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HANSARDCollege FundingMy hon. Friend makes the point very powerfully. As I said, I see the divide in my own city. She is absolutely right.21 Jan 2019HANSARDCollege FundingCharacteristically, I completely agree with my right hon. Friend. Of course, he has been campaigning on these issues very powerfully; I just hope that people are listening. Let me…21 Jan 2019HANSARDCollege FundingMy hon. Friend and near neighbour is absolutely right, and that is a key issue for the east of England, which is often seen as a prosperous and successful region, but its skills…21 Jan 2019HANSARDCollege FundingMy hon. Friend is absolutely right. That issue is almost worthy of a whole debate in itself, but the problem is not just the removal of the education maintenance allowance, of…21 Jan 2019HANSARDCollege FundingI am grateful to my hon. Friend. I suspect that we may be going on a regional tour of colleges over the next 25 minutes or so. The picture that my hon. Friend paints is familiar…21 Jan 2019HANSARDCollege FundingI am grateful to my hon. Friend. I shall develop a very similar case in a moment, but I suspect that it goes wider than Government, because I suspect that the Minister and most…21 Jan 2019HANSARDCollege FundingAh, my hon. Friend is going to interrupt at the “but”— very good. Yes, I am happy to give way.21 Jan 2019HANSARDCollege FundingI very much agree. I also applaud my hon. Friend’s enthusiasm, which is the enthusiasm that can be seen in colleges. However, there is also that slight sense of shame when one…21 Jan 2019HANSARDCollege FundingI beg to move, That this House has considered e-petition 229744 relating to college funding. I am moving the motion on behalf of the Petitions Committee. It is a pleasure to serve…21 Jan 2019HANSARDCollege FundingI see my right hon. Friend ready to make some strong points.21 Jan 2019HANSARDCollege FundingThe hon. Gentleman is absolutely right. Only a few days ago we were discussing that in the east of England all-party parliamentary group. Would it not be wonderful if we could…21 Jan 2019HANSARDCollege FundingIndeed it is, but this place is full of ironies on a daily basis, is it not? Yolanda Botham said that for her college “that £200,000 extra a year could really make an important…21 Jan 2019HANSARDCollege FundingMy hon. Friend is absolutely right. That is a message we hear in both colleges and universities: the demands on them are rising. If, at the same time, they have to cut back to…21 Jan 2019HANSARDCollege FundingI am grateful to my hon. Friend for raising that. I was not aware of that, but I must say that recruitment is a continual problem in high-cost areas such as mine. Given the levels…21 Jan 2019HANSARDCollege FundingMy hon. Friend raises some important points. I guess it will be for the Minister to respond. In a sector that has seen constant change and churn over many years, there is…21 Jan 2019HANSARDCollege FundingMy hon. Friend is right and sadly there is a familiar story of not only redundancies, but insecure contracts. The level of morale is really challenging for so many staff. Unison’s…21 Jan 2019HANSARDCollege FundingAs always, my hon. Friend makes an excellent point. It is very difficult for people working in the sector to plan ahead. With years of area reviews, and all the rest of it, it has…21 Jan 2019HANSARDCollege FundingI could not agree more with the hon. Lady, and I will come to that point in my speech. I want to turn to some of the effects of this underfunding, which is significant and has…21 Jan 2019HANSARDCollege FundingStrangely enough, I will come on to staffing issues in a moment. I suggest that the hon. Lady addresses those points to her colleagues on the Government Benches, because they are…21 Jan 2019HANSARDCollege FundingMy hon. Friend makes a very powerful point. When many of us go into institutions and ask, “What could you have done and what would the difference have been, had you had these…21 Jan 2019