Oral answer to question provided on Thursday, 25 March 2010 in the House of Lords, by Lord Mandelson (Labour).

Further Education: Funding

Answer: My Lords, it is true that I have been serving a long and recurrent apprenticeship for my current role. That is why, among other reasons, I am firmly committed to apprenticeship training for others. However, the figures that the noble Lord quotes about economically inactive people mask the fact that a rather large number of them are in full-time training and education, even though they may be registered as looking for work. While I strongly welcome the noble Lord’s support for further expansion of apprenticeships, training and further education, I hope that he will be able to have a word with his friend the shadow Chancellor to make sure that such activities are exempted from his plans for large-scale spending and investment cuts. The shadow Chancellor has made it clear again today that he has those in mind for the country should he ever be elected.

This is an answer to the Oral question asked on Thursday, 25 March 2010 by Lord Hunt of Wirral (Conservative).

Question: Is the noble Lord aware that the number of those unemployed for longer than six months has now risen to 1.24 million and that there has been a substantial rise in the economically inactive to over one in five of the working-age population? Does he not agree that further education for adults provides people with an invaluable second chance in life? He has already enjoyed three chances in life. Will he continue to deny this second chance for others?

Secondary information