---

Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Bill

This is an important measure and it will take forward the skills agenda—[Laughter.] It will take it forward in a way that the Opposition have never done. When they were in power, there was no investment in apprenticeships, and none in the FE capital programme. I heard the concerns expressed by the hon. Member for Havant about the FE capital programme, but when he went to the Association of Colleges conference in November he could not even confirm his party's commitment to our capital programme for 2010-11, let alone the one for the future. I know that my hon. Friends will say that I am being unfair—[Hon. Members: ““No!””] They will say that this was all 10 years ago and that the Opposition have learned their lesson. They are cuddly now, and full of emotional intelligence. Well, the hon. Member for Surrey Heath was certainly full of emotion, with not much intelligence, and the hon. Member for Havant was full of intelligence, but not much emotion. The truth is that the Opposition have learned little from their past history and they would make the same mistakes again. Question put and agreed to. Bill accordingly read a Second time.