Post-16 Education and Skills White Paper

Lord Watson of Invergowrie Excerpts

Tuesday 24th February 2026 Lords Chamber

Asked by

[Lord Watson of Invergowrie]

To ask His Majesty’s Government how they plan to use the Post-16 education and skills white paper, published on 20 October 2025, to promote and deliver a culture of lifelong learning.

[The Minister of State, Department for Education and Department for Work and Pensions (Baroness Smith of Malvern) (Lab)]

My Lords, the post-16 White Paper sets out our plan for giving people of all ages the skills and knowledge that they need to succeed and we need in order to develop a workforce that supports growth and national renewal. Through a range of policies and reforms across government, including the introduction of the lifelong learning entitlement, we will take a system-wide approach to promoting a culture of lifelong learning.

[Lord Watson of Invergowrie (Lab)]

I thank my noble friend for that response. I know she is aware that tomorrow marks the 60th anniversary of the launch by the then Arts Minister, Jennie Lee, later Baroness Lee of Asheridge, of the White Paper which led to the establishment of the Open University. That institution stands today as one of the finest legacies of any Labour Government. The 1966 White Paper emphasised that student enrolment should be open to everyone. This was referenced in the post-16 White Paper comment that there should be “no place or person” excluded from further education. Does my noble friend agree that more flexible pathways into and through higher education are necessary, as well as improved adult skills, that these are critical for economic growth, and that the Open University has a major role to play in this?

[Baroness Smith of Malvern (Lab)]

I strongly agree with my noble friend’s comments. I recognise the enormous contribution that a previous Labour Government made through Jennie Lee with the establishment of the Open University—and the contribution that the Open University has made in the last 60 years to enable people to learn in a way that suits them throughout their lives. It has transformed many people’s lives. As my noble friend says, we need to learn from that, not just in terms of our higher education but in how we can use the lifelong learning entitlement to enable people to learn throughout their lives—in further education and through independent learning providers and HE, supported by student finance. In the modern world, with a changing workplace, it is crucial that we enable that to happen and it is right that people have those opportunities.