Damian Hinds

I will, but I will start by telling my hon. Friend about the lack of quality in some previous apprenticeships. I draw the House’s attention to the 2012 National Audit Office report on adult apprenticeships. I have time for only a couple of very short excerpts. The number of apprenticeships had increased dramatically in the three years up to 2012. The vast majority of apprentices were over 25. One in five apprenticeships lasted fewer than six months. Only one third of apprenticeships were at an advanced level, compared with something like 60% in France. In a separate study, there was the amazing discovery that, at that time, one in five apprentices—and this was to rise even further—did not even know that they were on an apprenticeship, so poor, thin and flaky were those courses. So, yes, Madam Deputy Speaker, we reformed the system. First, in 2012 we introduced the minimum length of one year. We then had the substantial package of reforms in 2017 to make sure that there would be 20% of time off the job and to introduce the apprenticeship levy. It included the move from frameworks, which were sort of tick-box standards in many cases, to proper standards that would be designated and designed by employers and would have a proper end-point assessment to guarantee that that person had learned those occupational standards. And yes, of course the number of people on apprenticeships then fell. The Government amendment says that they want to reverse the decline in apprenticeships under the previous Government. The reality is that the number of apprenticeships first grew like crazy under the previous Government as a result of the Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Act 2009, and then it came back down following our reforms to make the apprenticeships higher quality and more exacting. In 2010, the 280,000 figure was still lower than the 340,000 that we achieved in government. Now it looks like the Government are set on restarting that rollercoaster by reducing the standard of apprenticeships.