Mr. Dave Anderson (Blaydon): The Secretary of State has referred to the policy vacuum in the Conservative party. What does he think are the party's plans for the 22,000 union learning reps or the 250,000 learners who went to learn at work last year? Does he think that it has any plans for them?
The Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills (Mr. John Denham): As far as I know, the Conservatives are completely silent on the issue. On Friday I presented certificates to learners at the town depot union learning centre in Southampton, in my constituency, and everyone there was well aware that it was the Government who had invested in union learning reps and made it possible for so many people to learn.
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Mr. David Anderson: It is possible that I am the only Member present who served a full apprenticeship, although I stand to be corrected on that. When I served an apprenticeship as a mechanic, there was respect for the traditions of people who had served apprenticeships for many years. We felt, as apprentices and as craftsmen, that we were part of a culture in which what was learnt was passed on, and it was part and parcel of the pride that we took in doing the job that young people were introduced to it. It was heartening for me to become a time-served craftsman and work with young people in learning skills. However, it was disheartening for me to be part of a generation that saw the last of the apprenticeships in the industry in which I worked, the coal industry.
It was directly owing to the policy of the Conservative party that we saw a decline in apprenticeships. It made policy decisions that largely destroyed the coal industry, decimated the railway industry, did away with the shipyards, cut back the steelworks and privatised British Gas, the electricity boards, the water boards and BT. All those were national companies with major training schemes, which employed many, many young people. What happened to young people in my village was that, instead of working with people like me - as apprenticeship mechanics, electricians or welders - they ended up as apprentice burglars and apprentice drug-takers, and became very good at taking cars without the owners' consent and taking radios from cars. That is not much to pass on to the next generation.
In the days when I trained with the National Coal Board, everyone had some form of education, right up to degree level. People were not just given vocational training; they were taught how to stay alive underground and, importantly, how to keep their fellow workers alive. A huge vacuum was created at the end of the 1980s and during the 1990s, but I am thankful that my party's Government have begun to fill it. It is true that things are not perfect, but we have, without a doubt, modernised and restructured apprenticeships in a way that addresses the challenges of the 21st century. Those challenges are, and will continue to be, different from the challenges that I faced when I became an apprentice. The fact remains that the Government have invested additional money this year. They have agreed to provide a further £140 million, which will fund 35,000 apprenticeships. That is good for the public, and for the people for whom the apprentices are working. In 1997 there were only 65,000 apprenticeships in the country; today there are a quarter of a million, and completion rates are at an all-time high. That is something we can be very proud of.
During the Secretary of State's speech, I raised the subject of union learning reps, which is never mentioned by the Conservative party. That may appear unsurprising, given its attitude to trade unions. There are 22,000 accredited union learning reps out there working with people. I was involved, with the National Union of Public Employees, in a scheme called Return to Learn, which helped people many of whom had no literacy or numeracy skills, and experienced great problems even in reading or writing. For the first time since leaving school, in many cases as young as 15, people were told "We value you. You may only be doing menial, manual work in society's eyes, but your contribution is important, and because of that we want you to become re-engaged in the world of education." Such schemes have been one of the keystones of workplace learning in this country. Last year, a quarter of a million people were given access to learning at work through union learning reps.
Mr. Willetts: I can assure the hon. Gentleman that I had a most enjoyable meeting with TUC representatives only the other week, during which they made the case for union learning reps almost as eloquently as the hon. Gentleman is making it now.
Mr. Anderson: I am very glad to hear that, but I did not hear the hon. Gentleman say "I agreed with what they said, and I will continue to provide and develop the union learning scheme." I will sit down and let him say it if he wants to, but it appears that he has no reply.
Mr. Willetts: I was very sympathetic to the case that they made.
Mr. Anderson: I love the hon. Gentleman's use of the word "sympathetic". I realise that he has two brains, but it does not take two brains to understand what the word "sympathetic" means. What I am asking him for is action, but he is clearly not prepared to commit himself to that.
Last week, I was not talking to the TUC; I was talking to learning reps on the ground at Gateshead council. I was talking to people such as David Smith, who has helped many young people, as well as older people, into the workplace. They benefited from real dedication and real praise from their employers and others who took part in the schemes. Last year I was very proud when an old colleague of mine, Felicity Mendelson, who works for Newcastle city council, was recognised by the Queen for the great work that she had done as a union learning rep. She was awarded the MBE.
Real credit has been given to people who have done real work for people on the ground. But credit must again be given to the Government for the money that they have invested in the foundations of building colleges, and expanding further education. I am aware of the problems, and it would be wrong for me or any other Member to deny that the LSC has let people down, but I do not think that the Secretary of State intends to do the same.
