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Mr. Wicks: The hon. Gentleman makes a good point about professionals and where they will come from.
We must not inadvertently poach good professionals from, for example, social services. I assure the House that we are considering the issue cross-departmentally because we are aware of the danger.
Mr. Allan: I am grateful to the Minister.
I mentioned peripatetic youth workers and said that they could not be in two places at once, but they probably could--that is the definition of "peripatetic". I have seen the good work that they do with the group in question.
I am glad that the Minister has in mind joined-up government in this area. I know that some of those youth workers are funded under Home Office programmes for crime prevention purposes and do good work; some are funded by social services, education departments and local authorities. They almost always work with the same client group as the ConneXions people, and we want to make sure that they all work in a co-ordinated way; otherwise, there will be confusion among that client group and money will be wasted. [Interruption.] The Minister says that that is the reason for the name "ConneXions". We hope that the reality is as good as the Government's sloganeering.
We have concerns about the inspectorate. Some of the issues have already been raised. We are particularly concerned about a double inspection regime. We Liberal Democrats are not the biggest fans of Ofsted, and possibilities in the Bill for the expansion of its role are worrying. Ofsted may move into the FE sector in ways that may be inappropriate. We are also concerned about area-based inspections for the LSCs. We want to know what the areas will be and who will carry out those inspections.
We tried in another place to clarify the roles of the adult learning inspectorate and Ofsted, to avoid duplication of effort. We believe that Ofsted is not the appropriate body to be expanded at this stage and that it already has enough power over education policy.
With regard to post-19 provision and lifelong learning, we are concerned about the difference between clauses 2 and 3. Clause 2 effectively mandates a structure for pre-19 education up to level 3, giving a young person an entitlement to education up to level 3, whereas clause 3 suggests that that entitlement does not exist beyond that age, but that the LSC should take reasonable steps to provide such an education.
We believe that the entitlement to education to level 3 should not be dependent on age. That is also the view of NIACE, which has issued statements to that effect. We should concentrate on getting everyone to level 3 and not worry too much about an age cut-off. I know that my noble Friends considered the matter, and I hope that the Government will return to it.
We welcome individual learning accounts as another aspect of the lifelong learning agenda. That has been our policy for some time. We want individual learning accounts to become the norm for a range of people, to enable them to access lifelong learning, and we hope that the Government will not see such accounts as trivial, merely providing discounts on courses or a low level of support. We hope that individuals will feel that they can build on such accounts and contribute to them throughout their lives, and that their employers will want to contribute as well.
The Bill provides a framework for setting up individual learning accounts, but we do not have the detail of how they will be used. They should be used extensively for lifelong learning opportunities, rather than as a quick fix offering discounts on college courses.
I am sensitive to the issue of sixth form schools. As the Secretary of State knows, I have sixth form schools in my constituency, which is the only part of Sheffield that does. That is because the schools resisted the single tertiary structure offered by Sheffield city council some years ago. I notice a silent Government Member, the hon. Member for Sheffield, Attercliffe (Mr. Betts), who also has some experience of Sheffield city council.
I have heard the Minister's assurances about the future of sixth forms that are doing a successful job, but questions will have to be answered, particularly where a dispute arises. A local learning and skills council may decide for whatever reason that the sixth forms in its area are not the best means of delivering post-16 education. The LSC may hold that view strongly, the sixth forms will want to survive, and arbitration will be necessary.
The present system for arbitrating between school provision and potential LSC provision is messy. The sixth forms must be able to have confidence in their security guarantee. There should not be battles between the LSCs, which will try to drive the costs down, and the sixth forms, which will argue against that.
There are important questions relating to the expansion of sixth forms. In Sheffield, a number of schools have recently asked to open new sixth forms. Those requests were made under the old funding structure and were not accepted. If a school can make a good case for a sixth form, it will be interesting to see whether the new structure will allow the school to make that pitch, where it will be directed and how it will be assessed.
