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Education and Skills Bill

I pay tribute to my hon. Friend the Member for Broxbourne (Mr. Walker) for making a powerful speech. It is a reminder of why education is so important and how it can change people's lives. My first question to the Minister is whether he will come back to the House to explain the impact of the Bill, should it become an Act, on teachers and schools where students are obliged to stay in education until the age of 18—but it probably will not be him, or indeed other Labour Front Benchers, who will be in a position to respond, because it will be five years from now. That prompts the question whether we are getting into the situation that we have with the Liberal Democrats, in which this Government can make policy knowing that they will not be responsible for the consequence of that legislation when it comes into existence. [Interruption.] The problem that I raised on Second Reading—if Labour Front Benchers can contain themselves—is the impact of disruptive students on teaching and the classes that they remain in. Of course the 16-year-old faces some choices, but many students will decide that the easy option is to remain in school. If the Minister has spoken to teachers, he will be aware that there is a genuine concern that disruptive students will remain in classes and have an impact on the learning ability of those who are genuinely there to learn. As my hon. Friend the Member for Bognor Regis and Littlehampton (Mr. Gibb) said, the big difference between the Conservative approach and Labour's is whether we incentivise students and pupils to remain in education or oblige them to remain in it. The fact that we face today is that half of teachers are choosing to leave the profession after five years. That is a horrific statistic. One of the principal reasons why they choose to leave is the disruptive nature of students. Hon. Members across the House share the idea that we want more students to gain from education, particularly when we look over our shoulder and see what is happening in France, Germany and other places throughout Europe, where the standards of education are very high. The competition is extremely tough, and we must do all we can to ensure that we give children the best chances. However, I repeat my concern: what will happen to those classes where students who genuinely want to learn face the prospect of sharing at least two years of their time in school with other students who want to tread water—who are taking the easy option of remaining in school because they have already decided to give up and have decided that they do not want to learn, do not want a job, and want to live on the state? We have already failed them. They will have a knock-on impact on those who genuinely want to do something with their lives. Question put and agreed to. Bill accordingly read the Third time, and passed.