Last week I met representatives of Balfour Beatty, who are worried about what may happen if we do not put right what has gone wrong in the last few months. I know that the Conservatives do not agree with this, but I strongly believe that we should be building our way out of the recession. We should be using that terrible term "fiscal stimulus", and companies such as Balfour Beatty - along with many other people - should be rebuilding colleges and schools. The Balfour Beatty representatives told me that a potential 40,000 jobs are available to people who could be employed in the building industry, but may not be. The Government must start to address that. I hope that, when he responds, the Minister will go some way towards allaying my fears.
Like every other Member who has spoken so far, I shall say something about the colleges in my area. I want to tell the success story of Gateshead college, which has never been afraid of embarking on partnerships. It does not believe in standing about whinging, or in promoting doom and gloom. It wants to get on with the real work. That is why last year it moved out of the building in Durham road where it had been for many years, sold that building and went forward in partnership. It has been given £60 million by the Government to build the new Baltic college on the regenerated Gateshead quayside. It has been a tremendous success. There are 7,000 students and 500 staff, working at a college that is a source of great pride to me and the people who live in the area.
A £5.5 million skills academy on a nearby industrial estate has done tremendous work with companies such as Nissan and others in the automotive industry, which is so important to our local economy. A £15 million academy for sport has also been developed on the former Gateshead stadium site, and I hope it will play a major part in the development of Olympic athletes for this country.
The college has been recognised across the board. In the last two years it gained "outstanding" grade 1 marks in Ofsted inspections in all six areas tested. It has a success rate of 83 per cent. and it is within the top 10 per cent. of colleges in the country.
The college completed the renovation of its estate with the opening of the Baltic campus and the skills academy, the result of a £60 million investment. It has been recognised by the LSC for outstanding financial performance in a very challenging environment, and by Ofsted for providing outstanding value for money. It has provided more than £10 million to local companies for Train to Gain, and turnover has increased by more than 25 per cent. In 2008-09, it also achieved growth in the number of full-time 16 to 18-year-old students, which rose from 1,757 to 2,272. It has been officially named as the top college in the region for delivery of apprenticeships and the lead provider for the National Skills Academy for Manufacturing. It secured the Ford master apprenticeship programme for the North-East and it is the preferred training provider for Nissan. It has also been awarded many other accolades.
We are proud of Gateshead college, and so we should be, but the outside world is also proud of it. It entered the culture for success competition, and Andrew Dixon, chief executive and judge, said this about it:
"Gateshead College is a shining example of cultural success alongside tremendous facilities and a huge range of effective external business partnerships. This is a business that has grown fast and is loved by its customers - thoroughly deserving of the Culture for Success Overall Winner award."
This is not a doom and gloom story, therefore; it is a story of real success on the back of hard work by many people.
The college is continuing that work. Shortly before Christmas, it answered the call; Nissan was facing serious problems and it asked the college to help it try to keep people in work. Working with MPs, and with a great contribution from the Secretary of State concerned, the college and Nissan drove forward training programmes from this year to the back end of last year, which extended the working life of hundreds of Nissan employees in Sunderland. Although for some of them it was extended only for a short period, it at least meant they were able to get to Christmas without facing the threat of the dole.
The college is also working closely with the Department for Work and Pensions, the regional development agency and local authorities to establish an early warning system, so that when people may be about to lose their jobs, or have lost their jobs and have been made redundant, the college and other partners are there to pick up the pieces and help them get back into work as quickly as possible. The college is working closely with the local council, which has decided to bring forward its capital programme. It is helping the council create 500 new apprenticeships, and it is also working with local businesses to get even more apprentices into work. If we want to use a slogan that many people may well have heard of, we could say that this is an example of "Real help now".
This is all about creating choices, and about denying the official Opposition's narrative that everything is doom and gloom and we should stand back and do nothing. We will not stand back and do nothing, either in this party, in this Government or in the place that I come from. We are going stand up for people, and stand by them; we are not going to stand back. The official Opposition may be led on this issue by a man with two brains, but the leaders on the issue should be people with some heart.
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Mr. David Anderson: The hon. Gentleman said that he was interested in what I had to say in my contribution, but is he interested enough to tell us whether he will commit to continue the funding of the union learning reps scheme?
Mr. Evennett: My hon. Friend the Member for Havant has already answered that by saying that we are looking at things very sympathetically. We must move on, because the time available to us is very short. [Interruption.] The hon. Member for West Ham, who is a Parliamentary Private Secretary, seems to want to make a contribution - she has made more of a contribution from a sedentary position than many others.
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