Baroness Garden of Frognal (LD)

My Lords, as I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted by the votes, national qualifications were supposed to be the lasting solution—and where are they now? I remember the concerns people had that the qualifications which had shaped so many careers were to disappear. We tried to reassure them that they would be City & Guilds NVQs, which calmed some of the storms, but with City & Guilds currently in the doldrums that will not be so easy this time round. The current creative qualifications are broadly understood and respected. Why create something new, rather than refurbish the existing? We also note that overly prescribed content will not support those SEND learners who currently thrive under a flexible, adaptable and practical-based curriculum. Will the Minister slow down the pace of reforms and retain funding for the successful creative qualifications, at least until T-levels or V-levels have proved their worth, because they certainly have not yet? It is vital to consult further education colleges and tutors, universities, schools and awarding bodies which know at first hand the value of the qualifications they deliver. The awarding bodies were not fully consulted in the development of T-levels, which meant that mistakes were made. I associate myself most warmly with the very real concerns about modern languages. If I had more time, I would develop my arguments on those, but I must stick to the time here: just rest assured that modern languages are pretty essential to our future, too. The futures of our young people—the future creative professionals and international ambassadors who could contribute much to the quality of our lives and to the economy—are at stake. However, I congratulate the Government on rowing back from the exclusively academic programmes of their predecessors.