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Peter Bottomley – 2023 Speech on Higher Education

The speech made by Sir Peter Bottomley, the Father of the House, in the Commons on 17 July 2023.

I thank the Secretary of State. Those of us with long memories know that we either ration places by number or we give people choice. If she is giving people the choice of being able to discriminate between the courses and universities on offer, I congratulate her, as I do especially on the lifetime learning and the degree apprenticeship expansion, which has already happened, with more to come.

However, can I also speak up for those who either got fourth-class degrees or failed to take a degree at all, including two of the three Governors of the Bank of England who went to King’s and who came out without a degree? Rabi Tagore left university, and many other poets, painters, teachers or ministers of religion—whether rabbis, imams or ministers in the Christian Church—do not show up highly on the earnings scale, but they might show up highly in their contributions to society. Can my right hon. Friend please make sure that she does not let an algorithm rate colleges, courses or universities?

Gillian Keegan

I thank my hon. Friend for his remarks, and I very much agree that this is about choice—the lifelong loan entitlement, degree apprenticeships and all of the other choices—and about people understanding that there are many different routes to success in life. We have asked the Office for Students to look at earnings, because I realise that is difficult and that some jobs will not earn people more. However, for his information, five years after graduating from some courses, people are earning less than £18,000. That is less than the minimum wage, and it is not acceptable.

26/07/2023
Bridget Phillipson – 2023 Speech on Higher Education

The speech made by Bridget Phillipson, the Shadow Secretary of State for Education, in the House of Commons on 17 July 2023.

I thank the Secretary of State for advance sight of her statement.

Today’s statement tells us several stories about this Government. It tells a story about their priorities: why universities, and why now? It tells a story about their analysis: what they think is wrong and what they think is not. It tells a story about their competence: why these changes, when their own regulator has used a different approach for so long? It tells a story about their prejudice, about why they continue to reinforce a binary choice for young people: either academic or vocational, university or apprenticeship. Above all, it tells a story about values—about the choice to put caps on the aspirations and ambitions of our young people; about Ministers for whom opportunity is for their children, but not for other people’s children; about a Government whose only big idea for our world-leading universities is to put up fresh barriers to opportunity, anxious to keep young people in their place. It tells you everything you need to know about the Tories that this is their priority for our young people.

This is the Tories’ priority when we are in the middle of an urgent crisis in this country; when families are struggling to make ends meet; when patients are facing the biggest waiting lists in NHS history; when children are going to school in buildings that Ministers themselves acknowledge are “very likely” to collapse; and when a spiral of low productivity, low growth, and low wages under the Tories is holding Britain back. It is because the Prime Minister is weak and he is in hock to his Back Benchers that we are not seeing action on those important priorities. Instead, after more than 13 years in power, the Government have shown what they really think of our universities, which are famous across the world, are core to so many of our regional economies and were essential to our pandemic response: that they are not a public good, but a political battleground.

The Government’s concept of a successful university course, based on earnings, is not just narrow but limiting. I ask the Secretary of State briefly to consider the case of the right hon. Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Rishi Sunak). The Prime Minister has a degree in politics from one of our leading universities, yet his Government lost control of almost 50 councils this year, he was the second choice of his own party, and now he is on track to fail to deliver on the pledges he set himself publicly. Does the Secretary of State believe that the Prime Minister’s degree was in any sense a high-value course?

Let us be clear what today’s announcement is really about. Many of our most successful newer universities—the fruits of the determination of successive Governments, Labour and Conservative, to spread opportunity in this country—often draw more students from their local communities. Many of those areas are far from London, far from existing concentrations of graduate jobs. Many of those students come from backgrounds where few in their family, if any, will have had the chance to go to university. Many of those young people benefit from extra support when they arrive at university to ensure they succeed. We on the Labour Benches welcome the success of those universities in widening participation and welcoming more young people into higher education, yet today, the Secretary of State is telling those young people—including those excited to be finishing their studies this year—that this Government believe their hard work counts for nothing. Can the Secretary of State be absolutely clear with the House, and tell us which of those universities’ courses she considers to be of low value?

