The Minister responded by acknowledging local skills needs and conversations with metro Mayors and combined authorities. He stated that the list of sectors can change based on current needs, offering support to those without level 2 qualifications through basic skills courses. He committed to addressing community learning and English for speakers of other languages in future consultations.

The Minister responded that they are working towards aligning the two sectors to ensure students receive value for money across both routes. He committed to reviewing funding models in line with the Augar review recommendations.

The Minister acknowledged the urgency of addressing unemployment but reiterated that comprehensive changes, including flexible finance from 2025, are necessary to ensure long-term sustainability and effectiveness.

The Minister explained that the Government aims to address regional disparities through local skills improvement plans, encouraging tailored solutions based on local economic needs.

Gavin Williamson acknowledged concerns and committed to working faster on reforms. He emphasised record funding increases and plans to toughen enforcement of careers advice requirements.

Gavin Williamson agreed with the proposal for a parallel UCAS-like system for FE and indicated willingness to explore bringing this together with UCAS.

Gavin Williamson highlighted the importance of smaller, bite-sized training options and introduced boot camps as a solution to meet immediate skills needs in industries.

Gavin Williamson agreed that investing in FE was crucial and essential to equipping young people with skills needed for available jobs.

The hon. Lady will see that this is an expansive package of support for people who want to get training and skills, which is very much designed and fit for the modern economy and responsive enough to shift with changing labour market needs.

I know that my hon. Friend has been championing the concept of silicon Stoke and ensuring that Stoke-on-Trent has not only the inward investment that is vital for the revitalisation of that great city but investment in the human capital, talent and resources that it has always had but that need enhancing. I look forward to working with him to ensure that that happens and that investment comes to the great city of Stoke-on-Trent.

As the hon. Lady is aware, we had a one-year funding round this year. Every Secretary of State always aspires to a multi-year funding round, and I think there is very much cross-party agreement on that. We were able to secure one for schools, and I very much hope that in the future we will be in a position to secure one for post-16 education.

In my hon. Friend’s constituency of Grantham and Stamford, there is already great provision in colleges. We want to make it even greater and make sure they have the resources to grow what they are doing. We want to make sure they are truly linked in with the local economy, because where there are skills shortages in his constituency, colleges are the first place that businesses turn to plug the gap. We want to make sure the economy and business are growing strongly and creating the employment that we all want in his constituency and all our constituencies.

The hon. Gentleman obviously could not be bothered to actually read the White Paper, so I will send him a copy. He will notice that there have been lots of new announcements.

I will take this opportunity to thank my right hon. Friend for his work in enabling us to proceed with this skills for jobs White Paper. Without his commitment and dedication, including the odd skirmish with the Treasury, we would not have made the progress we have made with the institutes of technology, which are already starting to transform young people’s lives, and of course with T-levels. On where we want to go, we really want business organisations to work with colleges, putting this on a statutory footing, very much like what we see in Germany, Switzerland and the Netherlands, where they can co-design the qualifications they need and match the job needs of the local community. That will bring those businesses and the business sector into the heart of those colleges, ensuring that we drive employment and the right set of skills.

I will complement that with a shorter answer. The answer is very much so. Colleges will play a really important role in retraining. Obviously, there will be a different set of skills and certain industries will have retracted, but it is about making sure that young people and people of all ages get the right skills for the economy.

I thank my hon. Friend for all the work he has done with me and, of course, the Minister for skills and colleges. We have appreciated him highlighting the challenges faced by Newton Rigg. We and the whole Department will continue to work with him and do everything we can to secure a sustainable future for the college by working with local partners.

We will always, whether through the national skills fund or the lifetime skills guarantee, look at every measure that needs to be taken to maximise flexibility in the skills sector. These are important steps in the right direction. I thank the hon. Gentleman for his warm words, but I take note of the fact that, quite understandably, he calls for us to go a little further, as I am sure all Opposition Members would always ask us to do.

My hon. Friend is right to highlight the great work that East Coast College does. It is a brilliant example and has such a positive impact in serving its local community. It will be up to a comprehensive spending review to set any multi-year settlements—not the Budget, sadly—but we will be working on the simplification of budgets and the allocation of moneys, which will benefit and help many colleges in managing their finances.

We want to ensure that local communities benefit from the type of major infrastructure investments that we are making right across the country, whether that is HS2 or other infrastructure. When the hon. Gentleman has the opportunity to go through the White Paper, he will clearly see that we want to put local business right at the heart of decision making.

My right hon. Friend is absolutely right. It is so important that our colleges are at the forefront of ensuring that we have the skills needed for the new technologies and new emerging markets, which will be so demanding for skills, whether that is in green energy, digital or cyber-security.

We certainly hope that right across the country, and not just in Bristol, everyone sees colleges as a vital lever in delivering economic growth through delivering skills.

I absolutely agree. It is a real Achilles heel of this country. In this country, 10% of the 18 to 65 workforce has higher technical qualifications, as compared with 20% in Germany and 34% in Canada.

I thank the hon. Gentleman for his comments. This is something that I do care passionately about. Like so many Members in this House, I recognise that this debate should be about not just the 50% of youngsters who go to university, but the other 50% as well. We all recognise the importance of what our colleges provide.

I am very happy to pay tribute to Keighley College for the work that it does. Obviously, this is a college that was born out of the industry that made Keighley great. We want to see an incredibly close relationship between business and colleges. We want to see local businesses really driving the design of courses.