---

Education and Skills Bill

I will make a little more progress and then take some more interventions. Before I get on to the detail of the Bill, I want to put it in an international context. Despite the rise in participation that we have seen in recent years—participation at 16 has been rising—it is still the case that we have one of the lowest rates of staying on in education or training at 17 of any country in the developed world. It is the third lowest in the western world. Many countries and provinces throughout the world are already raising the education participation age or preparing to do so. In the Netherlands, since August last year, education has been obligatory until 18. In Western Australia, the leaving age was raised from 15 to 16 in 2006 and to 17 this year. In New Brunswick in Canada, the education-leaving age is 18. It is because other countries are making fast progress that we must act now to ensure that we do not fall behind our international competitors.