The Secretary of State is keen to trumpet her party’s record on apprenticeships, but let me set out what this Government’s record really is. Since 2015-16, apprenticeship starts among under-19s have dropped by 41%, and apprentice achievements in that age group are down by 57%. Since the Secretary of State entered this place, the number of young people achieving an apprenticeship at any level has more than halved, failing a generation of young people desperate to take on an apprenticeship.

Lastly and most importantly, the values that this Government have set out today are clear: the Conservatives are saying to England’s young people that opportunity is not for them and that choice is not for them. The bizarre irony of a Conservative Government seeking to restrict freedom and restrict choices seems entirely lost on them. Labour will shatter the class ceiling. We will ensure that young people believe that opportunity is for them. Labour is the party of opportunity, aspiration and freedom. Let us be clear, too, that young people want to go to university not merely to get on financially, but for the chance to join the pursuit of learning, to explore ideas and undertake research that benefits us all. That chance and that opportunity matter too. Our children deserve better. They deserve a Government whose most important mission will be to break down the barriers to opportunity and to build a country where background is no barrier. They deserve a Labour Government.

Gillian Keegan

As usual, the hon. Lady has more words than actions. None of those actions was put in place either in Wales, where Labour is running the education system, or in the UK when it was running it in England. We have always made the deliberate choice of quality over quantity, and this is a story of a consistent drive for quality, whether that is through my right hon. Friend the Schools Minister having driven up school standards, so that we are the best in the west for reading and fourth best in the world, or through childcare, revolutionising the apprenticeship system—none of that existed before we put it in place—and technical education and higher education.

I was an other people’s child: I was that kid who left school at 16, who went to a failing comprehensive school in Knowsley. I relied on the business, and the college and the university that I went to. I did not know their brand images and I knew absolutely nobody who had ever been there. I put my trust in that company, and luckily it did me very well. Not all universities and not all courses have the trusted brand image of Oxford and Cambridge, which I think is where the hon. Lady went, along with my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister. I have worked with many leaders all over the world in my many years in business, and the Prime Minister is a world-class leader.

On apprenticeships, it is a case of quality always over quantity. What we found, and this is why I introduced the quality standards, is that, yes, the numbers were higher, but many of the people did not realise they were on an apprenticeship, many of the apprenticeships lasted less than 12 months and for many of them there was zero off-the-job training. They were apprenticeships in name only, which is what the Labour party will be when it comes to standards for education.

26/07/2023
Gillian Keegan – 2023 Statement on Higher Education

The statement made by Gillian Keegan, the Secretary of State for Education, in the House of Commons on 17 July 2023.

With permission, Mr Speaker, I would like to announce the publication of the Government’s higher education reform consultation response. This country is one of the best in the world for studying in higher education, boasting four of the world’s top 10 universities. For most, higher education is a sound investment, with graduates expected to earn on average £100,000 more over their lifetime than those who do not go to university.

However, there are still pockets of higher education provision where the promise that university education will be worthwhile does not hold true and where an unacceptable number of students do not finish their studies or find a good job after graduating. That cannot continue. It is not fair to taxpayers who subsidise that education, but most of all it is not fair to those students who are being sold a promise of a better tomorrow, only to be disappointed and end up paying far into the future for a degree that did not offer them good value.

We want to make sure that students are charged a fair price for their studies and that a university education offers a good return. Our reforms are aimed at achieving that objective. That is why the Government launched the consultation in 2022, to seek views on policies based on recommendations made by Sir Philip Augar and his independent panel. The consultation ended in May 2022, and the Department for Education has been considering the responses received. I am now able to set out the programme of reforms that we are taking forward.

I believe that the traditional degree continues to hold great value, but it is not the only higher education pathway. Over the past 13 years, we have made substantial reforms to ensure that the traditional route is not the only pathway to a good career. Higher technical qualifications massively enhance students’ skills and career prospects, and deserve parity of esteem with undergraduate degrees. We have seen a growth in degree-level apprenticeships, with over 188,000 students enrolling since their introduction in 2014. I have asked the Office for Students to establish a £40 million competitive degree apprenticeships fund to drive forward capacity-building projects to broaden access to degree apprenticeships over the next two years.

