Higher Education Reform

Debate between Gillian Keegan and Barbara Keeley

Monday 17th July 2023 Commons Chamber

[Gillian Keegan]

My hon. Friend makes an excellent point, and I know that he is a big champion of the University of Bolton, which I was delighted to meet recently. It is quite interesting that a lot of former polytechnics and newer universities are working and collaborating so well with businesses, offering more degree apprenticeships and more flexible courses, and storming up the league tables.

[Barbara Keeley (Worsley and Eccles South) (Lab)]

I am concerned that many university degrees that lead young people into the creative sector will be squeezed under the Government’s plans. Industry leaders have warned that limiting student numbers based on graduate earnings fails to account for the working patterns of graduates in the creative industries, and particularly the arts, where people do not immediately earn high salaries. The salaries in those professions do not reflect their importance to national wellbeing and the contribution that the arts make to our national income. What assessment has the Department for Education made of the damage that this latest policy will do to those arts and humanities subjects that have already been relentlessly cut back under Conservative-led Governments?

[Gillian Keegan]

I am a huge supporter of our creative and arts industries, which are among our largest, and we are very successful in them. I work with them a lot to ensure that we can deliver even broader apprenticeship routes, because they are difficult industries to get into. I have asked the Office for Students to consider how to do this reform to ensure that we consider things like the creative arts and other routes, which sometimes take longer to get into but offer a different aspect of learning. That is why we have not just introduced a blunt tool. I will continue to work with our fantastic creative sector.

Adult Social Care

Debate between Gillian Keegan and Barbara Keeley

Wednesday 1st December 2021 Commons Chamber

[Gillian Keegan]

On the latter point, I cannot say much more at this point, but a White Paper is being developed and will be available early next year. My right hon. Friend is absolutely right that that is another key part of making sure that councils can deliver on the obligations in the Care Act 2014.

The levy raises £12 billion a year, more or less. For the three-year period, the majority of that sum will go towards catching up with electives in our NHS. There are now 6 million people in urgent care, so that is the right thing to do. However, we know that we will need an increasing share of that fund as we go beyond the three-year period. Many of the reforms in the White Paper and many of the things that we will be working on will help to inform the discussions with the Treasury.

[Barbara Keeley (Worsley and Eccles South) (Lab)]

Social care is a vital service that has been in crisis for a decade. What we need is reforms to bridge the funding gap so that unmet needs can be met and more care packages can be delivered; a dramatic improvement in pay and conditions for care staff, to halt the exodus out of care work; and decent support for the 11 million unpaid carers who have done so much extra caring during the pandemic. Sadly, what the Minister has announced falls far short of what is needed. Does she actually believe that these half-hearted measures in any way match up to what the care sector needs to survive?

[Gillian Keegan]

This is a big reform that needs to take place, and it is based on demographic changes in the population all over the world. It is complex, and it will take a lot of time: it is a 10-year vision. I know that the hon. Lady has not had the chance to read our White Paper yet, but I am sure that she will see that there are a lot of things in it.

If we are actually looking to fix something—if we are looking to put a sustainable system in place that offers independence, choice, a great place to work and a great career—we need to fix a lot of solid foundations. I know that the Labour party always wants to throw money at the problem, but actually we need to make sure that the foundations are in place and that proper and sustainable funding is in place. That is what the White Paper delivers.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Gillian Keegan and Barbara Keeley

Tuesday 19th October 2021 Commons Chamber

[Gillian Keegan]

We have started the trials and they are well under way. We are using three trial providers. Our final evaluation report is due in spring 2022 and I would be very happy to share that with my hon. Friend. The outcomes of this trial and the evaluation will inform the plans for the roll-out across the country. I am working closely with Paula and Tom, Oliver McGowan’s parents, who, incidentally, grew up in the same place that I did—in fact, two streets away. They are key stakeholders and, obviously, we will make sure that we set out the detailed plans for roll-out as soon as possible. I thank my hon. Friend and Paula and Tom for all the work that they have done in this area; it really is remarkable and will make a massive difference. On the annual health checks for people with learning disabilities, the NHS has already met its target two years ahead of time for 75% of people on the GP learning disability register to receive an annual health check. I would urge anybody to come forward to make sure that they take advantage of that very important step.

[Barbara Keeley (Worsley and Eccles South) (Lab)]

The Government have not responded to the report of the Health and Social Care Committee on the treatment of autistic people and people with learning disabilities and that response is now well overdue. Sadly, there is continued evidence of ongoing abuse of people with learning disabilities and autistic people. I point the Minister to the deaths reported at Cawston Park. There was a terrible report on that recently. This needs immediate and assertive action. Autistic people and people with learning disabilities are often trapped in inappropriate units for six years on average. By delaying their response, the Government are demonstrating apathy with regard to the terrible treatment in places such as Cawston Park and other units. When will the Government respond and act?

[Gillian Keegan]

I share the hon. Lady’s concerns; it simply is not good enough. The events at Cawston Park—my first response as a Minister to an Adjournment debate was on that subject—were unbelievable and deeply traumatic. My deepest condolences are with the families of Ben, Joanna and Jon. I have committed to meeting with the families at the earliest opportunity so that I can understand their experiences directly. This is currently being arranged by officials and the Norfolk Safeguarding Adults Board. The Department continues to work at pace through the delivery board of cross-Government and cross-system partners to drive progress on implementing the Building the Right Support national plan, which is ultimately the answer to have much better support in the community. We will publish an action plan, outlining all of the plans that we have, how we will improve outcomes and how we will enable people to live well in our communities.