I believe that demand for sixth forms will continue. Good sixth forms, in co-operation with colleges, is the sort of model that the Government want, although that may involve new sixth form provision in an area where there was none before.
In conclusion, we offer general support for the Bill, but we seek assurances from the Government that they can deliver where previous Governments have promised but not delivered. I am tempted to use phrases that I have heard too often from Conservative Members about talk and no delivery, but that has been the case repeatedly with education initiatives over most of my lifetime, under a Conservative Government.
There are three key requirements for successful delivery, which the Government will have to bear in mind as the Bill proceeds. The first is adequate funds for the further education and training sector. We keep returning to the subject of money, which gives the Government an opportunity to speak about our spending 1p several times, but they have acknowledged that the FE sector needs money. They have proudly boasted of the funds that they are giving, but we must make sure that the money goes to the right places and delivers quality as well as quantity. It is a matter not just of the amount of money, but of the way in which it is delivered.
The second requirement is sufficient trained staff to deliver the programmes. I mentioned that in the context of ConneXions and the mentoring service, but it is equally
true in the FE sector. Morale in that sector has not been at its best over recent years, and there are still disputes about pay and conditions in the sector. If it is to expand, we must make sure that people want to go into FE, so that it gets quality staff who stay there and are not tempted to go elsewhere because they are on temporary or short-term contracts.
Finally, we need proper accountability and flexibility to respond to local demands. We must be clear about how the LSCs report, particularly to bodies such as regional development agencies and regional assemblies.
If we can work on those elements, the Bill should be able to deliver a better structure than the existing one. We therefore are not inclined to support the Conservative amendment. We believe that all parties should join together to try to improve the system, rather than seeking to damage an initiative that could lead to improvements in our skills base--improvements that are desperately needed if the country is to be competitive and if individual young people are to have the opportunities that they deserve.
Mr. Deputy Speaker (Mr. Michael J. Martin):
Order. Many hon. Members wish to speak, so shorter speeches would assist fellow Members.
Ms Joan Ryan (Enfield, North):
I give the Bill a warm welcome. It brings us a long-overdue comprehensive framework for post-16 education and training. It is clear that current structures are letting us down. I know that from personal experience. I worked in the 16 to 19 sector for some years before becoming a Member of Parliament. The college in which I worked was a good college, but it brought me into contact with many other colleges and post-16 providers and made me aware of the needs that must be met.
I commend the wide-ranging consultation that took place before the Bill reached the other place, which gave people and bodies time to respond. Overall, the responses were detailed and positive. Yes, they raised queries, but that is to be expected--it is the point of consultation. It is a hallmark of the Government and particularly of the Department that consultation is taken seriously. Good consultation is the first step to good legislation. That is why it is so important.
The Bill is a serious attempt to address the weaknesses in our post-16 education and vocational training system. Sadly, the problems are not new. I have read that, in 1884, concern was expressed that Britain was increasingly losing out to its foreign competitors. Gladstone set up the Samuelson commission, which argued that neglect of education and training was one of the key factors in Britain's poor performance.
The productivity gap between UK companies and our major competitors is between 20 and 30 per cent., which is a matter of great concern. It is a shocking fact that some 7 million people in Britain lack formal qualifications. That figure is far too high and 2.1 million people lack intermediate technical qualifications at the important general national vocational qualification level 3, which has been mentioned. The skills taskforce estimates that 80 per cent. of the work force will need level 3 skills in
the future so clearly there is a great deal to be done. It is also shocking that 170,000 16 to 18-year-olds are not in education, training or employment. That must change.
The performance of further education colleges is variable--some are excellent, some are not--and their drop-out and retention rates should be of great concern to us. The raising of standards and quality in FE is, and has to be, a key part of the Bill's agenda, which is one fundamental reason why it is so welcome. Also welcome are the links between learning and work. The previous Administration brought education and employment together in one Department, and they were right to do that, but they did not establish the key links between learning and skills and between employability and business. On the ground, local providers have struggled to make those links, so it is right that they are part of the Bill.
3.37 pm
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