That drive to encourage skills is why we are also investing up to £115 million to help providers deliver higher technical education. In March, we set out detailed information on how the lifelong learning entitlement will transform the way in which individuals can undertake post-18 education, and we continue to support that transformation through the Lifelong Learning (Higher Education Fee Limits) Bill, which is currently passing through the other place. We anticipate that that funding, coupled with the introduction of the LLE from 2025, will help to incentivise the take-up of higher technical education, filling vital skills gaps across the country.

Each of those reforms has had one simple premise: that we are educating people with the skills that will enable them to have a long and fulfilling career. I believe that we should have the same expectation for higher education: it should prepare students for life by giving them the right skills and knowledge to get well-paid jobs. With the advent of the LLE, it is neither fair nor right for students to use potentially three quarters of their lifelong loan entitlement for a university degree that does not offer them good returns. That would constrain their future ability to learn, earn and retrain. We must shrink the parts of the sector that do not deliver value, and ensure that students and taxpayers are getting value for money given their considerable investment.

Data shows that there were 66 providers from which fewer than 60% of graduates progressed to high-skilled employment or further study fifteen months after graduating. That is not acceptable. I will therefore issue statutory guidance to the OfS setting out that it should impose recruitment limits on provision that does not meet its rigorous quality requirements for positive student outcomes, to help to constrain the size and growth of courses that do not deliver for students. We will also ask the OfS to consider how it can incorporate graduate earnings into its quality regime. We recognise that many factors can influence graduate earnings, but students have a right to expect that their investment in higher education will improve their career prospects, and we should rightly scrutinise courses that appear to offer limited added value to students on the metric that matters most to many.

We will work with the OfS to consider franchising arrangements in the sector. All organisations that deliver higher education must be held to robust standards. I am concerned about some indications that franchising is acting as a potential route for low quality to seep into the higher education system, and I am absolutely clear that lead providers have a responsibility to ensure that franchised provision is of the same quality as directly delivered provision. If we find examples of undesirable practices, we will not hesitate to act further on franchising.

As I have said, we will ensure that students are charged a fair price for their studies. That is why we are also reducing to £5,760 the fees for classroom-based foundation year courses such as business studies and social sciences, in line with the highest standard funding rate for access to HE diplomas. Recently we have seen an explosion in the growth of many such courses, but limited evidence that they are in the best interests of students. We are not reducing the fee limits for high-cost, strategically important subjects such as veterinary sciences and medicine, but we want to ensure that foundation years are not used to add to the bottom line of institutions at the expense of those who study them. We will continue to monitor closely the growth of foundation year provision, and we will not hesitate to introduce further restrictions or reductions. I want providers to consider whether those courses add value for students, and to phase out that provision in favour of a broad range of tertiary options with the advent of the LLE.

Our aim is that everyone who wants to benefit from higher education has the opportunity to do so. That is why we will not proceed at this time with a minimum requirement of academic attainment to access student finance—although we will keep that option under review. I am confident that the sector will respond with the ambition and focused collaboration required to deliver this package of reforms. I extend my wholehearted thanks to those in the sector for their responses to the consultation.

This package of reforms represents the next step in tackling low-quality higher education, but it will not be the last step. The Government will not shy away from further action if required, and will consider all levers available to us if these quality reforms do not result in the improvements we seek. Our higher education system is admired across many countries, and these measures will ensure that it continues to be. I commend this statement to the House.

26/07/2023
Nigel Farage – 2023 Comments on the Resignation of Alison Rose

The comments made by Nigel Farage on Twitter on 26 July 2023.

Dame Alison Rose has gone. Others must follow.

I hope that this serves as a warning to the banking industry.

We need both cultural and legal changes to a system that has unfairly shut down many thousands of innocent people.

I will do my best to be their voice.

26/07/2023
Alison Rose – 2023 Statement on Standing Down as Natwest Group Chief Executive

The statement made by Alison Rose following her resignation as the Chief Executive of the Natwest Group on 26 July 2023.

