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GCSE Results (Lancashire)

11. Mr. Mark Hendrick (Preston) (Lab/Co-op): If she will make a statement on changes in GCSE results in Lancashire over the last four years. [217637]

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Education and Skills (Mr. Ivan Lewis): In 2004, 53.8 per cent. of pupils in Lancashire achieved five or more grades A* to C at GCSE and equivalent, compared with 47 per cent. in 1998. Over the last four years, Lancashire has performed above the national average in terms of those achieving five good grades, any passes and average point scores.

Mr. Hendrick: My hon. Friend has given us the figures for Lancashire and I want to quote the figures for Preston, Walton le Dale and Bamber Bridge. There has been a rise in the percentage of pupils achieving five or more GCSEs at grades A to C—from 33 per cent. in 1997 to 45 per cent. now. Will he join me in congratulating Walton le Dale high school and Christ the King high school in particular on being among the top 60 most improved schools in the country? Will he also comment on what effect yesterday's announcement on 14 to 19-year-olds might have on future GCSE results?

Mr. Lewis: I join my hon. Friend in congratulating the schools in his constituency and, indeed, teachers and pupils throughout the country who have contributed to improvements in GCSE performance. It is sad that the Conservative party wants to undermine the achievements of our young people. I believe that yesterday's announcement will enhance GCSEs in several ways: toughening the focus on the basics, enhancing the vocational route and genuinely tackling disengagement and encouraging stretch. Additionally, we are expanding investment in early years through the children centre programme, Sure Start and the focus on literacy and numeracy in primary schools on a long-term generational basis. All that will ultimately ensure that improvements in GCSE performance continue to accelerate in the years ahead.

Mr. Patrick McLoughlin (West Derbyshire) (Con): If the GCSE examination is working so well, why did the Government announce changes yesterday?

Mr. Deputy Speaker: Order. The question relates specifically to Lancashire. The Minister may reply.

Mr. McLoughlin: GCSEs in Lancashire, then.

Mr. Lewis: In Lancashire, the benefits of the reforms that we announced yesterday are very straightforward.
 
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Even when a system is moving in the right direction, a responsible Government should attempt to make even further improvements. What we announced yesterday on GCSEs was a radical step for a Government to take—the Conservatives did not do it when they were in government—as we intend to toughen standards on the basics and make it more difficult to get five decent GCSEs. We are also going to incentivise students and schools to understand the priority that we place on English and maths as core skills that are essential both for the modern world of work and for becoming good citizens in that modern world. The reforms announced yesterday are about supporting individuals to fulfil their potential while setting the bar higher in respect of basic skills and academic standards. I am proud of the fact that the Government are prepared to do that.

Sexual Health Education

12. Mr. Hilton Dawson (Lancaster and Wyre) (Lab): What measures she has taken to improve the standard of sexual health education in schools. [217638]

The Minister for Children, Young People and Families (Margaret Hodge): Our priority is to improve the quality of teaching and learning of sex and relationship education, including sexual health. We are supporting a programme of training for teachers and a similar programme for community nurses. The Qualifications and Curriculum Authority is developing materials and guidance to support better assessment of pupils, and the healthy living blueprint, sent to all schools last year, addresses a range of health issues, including sexual health.

Mr. Dawson: I thank my right hon. Friend for her reply and ask her to note that the question comes not from some out-of-touch old bloke on the Back Benches, but from an extremely bright young woman currently working in my office—Ms Tiana Golden. She identified this as the priority issue out of the whole range of Department for Education and Skills questions that could be asked. Will my right hon. Friend confirm that in all that the Government do, they are striving to maintain high standards across the board, across all schools and across all education establishments? Will she also confirm that this crucial work is being carried out firmly within the realm of relationships education and outside the science labs?

Margaret Hodge: First, I endorse the fact that this issue is important to young people. I had a meeting yesterday with a children and youth board that I regularly consult and the quality of sex and relationships education was raised as a key issue. I agree that relationships education, as well as biologically based sex education, is crucial, particularly if we are to reduce the currently high teenage pregnancy rates and improve sexual health among our youngsters.

Miss Anne McIntosh (Vale of York) (Con): Does the Minister accept that the Government have singularly failed to raise the standards of sexual health education because we have the highest rate of teenage pregnancies in Europe? What are the Government doing to deal with that problem?

Margaret Hodge: No, I do not accept that we have failed. Indeed, the figures announced this morning show
 
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a trend of reduction in the number of young girls who become pregnant, and that is the right direction. We have seen a welcome cut in the number of teenage pregnancies. However, I am not complacent about that complex issue. We are doing what we can, but I would welcome any positive contribution that the hon. Lady has to make. Part of the answer is what happens in schools, part is the support that can be given by community nurses, but most important is the education and advice from parents about sex and relationships. When we talk to young people that becomes very clear, and we have to do what we can to support parents in giving better advice and support to their young people.

Jonathan Shaw (Chatham and Aylesford) (Lab): Is it not the case that in the 1970s Britain had similar teenage pregnancy levels to the rest of Europe? In the 1980s, our level went up and up and elsewhere in Europe levels went down. The Conservatives completely ignored the issue and it was not until we had the social exclusion unit's report on the issue and the teenage pregnancy strategy that we started taking the issue seriously. Does my right hon. Friend agree that perhaps too much autonomy was granted with the strategy, so that some areas are doing very well and others, which have had the same resources, are not doing so well? What is she doing to encourage best practice so that we can continue to drive teenage pregnancy rates down and deliver on that important issue?

