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Health and Education

I thank and pay tribute to my hon. Friend the Member for Gateshead, East and Washington, West (Mrs. Hodgson) for raising the issue of free school meals. We saw an excellent system operating in Sweden, and I too urge the Government to take note of what is being delivered there and to think about setting up pilots here. I congratulate the Government on setting up the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills—evidence, if it were needed, of their looking to the future needs of the economy and putting our universities at the centre of the agenda, not only to foster innovation but to deliver skills that are needed for the future. I strongly support the measures in the Gracious Speech to support skills development, and I suppose that I am therefore speaking against the amendment. It is vital that we continue to upskill our population so that we can compete in the global economy, not at the bottom end of the market but at the top. The importance of concentrating on higher-level skills is demonstrated by even a quick glance at future skills requirements. As our Prime Minister has pointed out, we have 6 million unskilled workers today, but by 2020 we shall need only half a million such workers. The rising demand for skilled employees is the reason why we have to ensure that our young people leave school with skills and qualifications, and why we have to upskill our work force. In passing, I applaud the Government for their bold step of wishing to guarantee training or education for every young person up to the age of 18. It is important that we do not allow the Opposition, or sloppy journalism, to package the change as simply raising to 18 the age below which staying on school is compulsory. The policy is one of providing training, which will be made available in a range of settings to meet the needs and aspirations of the young person concerned. Of course, we have to pay attention to the quality of that training and ensure that it is implemented properly in a way that does not further alienate the young person. Lord Leitch set the agenda and outlined the rationale for improving skills to meet the needs of the individual as well as those of the economy. He showed that better skills lead to better-paid jobs and improved social mobility. It is therefore important that we consider the development of individuals and communities as well. I say to the hon. Member for East Antrim (Sammy Wilson) that the Government are not ducking the huge cultural change that needs to take place to ensure that education and qualifications are valued in all sections of our society. We know that that is a difficult task, and the Government are leading the discussions that say that there is no quick fix to the problem. It requires long-term investment and gradual change, including working with parents, young people, the wider community and employers to instil respect for education in all sectors of our society. Some of the measures being introduced, such as diplomas, apprenticeships and work-based training, will help to do that. Despite the huge challenges that undoubtedly exist, the Government have set their sights high. There is a commitment to become a world leader in skills by 2020, benchmarked against the upper quartile of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, which will mean 95 per cent. of adults achieving functional literacy and numeracy, and a shift in the balance of intermediate skills from level 2 to level 3. It will also mean, as many other hon. Members have said, boosting the number of apprenticeships to 500,000. In many constituencies such as mine, where there has been a tradition of heavy industry, the increased emphasis on apprenticeships and vocational-based subjects is very much welcome, as is the opportunity to move from an apprenticeship to an advanced apprenticeship, and then on to degree level. Such progression routes are extremely important if we are to deliver world-class training. ““Train to gain”” and learner accounts will, we hope, encourage employers and adult learners to improve their skills as well. The commission for employment and skills is also to be welcomed, not least because it will advise on necessary skills and give employers an important voice. Clearly, further education has an important role to play, but we must also look at what our higher education institutions are doing. There are some who think that universities should not be dragged into the murky world of skills for employment and should concentrate on education for its own sake. In reality they can, and do, do both. That will be increasingly important as we move towards the 50 per cent. target. It is important that we use our universities to develop in as many young people as possible the ideas, creativity and innovation needed if we are to compete successfully in a global market. Science is essential, but high-level skills in a range of sectors, including creative industries, art and design, are also important. The Government are raising their expectations of universities but they are also continuing to improve investment in them. The DIUS budget following the comprehensive spending review will rise 2.2 per cent. above inflation. I am stressing that point because the increased investment in universities is not always recognised by people who work within the sector, and sometimes not by those outside it. Additional money has certainly been given to universities so that they can reach out to the wider community and support knowledge transfer, so that constituencies such as mine can be ahead of the game in developing a knowledge-based economy for the future.