Business of the House

Catherine Atkinson Excerpts

Thursday 22nd January 2026 Commons Chamber

[Sir Alan Campbell]

It is a matter of concern not just to the hon. Gentleman but to the family and friends of the young man involved. Overall, waiting lists are coming down, but there are issues in parts of the service, and we are doing our best to tackle them. We are also doing our best to recruit specialists in those services. I will ensure that the Health Minister hears of the hon. Gentleman’s concerns to see what further can be done and that if the hon. Gentleman wishes to go into further detail, he is able to do so at a meeting with the Minister.

[Catherine Atkinson (Derby North) (Lab)]

This week, I met 19-year-old Jack Billingham, a third-year Derby Rolls-Royce apprentice who won gold at the national welding championships in November and who is representing the UK at the WorldSkills international competition in Japan. I had a go at virtual-reality welding, and I admit that Jack’s score was a little higher than mine. At a time when the UK faces a national shortage of welders and of those with other critical manufacturing skills, could we have a debate on how we can strengthen the skills pipeline and support apprenticeships for good, skilled British manufacturing jobs?

[Sir Alan Campbell]

I thank my hon. Friend and send my congratulations on behalf of the House to Jack Billingham on winning gold at the national welding championships. We are already making efforts to support young people, such as through investing £1.5 billion to deliver 50,000 more apprenticeships and 350,000 more new workplace opportunities, but a great deal more needs to be done, not least as we seek to improve and renew the infrastructure of our country. I encourage my hon. Friend to apply for an Adjournment debate to investigate further how we can promote highly skilled manufacturing jobs. Should she be unsuccessful in that, I will look to hold such a debate in Government time.