I remain immensely proud of the progress the bank has made in supporting people, families and business across the UK, and building the foundations for sustainable growth. My NatWest colleagues are central to that success, and so I would like to personally thank them for all that they have done.

26/07/2023
NEWS STORY : Natwest Chief Executive Alison Rose Resigns over Nigel Farage Account

STORY

Alison Rose, the Chief Executive of the Natwest Group, has resigned following the revelation that she had privately told a BBC journalist that the bank account of Nigel Farage had been closed due to a lack of funds rather than for commercial reasons. Nigel Farage reacted to the news by saying “the first rule of banking is you have to respect the privacy of the customer”.

Howard Davies, Chairman of the Natwest Group Board, said in a statement:

“The Board and Alison Rose have agreed, by mutual consent, that she will step down as CEO of the NatWest Group. It is a sad moment. She has dedicated all her working life so far to NatWest and will leave many colleagues who respect and admire her.”

RESOURCES

Alison Rose – 2023 Statement on Standing Down as Natwest Group Chief Executive

26/07/2023
NEWS STORY : Charlotte Owen Introduced to the House of Lords

STORY:

Charlotte Owen, a former advisor to Boris Johnson, has made history by becoming the youngest appointed member of the House of Lords at the age of 30. Her appointment as Baroness Owen of Alderley Edge was part of Boris Johnson’s outgoing honours list and has been controversial due to her limited work experience. Owen was introduced into the House of Lords yesterday and swore the oath of allegiance to King Charles III.

Sir James Duddridge, who worked in 10 Downing Street during the Johnson period of Government, said that she had been “vital” to the Prime Minister and that the honour was deserved. Other in Downing Street said off the record that she had been a junior figure and that the appointment was something of a surprise.

25/07/2023
PRESS RELEASE : UK – Türkiye Joint Statement [July 2023]

The press release issued by the Department for Business and Trade on 18 July 2023.

The UK and the Republic of Türkiye confirm their intention to begin talks towards a revised and comprehensive Free Trade Agreement.

The United Kingdom and the Republic of Türkiye are significant and close trading partners. Both our countries are resolved to build upon this success and are today confirming their intention to begin talks towards a revised and comprehensive Free Trade Agreement.

The current trade agreement was signed in December 2020. It predominantly covers industrial goods and has provided continuity to businesses and safeguarding of supply chains following the UK’s departure from the European Union.

A review clause included in the current agreement committed the UK and Türkiye to reviewing the trade relationship. This work began last year with both partners concluding that there would be value in broadening and deepening the trade relationship. Officials have met as part of the UK-Türkiye Joint Committee to conclude this review and agreed to work towards an improved FTA.

Both countries acknowledge that it is more important than ever to support an open trading environment based on global trading rules that underpin mutual growth and prosperity. There is an opportunity to work towards a contemporary agreement that is fit for the 21st century and better suited to the modern economies of both the UK and Türkiye.

25/07/2023
PRESS RELEASE : Climate change and coal – UK statement to the OSCE [July 2023]

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 18 July 2023.

Justin Addison (UK Delegation to the OSCE) tells the OSCE’s Asian Partners conference that to keep temperature rises below 1.5ºC we need to move away from unabated coal power.

COP28 comes at a crucial time, involving the first ever Global Stocktake of progress against the Paris Agreement. It must deliver an outcome that puts the world on track to keep temperature rises below 1.5ºC, halving global emissions by 2030. To do this, we need to move away from fossil fuels and unabated coal power.

Further development of coal as the most polluting energy source could render the 1.5ºC goal impossible. A policy of no new coal aligns with acting on the commitment in the Glasgow Climate Pact to accelerate the phase down of coal. Coal remains the largest source of global emissions and largest source of global electricity generation.

The battle for no new coal has largely been won. Almost every country in the world has stopped building new coal power stations. In the second half of 2022, the total amount of new coal power capacity under consideration dropped below 100 GW in the world outside China for the first time since data collection began. This shows the momentum behind no new coal.

