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Education and Skills Bill

I speak in support of the Bill. I congratulate the Government on taking this courageous step, which I believe will, in time, be seen as almost as important as—if not more important than—the decision taken by the 1966 to 1970 Labour Government to raise the school leaving age from 15 to 16. I do not underestimate the practical difficulties in implementing the Bill's requirements—particularly those related to raising the participation rate. However, the hon. Member for Bournemouth, East (Mr. Ellwood) put the argument that somehow the Bill would incur enormous costs that a future Government would have to take on board. That does not deal with the central issue. Investment in education and training is an investment in future GDP; it is an investment in the GDP of future generations. Either way, the taxpayer will pick up the tab: if we do nothing, the taxpayer will pick up the bill through the criminal justice system or through the national health service; if we want to do something, and create a more cohesive, economically successful and egalitarian society in which opportunities are more equally spread, investing in education now will pay dividends for the taxpayer in years to come. Raising the participation rate is an important step forward. I congratulate the Government on their courage and welcome the fact that the Opposition have finally agreed not to oppose it, even if they are not yet completely convinced of all aspects of the Bill. It is interesting that last week the Opposition made a great deal of noise about another aspect of education and skills policy: the change to the ELQ—equivalent or lower qualification—arrangements in higher education. Now that they seem to have understood the principle behind the raising of the participation rate, I hope that as time goes by they will make the link between the two. Last week, they were defending the status quo and the current distribution of public spending to a particular privileged group; this week, the Government are trying to extend opportunities to the majority. We have to make the connections between the two—unless the hon. Member for Havant (Mr. Willetts) believes that there is an infinite amount of public investment available, and I do not see a Government of his party coming up with increased investment that would pay for both policies.