Margaret Hodge: I could not have put better the difference between the Government's approach and that of the Conservatives. It is a complex issue, but we now understand much better the correlation between, for example, truancy and teenage pregnancy rates. All the work that we are doing to raise aspirations and to cut unauthorised as well as authorised absence is important in tackling the wider issues. My hon. Friend is right to say that some areas are doing better than others. We are learning from that and we are now focusing much of our effort on what we call the hot spot areas—50 per cent. of teenage pregnancies occur in 20 per cent. of wards. If we concentrate on those areas, and work with midwives and health visitors to address the fact that one in five teenage pregnancies are second pregnancies, I am sure that we will see greater success.

Apprenticeships

13. Mrs. Anne Campbell (Cambridge) (Lab): How many apprenticeships have been undertaken in each year since 1997; and if she will make a statement. [217639]

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Education and Skills (Mr. Ivan Lewis): In 1997 there were 75,000 apprentices in training; 112,000 in 1998; 154,000 in 1999; 203,000 in 2000; 198,000 in 2001; 212,000 in 2002; 233,000 in 2003; and 245,000 in 2004. That represents a threefold increase since 1997 and demonstrates the Government's commitment to serious long-term investment in vocational education.

Mrs. Campbell: I thank my hon. Friend for that reply. It is excellent news that more young people than ever are taking advantage of high quality apprenticeships, such
 
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as those offered by Marshall Aerospace of Cambridge in my constituency. However, one national problem is that many young people begin apprenticeships but do not complete them. It would be helpful if my hon. Friend could describe what action is being taken to ensure that more young people complete their apprenticeships.

Mr. Lewis: I join my hon. Friend in congratulating the organisation in her constituency. It is true that a number of issues arise from the apprenticeship programme. For example, non-completion is sometimes a consequence of a young person remaining in employment having been told by their employer that they do not need to continue training. We have several issues to address, one of which is ensuring that apprenticeships are fitter for purpose by involving employers in the design of the apprenticeships. We also need far more employer engagement in offering apprenticeships and vocational learning opportunities. If we are to create a high status route, as we described in the White Paper yesterday, it is important that we see progression from advanced apprenticeships into foundation degrees, or from level 3 specialist diplomas—as they will be known in the future—into higher education. The challenge must be to involve higher education in the design of advanced apprenticeships and level 3 specialist diplomas, and ensure that they are given the same esteem as so-called academic achievements.

Alistair Burt (North-East Bedfordshire) (Con): Is not the real problem, as the hon. Member for Cambridge (Mrs. Campbell) said, the fact that too many people do not complete apprenticeships because the esteem given to manufacturing is still not strong enough in this country? The experience in my constituency is exactly the same as that of the hon. Lady. I was at an engineering firm recently where I was told that of the five people who had started apprenticeships, none had completed their term because, to schools, manufacturing industry still does not carry the same esteem as other routes into the future. The firm was concerned about the number of people being urged to go into higher education rather than apprenticeships. Should not the Minister tackle the lack of esteem in which manufacturing is held in order to get the answer to why people drop out of apprenticeships?

Mr. Lewis: It is a misnomer to talk about apprenticeships simply in the context of manufacturing industry; it is an outdated notion. About 112 sectors of the economy offer apprenticeships. If the hon. Gentleman had listened to the announcement yesterday, he would have heard that central to it is getting young people from the ages of 11 and 14 to have far more contact with the labour market and the world of work, breaking down the dividing line between the labour market and the educational establishment and ensuring that the choices that young people make are based on an informed experience of the world of work. My challenge to manufacturing industry in the context of the sector skills councils is to go into schools and colleges and make the case for the modernity and relevance of such industry and for the earning potential of young people in it. As for the 50 per cent. higher education target,
 
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what Britain needs economically is more graduates and more apprentices and we should not seek to choose between the two.

Mr. Brian Jenkins (Tamworth) (Lab): My hon. Friend will be fully aware, as we all are, of employers' concerns that we recruit not only craft apprentices but apprentices who will go on to university and gain higher qualifications. The Government are fully aware, and the White Paper shows it, that we need to give our youngsters the opportunity to experience what occupations industry can offer them. The White Paper is fine and the words are fine, but surely the Minister must realise that it takes more than words—it takes personal commitment from the Government to take on the crusade: otherwise, it will founder.

Mr. Patrick McLoughlin (West Derbyshire) (Con): We will have to wait a long time then.

Mr. Lewis: Well, we waited 18 years under the Conservative Government, when we had a decimated vocational education system. The reality is that from September work-related learning will be a statutory part of the curriculum. From next September enterprise education will become part of the curriculum. That is for all young people, not just young people pursuing vocational routes. As a consequence of the reforms that we announced yesterday, there will be a far more dynamic relationship between education providers and employers in every community in every part of the country.

This is a challenge not just to the Government and educationists—yesterday, we delivered to employers a commitment to focus on the basics. Their responsibility is to come to the table now to enable us to deliver a high quality, high status vocational education system. Government alone will not be able to achieve it; we need a partnership between Government and employers.

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