Contributions
1,309 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARD Children’s Wellbeing and Schools BillI apologise, Madam Deputy Speaker; indeed we are. In fairness to the hon. Lady, there is a connection, but it is important to say that we did not say no to a ban in 2024. We said…17 Mar 2025HANSARD Children’s Wellbeing and Schools BillAs ever, my right hon. Friend makes a compelling point. Madam Deputy Speaker, you will be pleased to know that I am coming to a close.17 Mar 2025HANSARD Children’s Wellbeing and Schools BillNo, it was not posturing then and it is not posturing now. We issued non-statutory guidance—17 Mar 2025HANSARD Children’s Wellbeing and Schools BillI think the hon. Lady was here for the first two or three minutes of my speech—that is broadly what I said. In fact, I quoted her talking about the transformational potential of…17 Mar 2025HANSARD Children’s Wellbeing and Schools BillMy right hon. Friend and near constituency neighbour makes a very important point, and I am sure she is running a very effective campaign. We look to the Government to come…17 Mar 2025HANSARDInstitute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education (Transfer of Functions etc) Bill [ Lords ] (First sitting)Yes, but the Bill does not do that, and if the hon. Member thinks it does, I am afraid he is mistaken. Some years ago, I used to sit on the Government Benches and was a Minister…13 Mar 2025HANSARDInstitute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education (Transfer of Functions etc) Bill [ Lords ] (First sitting)We are debating clauses 1 to 3 stand part and schedules 1 to 3. The Minister, in her opening remarks, talked a lot about the intention to create Skills England, how it will…13 Mar 2025HANSARDInstitute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education (Transfer of Functions etc) Bill [ Lords ] (First sitting)I have missed one!13 Mar 2025HANSARDInstitute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education (Transfer of Functions etc) Bill [ Lords ] (First sitting)I am very grateful; who knows where this conversation might take us? Last time I looked, 1563 was not in the past five decades. The hon. Lady says that every generation should try…13 Mar 2025HANSARDInstitute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education (Transfer of Functions etc) Bill [ Lords ] (First sitting)I have not forgotten another one, have I?13 Mar 2025HANSARDInstitute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education (Transfer of Functions etc) Bill [ Lords ] (First sitting)I had probably better go on a little, but I would love to hear from the hon. Gentleman. I promise that the Committee will have a chance so to do. Unsurprisingly, that panel found…13 Mar 2025HANSARDInstitute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education (Transfer of Functions etc) Bill [ Lords ] (First sitting)My hon. Friend is right. If we take the full etymology, we can go back a lot further, to the creation of guilds centuries ago, which evolved into the modern system.13 Mar 2025HANSARDInstitute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education (Transfer of Functions etc) Bill [ Lords ] (First sitting)I do. Funnily enough, my hon. Friend anticipates my next paragraph. Any Government rightly want more young people to pass their GCSEs, get good A-levels, or start and complete…13 Mar 2025HANSARDInstitute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education (Transfer of Functions etc) Bill [ Lords ] (Second sitting)It would be difficult to overstate the centrality of employer involvement in setting standards for technical and vocational qualifications. Earlier I mentioned Lord Sainsbury’s…13 Mar 2025HANSARDInstitute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education (Transfer of Functions etc) Bill [ Lords ] (Second sitting)Why not just do that now? How hard is it to figure out the list of criteria that might weigh on the Secretary of State’s mind? Why must we have a statement about a future…13 Mar 2025HANSARDInstitute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education (Transfer of Functions etc) Bill [ Lords ] (Second sitting)I may or may not.13 Mar 2025HANSARDInstitute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education (Transfer of Functions etc) Bill [ Lords ] (Second sitting)Even for highly regulated occupations and professions, there is still the question of how to transpose that into a set of standards for, say, an apprenticeship. The question then…13 Mar 2025HANSARDInstitute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education (Transfer of Functions etc) Bill [ Lords ] (Second sitting)Unsurprisingly, my hon. Friend makes a very good point. More generally, in legislation one obviously tries to make language as tight as possible, but subtleties in language and…13 Mar 2025HANSARDInstitute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education (Transfer of Functions etc) Bill [ Lords ] (Second sitting)If there is a blanket ban on Ofqual regulating technical qualifications, can the Minister explain why there is a page on gov.uk—unless someone has hacked it—entitled “Information…13 Mar 2025HANSARDInstitute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education (Transfer of Functions etc) Bill [ Lords ] (Second sitting)Clauses 7 and 8 are grouped, and I am sure there is a reason for that, but it strikes me that they are quite different, and I want to say a word about both. Clause 7 is about…13 Mar 2025