and Post-16 Education Bill [ Lords ] (Fourth sitting)I can see what my hon. Friend did there. For once, I agree not only with my hon. Friend—I always agree with him—but with the noble Lord Howard. Of course, he did not need to be…02 Dec 2021HANSARDSkills and Post-16 Education Bill [ Lords ] (Fourth sitting)My hon. Friend is absolutely right. I was going to come on to the Labour support in the House of Lords for the amendments. It is absolutely right that, when it comes to replanning…02 Dec 2021HANSARDSkills and Post-16 Education Bill [ Lords ] (Fourth sitting)I rise to support the Opposition’s quest to retain their lordships’ amendments to the Bill. As my hon. Friend the Member for Chesterfield said, the amendments are common sense. As…02 Dec 2021HANSARDSkills and Post-16 Education Bill [ Lords ] (Fourth sitting)My hon. Friend is touching on something that is important, but often overlooked about BTECs. Yes, they can be done as full-time qualifications, but many people do them on day…02 Dec 2021HANSARDSkills and Post-16 Education Bill [ Lords ] (Fourth sitting)My hon. Friend is absolutely right. That is why it is sensible to have a mechanism to assess these things properly, impartially and in the round and present that information to…02 Dec 2021HANSARDSkills and Post-16 Education Bill [ Lords ] (Fourth sitting)I fully agree with the intentions, and I have just said as much. From speaking to colleges that serve my constituency, the reality is that, although they want to, they will not be…02 Dec 2021HANSARDSkills and Post-16 Education Bill [ Lords ] (Fourth sitting)I will accept the half-hearted withdrawal from the hon. Lady if she says that she now accepts that we have not been lobbied by Pearson in the way that she implied. She makes the…02 Dec 2021HANSARDSkills and Post-16 Education Bill [ Lords ] (Fourth sitting)I agree with my hon. Friend. That is what I said in answer to the hon. Lady when she made the assertion. I will happily give way to her if she will withdraw those remarks.02 Dec 2021