Lucy Powell MP: speeches

Speeches

• 14 Sept 2026 · Young People not in Education, Employment or Training · Hansard source

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  I think we need to do all these things. Alan Milburn was clear that education was “the faltering foundation”. We are seeing too many young people leave school without the qualifications that they need to get either an apprenticeship or into work. That is why there are so many NEETs. We are seeing too many young people disengage from school much earlier on. This is all part of the NEETs crisis. Young people are not subject to national insurance contributions in the same way as older people, and neither are apprentices. We have put in place a number of things, such as support for those wanting to take up an apprenticeship, including a £4,000 bursary. We are doing a huge amount at the other end, but we need to deal with the supply issue, too.

• 14 Sept 2026 · Young People not in Education, Employment or Training · Hansard source

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  I am delighted to join the right hon. Gentleman in thanking Allerton Steel for all the work it does supporting young people in and around his constituency with apprenticeships. He is absolutely right. I held a summit last week at No. 10 North—I am sure he will want to visit at some point soon—with school, college and business leaders. There is a real sense of galvanising the whole business community, who are determined to play their part in tackling this issue.

• 14 Sept 2026 · Young People not in Education, Employment or Training · Hansard source

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  I thank my hon. Friend for all the work he does in his constituency on these issues. He is absolutely right that we have to get opportunities to young people near where they live, working in partnership in the way that he describes. I am happy to meet him to discuss how we can get such opportunities into his constituency.

• 14 Sept 2026 · Young People not in Education, Employment or Training · Hansard source

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  Absolutely. Last week’s PISA—programme for international student assessment—results show the importance of those foundations in English, maths and science, which we have really motored on in England over the course of a 25 or 30-year consensus. Scotland, however, is not doing so well. My hon. Friend will know that Scotland’s education system used to be the envy of the world; that is not the case today, and I think it is about time that the Scottish Government took a leaf out of England’s book.

• 14 Sept 2026 · Young People not in Education, Employment or Training · Hansard source

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  I thank the hon. Lady for her question. I think she is one of the most frequent contributors to Education questions, as she was to business questions when I was Leader of the House, and I look forward to continuing to debate these issues with her. She is right that attendance, inclusion and—critically—engagement are pivotal to this issue, which is why we need to look not just at the curriculum and the new qualifications that young people can gain, but at ensuring they have the passport they need for life, and are engaged and want to go to school or college every day.

• 14 Sept 2026 · Young People not in Education, Employment or Training · Hansard source

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  I thank Alan Milburn for his commitment to our young people. This is one of our country’s biggest challenges, and I agree with him that education is “the faltering foundation”. Our current system is leaving too many behind. Countries that combine high academic standards with quality technical education boast low NEET rates, which is why I am determined to make this country a technical education superpower.

• 14 Sept 2026 · Young People not in Education, Employment or Training · Hansard source

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  I say gently to the hon. Lady that we do not just have more than a million young people not in education, employment or training—most of whom were educated under the Conservatives—but 1.5 million students persistently absent from school; a stubborn disadvantage gap, which did not close on their watch; widening regional attainment gaps; and a special educational needs and disabilities crisis that we are having to deal with, which they did not. Perhaps more importantly, the Conservatives put our young people on a treadmill of resits, with failure after failure. Just this summer, less than 14% of our young people passed their resits in maths. That is the legacy that they left, and I will rectify it.

• 14 Sept 2026 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  My hon. Friend is absolutely right. He has fantastic universities in his constituency. I am worried about the pressures facing higher education funding and am looking at these issues closely. As he will know, they are autonomous organisations, but I am doing what I can with Cabinet colleagues to make people aware of the precarious nature of the situation.

• 14 Sept 2026 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  I absolutely hear the hon. Lady. I know how closely related transport and its costs are with young people having access to the education and training that they need. Rest assured, this is a priority for the Government.

