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Shrewsbury Sixth Form College

I thank the hon. Member for Shrewsbury and Atcham (Daniel Kawczynski) for raising this issue and for the close interest that he of course takes in the future of Shrewsbury sixth form college. As he indicated, he has raised the issue on a number of occasions, and has met my hon. Friend the Minister for Lifelong Learning, Further and Higher Education. The hon. Gentleman has also held a number of meetings—14, I think—in his constituency and has written to the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills on a number of occasions. We have been willing and keen to continue to discuss what are very local issues in his part of the world. We both ultimately have the same aim: to secure the best possible educational provision for the young people of Shrewsbury and the surrounding area. Shrewsbury sixth form college is a good college, according to the latest Ofsted report published in May. However, it recommends that the college should"““address unsatisfactory aspects of accommodation and social space””," which was also recommended in its previous Ofsted report, in 2004, prompting the college to look at options for redevelopment. The Government are undertaking a massive capital investment programme to ensure that colleges such as the one in Shrewsbury have world-class buildings and facilities. Hundreds of thousands of learners in communities throughout England have benefited from colleges taking up the opportunity given by our investment. The planned capital investment in the Shrewsbury colleges will total approximately £65 million, to provide fantastic resources for the young people in the area. In 1997, there was no dedicated capital budget for further education colleges. Over the past 10 years, the Government have invested more than £2 billion ensuring that learners have access to the state of the art buildings and facilities that are essential if we are to meet the skills needs of local communities and young people. As set out in our capital strategy document, ““Building Colleges for the Future””, a further £2.3 billion will be invested in the estate over the next three years. That investment will benefit generations of learners to come, meet the skills needs of employers and act as a catalyst for community regeneration. Capital investment plays a crucial role in the Government's implementation of their priorities for young people and adults, as set out in the 14 to 19 reform programme and our response to the Leitch review of skills in England. Capital grants for sixth form colleges are managed by the Learning and Skills Council. Following machinery of Government changes, we announced our intention to bring sixth form colleges within the scope of the ““Building Schools for the Future”” strategy document, from 2010-11, so that they can be part of the area-wide entitlement to 14 to 19 provision. We will ensure that our capital investment coheres to support sixth form colleges in the new system. Modernisation of the college estate is not just about bricks and mortar. It is about creating the best possible learning environments accessible to all learners, and ensuring that young people are excited by learning so that they stay on in education and training. It is about delivering greater specialisation, so that businesses have access to a wider range of industry-specific skills development opportunities for their current and future employees, and about creating community-owned facilities that meet local needs and that can provide an important kick-start for local regeneration. Ensuring that such facilities are accessible to those who most need them is obviously critical, and it is absolutely necessary if we are to maximise the public benefit of the investment that we are making. Our investment will result in cutting-edge facilities and ensure that our work force have the skills that they need to succeed in a rapidly changing world. The Learning and Skills Council will expect all contractors that access public funding to have in place a formal training plan that maximises access to apprenticeships and work-based learning and training opportunities. Although we are making significant progress towards modernising our further education estate, we must not do so at the expense of the environment. We will require all new projects to meet the highest building standards for sustainable design and we have a taskforce in place to advise on how to ensure that by 2016 all new buildings will be zero carbon—two years ahead of the Government target for public sector buildings that was announced in the Budget.