Post-16 Education and Skills Strategy

Adnan Hussain Excerpts

Monday 20th October 2025 Commons Chamber

[Bridget Phillipson]

I would be happy to meet my hon. Friend, and I am delighted that North Kent College will be one of our first 10 new technical excellence colleges. That will give young people in her community and beyond the chance to obtain a well-paid, secure job in one of the Government’s key areas as we seek to build more homes. I would be happy to discuss further with her the reforms that we intend to introduce, and there will be a full consultation in which people will be able to take part.

[Mr Adnan Hussain (Blackburn) (Ind)]

I welcome the statement. In Blackburn I have been working with our college and jobcentre to help young people access real opportunities, but in towns such as mine, which is among the most deprived in the country, it is not talent but investment that is lacking. What strategy will the Secretary of State employ to ensure that skills funding truly reaches places such as Blackburn, and will she meet me to discuss the serious shortage of ESOL spaces, which is causing many constituents to wait for up to a year, out of work?

[Bridget Phillipson]

We are investing more in further education and also in our schools system, but we recognise that one in seven young people aged between 16 and 24 are not in education, employment, or training. We urgently need to bring that figure down, because every single day we see the consequences of that failure, both for the individual young person and for our wider economy. That is why many of the measures in the White Paper are about how we can give young people the support that they need. If the hon. Gentleman writes to me, I will respond to his specific point about ESOL.

Gaza: Humanitarian Situation

Adnan Hussain Excerpts

Tuesday 28th January 2025 Commons Chamber

[Anneliese Dodds]

I refer my hon. Friend to my previous remarks. The UK Government have been very clear that Gazans must be able to return to their homes. That is a matter of international humanitarian law.

[Mr Adnan Hussain (Blackburn) (Ind)]

Despite genocide, displacement and destruction, Palestinians are returning to northern Gaza and remain rooted in their land. In respect of President Trump’s remarks, the Minister has been asked a number of times about what appears to be yet another forced displacement. What is the position of the Minister and her Government in respect of President Trump’s remarks?

[Anneliese Dodds]

I have said perhaps five times that the UK Government are absolutely clear that Gazans must be able to return to their homes, including in northern Gaza. That is a very clear matter of international law.

Israel: UNRWA Ban

Adnan Hussain Excerpts

Tuesday 29th October 2024 Commons Chamber

[Anneliese Dodds]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for being crystal clear, as the UK Government have been, that UNRWA has a clear mandate—one that is obviously part of the UN framework not just in Gaza but in the west bank and the wider region. We have stated that numerous times, and we are in concert with our international partners to make that crystal clear. We will continue to make that clear. As I mentioned, with winter approaching it is critical that UNRWA can continue to operate without impediment.

[Mr Adnan Hussain (Blackburn) (Ind)]

These are the words of the United Nations humanitarian chief, Joyce Msuya:

“The entire population of north Gaza is at risk of dying”.

If someone so high up in the United Nations is making statements of that nature, we can safely make the assertion that the onslaught on Gaza is genocidal in nature—the measure being intent, and not, as the Foreign Secretary alluded to yesterday, the volume of counted deaths. Will the Government alter their position on this matter? What will they do, by way of resolute action, to ensure that this crime against humanity is halted immediately? Words are not enough; action is needed.

[Anneliese Dodds]

I agree that words are not enough. One of the reasons I met Joyce Msuya when I was at the UN General Assembly was to ensure we are working in concert with UN bodies on the humanitarian crisis and catastrophe within Gaza. We need to ensure that UNRWA is able to continue its lifesaving work. We need to see that other lifesaving measures are adopted, too. It was the UK Government who pushed so hard to ensure leadership on the polio vaccination campaign. We continue to push to ensure that the measures that are so vital for those in Gaza continue and that far more aid goes into Gaza than we are seeing at the moment.