• 14 Sept 2026 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  My hon. Friend raises a really important issue. Music qualifications have fallen off a cliff, which is why we are taking those steps. The procurement process has begun, so I can outline for him soon what further steps we are taking. I also want to work with musicians such as Ed Sheeran, Fatboy Slim and others who have been campaigning for a music curriculum that actually attracts young people to take it up.

• 14 Sept 2026 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  I am really proud of our commitment to free breakfast clubs, which are great not only for children, but for parents. We hear these testimonies all the time. They are incredibly popular and we will continue to roll them out.

• 14 Sept 2026 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  No.

• 14 Sept 2026 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  The hon. Member raises a really important issue. It is not just about keeping young people in further education, which the measure that he outlines would assist with; it is also about engaging young people in school more thoroughly, which is why the whole range of reforms that I have begun to sketch out are so important.

• 14 Sept 2026 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  Today we are introducing a once-in-a-generation change to school food, making it tastier and healthier and giving over half a million more children free school meals. We have worked with schools, pupils, parents and many more to ensure that these meals are of good quality, attractive to children and deliverable for schools. With free breakfast clubs and a huge expansion of free school meals under this Government, children will be better able to concentrate and learn. I want to put on record my thanks to the Minister for the early years, my hon. Friend the Member for Rochdale (Paul Waugh)—this also happens to be his Dispatch Box debut.

• 14 Sept 2026 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  I know that the Minister has spoken to my hon. Friend. His Bill raises an important issue, and I want to see relationship education and all the issues around that extended as far and wide as possible, because it is absolutely critical in the social media age.

• 14 Sept 2026 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  I want to see sport and PE flourishing in our schools, and that is something I have already spoken about. I am happy to meet the hon. Member to discuss that further.

• 14 Sept 2026 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  I think I originally branded my hon. Friend Mr Doncaster airport, and I am pleased that he is still living up to that name today. He is absolutely right: this is why we are working very closely with mayors, local employers and others, so that local areas like his in Doncaster can ensure that young people have access to the qualifications and work experience they need for the local economy.

• 14 Sept 2026 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  I miss the exchanges that I had with the hon. Gentleman when I was Leader of the House, but now that he is in his new place, I look forward to having them again. This is obviously a matter for headteachers to decide for their schools, and I am all for headteacher autonomy. British values absolutely run right through our curriculum, like the words running through a stick of rock. We can see that British values are right at the heart of it, and I am very proud of that.

• 14 Sept 2026 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  Absolutely; where schools and local caterers can, we absolutely want them to buy local. This is an important part of sustainability. We have tried to get the balance right with these food standards so that they are deliverable by schools and affordable, they are not putting up the costs of school meals, but they are providing tasty, healthier meals that ideally are locally sourced.

• 14 Sept 2026 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  We are giving families more breathing space by helping them with school uniform costs and by expanding Government-funded childcare, free school meals and free breakfast clubs. In East Worthing and Shoreham, 4,100 children will now be eligible for free school meals.

• 14 Sept 2026 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  I am really happy to meet the hon. Lady to discuss this, because our creative arts universities, such as the one in her constituency, provide fantastic qualifications for young people to get the jobs they need.

• 14 Sept 2026 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  The Department for Education guidance is clear on this, and it differs from the NSPCC’s, so I refer the right hon. and learned Member to the DFE guidance.

• 14 Sept 2026 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  As the right hon. Lady would expect, we have been in close touch with the school. Obviously, it is a decision for the local authority, now that the school has become voluntary aided. As I understand it, the school has now clarified that hijabs are not compulsory.

• 14 Sept 2026 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  I am happy to write to the hon. Member about that, but rest assured that we are working with all local authorities on their SEND plans at the moment to ensure that they are robust, deliverable and affordable.

• 14 Sept 2026 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  The Minister for school estates, my hon. Friend the Member for Whitehaven and Workington (Josh MacAlister), would be really happy to meet my hon. Friend, because I know how important this issue is to her constituents.