Committing to end new coal globally represents a critical step to transitioning to a clean and sustainable energy future, as well as an opportunity for all countries to unite around global net-zero goals and highlight their individual leadership in ensuring a just transition that leaves no one behind.

25/07/2023
PRESS RELEASE : Welsh Secretary visits refurbished park tennis courts [July 2023]
The press release issued by the Secretary of State for Wales on 18 July 2023.

Secretary of State for Wales, David TC Davies MP visited fully refurbished courts at Six Bells Park in Abertillery.
- Courts given new lease of life as part of £30 million investment by UK Government into thousands of poor or unplayable courts across Britain.
- Six Bells Park received 285 hours of bookings in the six weeks since reopening following a local participation drive
The Secretary of State for Wales David TC Davies MP has visited newly refurbished public tennis courts at Six Bells Park, Abertillery, just one of the parks across Wales that is benefitting from a £30m investment from the UK Government and LTA Tennis Foundation, delivered by the LTA, into park tennis courts across Britain.

The revitalised courts at Six Bells Park have undergone a full resurfacing and repainting, to bring them back to life for use by the local community, thanks to over £35,000 of funding from the UK Government and LTA Tennis Foundation.

The newly refurbished courts received 285 hours of bookings in the six weeks since they reopened in May, highlighting local appetite for tennis.

Secretary of State for Wales David TC Davies MP said:

The UK Government is continuing to invest significantly in grassroots facilities, helping communities to deliver the huge health and social benefits that sport brings.

I was delighted to see, so close the end of the Wimbledon Championships, the new facilities at Six Bells Park which will allow people from across the area to try tennis and for future generations of players to develop their skills.

The Parks Tennis Project is delivering vital improvements to the condition of over 3,000 park tennis courts across England, Scotland and Wales, resurfacing and repainting those parks in the worst condition, with a particular focus on targeting inequalities in participation. It is the most significant investment in park tennis courts for a generation.

Over 1,000 park court refurbishments have now been completed across Great Britain. Work on parks in Wales are now also complete in Vale of Glamorgan and Newport, with works ongoing on sites across Wrexham, Conwy, Caerphilly and Bridgend, and in the pipeline across a number of other local authorities.

LTA Head of Park Investment Delivery Paul Bennett said:

The upgraded courts in Six Bells Park are a prime example of how this transformational investment in park tennis courts by the UK Government and LTA Tennis Foundation is opening up tennis in Wales and across Britain.

Existing park courts like this have been identified for renovation not just because they will have the biggest impact on participation, but because they will address inequalities in participation by helping to engage traditionally under-represented communities in tennis.

With the courts having successfully reopened to the public, we’re really excited to capitalise on this momentum by working with Blaenau Gwent Council, Tennis Wales and Chris Hill to roll out Free Park Tennis over the coming months.

As part of its commitment to open tennis up to many more people, the LTA is supporting local authorities and providers to ensure that a range of activity is in place across park courts, including free weekly tennis sessions where equipment is provided. All courts will be bookable on the LTA online booking system with digital gate access systems installed across sites, to make finding, booking and getting onto court as easy and secure as possible for tennis players across the country.

The programme is designed to open up the sport to many more people, with the LTA aiming to attract 500,000 more players in parks every year.

It follows a surge in grassroots participation across Britain, including in Wales. Tennis Wales, the national governing body for tennis in Wales, recently announced that 176,000 adults picked up a racket and played tennis in the year to May 2023, an increase of 46,000 compared to 2019.

More children are also now playing tennis with 154,000 playing every year and Sport Wales’ School Sport Survey highlighted that around 50,000 children have a desire to try tennis.

Improved public facilities are helping to address this demand, whilst more young people are also having the opportunity to pick up a racket in schools through LTA Youth Schools. Through this programme, Tennis Wales and the LTA are removing barriers to participation by training more than 650 Welsh teachers in delivering the programme, providing a £250 voucher for each school that has completes this to be redeemed for 10 hours of LTA Accredited coaching or equipment.
25/07/2023