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Work and Skills

That is exactly the point. I have a very good special school in my constituency, Woolgrove, which takes youngsters who one might think would never learn to read, but they do. It is because the school uses methods such as synthetic phonics. If a child with such obstacles can be taught to read using synthetic phonics, it is madness not to provide the same service to people who do not have those special barriers. Yes, let us make sure that we use synthetic phonics and teach our young people to read. Although we welcome the fact that the Minister and his colleagues are trying to rescue those who did not learn to read at school and bring them back, it should never have got to that point. The problem should have been solved when the youngsters were seven or six, not when they are 17, 18, 25 or much older. I applaud the fact that the Government are trying to rescue the situation, but things should never have gone that far. My second point is about level 2 qualifications. According to all the research, graduates are likely to earn 71 per cent. more than those with no qualifications; the figure is 50 per cent. more for those with two good A-levels or an apprenticeship at level 3. Level 2 qualifications, however, do not give a gain, yet a lot of the Government's effort is going into level 2. The Minister has a difficult job at a difficult time, but let us try to get things right. The hon. Member for Luton, North (Kelvin Hopkins) made the point that other countries are rigorous about apprenticeships and professional qualifications of that sort and that people there are taught at level 3. If, as Ministers say, an educational ladder of opportunity has to be climbed—and Leitch did say that beyond 2020 there would be very few jobs for people without qualifications—it is not good enough to teach people something; they have to get to a level that is higher than the one there used to be. The Government accept that, but level 2 is not the answer. Level 3 is what we should aim for. A topical debate on an important subject is the sort of debate that we should be having, but it is a pity that more Members have not been here.