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Further Education and Training Bill [HL]

I support this amendment. I shall not repeat the arguments that we have just heard, which I support, but I wish to make three other points. First, London is an immensely complex place. There is a need to deal with that complexity across different sections of the capital other than on a piecemeal basis. Secondly, the importance of the London economy to the rest of the country means that we must do everything that we can to ensure that the education and skills base in London is as strong as possible. On the third point, which I find easier to make than some, London is larger both in population and impact than parts of the devolved administrations in the United Kingdom, or, indeed, some of the countries within the European Union.