In last month’s column for the Village Voice, I wrote about my priorities for the future of our communities – and how we can make them even better places to live, work and spend time.
At the time of writing, politicians have just finished this year’s Conference season, where we get together with our Party members to debate the policies and issues that will define politics over the coming years. At Conservative Party Conference, I was delighted that Rishi Sunak set out his vision for the longer term – with some reforms of real substance.
In particular, I want to touch on the reforms to education, which will help to significantly boost our productivity over the longer term; whilst helping to ensure that everyone in our communities gets the start that they need to achieve their full potential.
The headline announcement is the creation of the new Advanced British Standard – a single Baccalaureate-style qualification for 16-19 year olds, bringing together A-Levels and T-Levels. This is designed to ensure parity of esteem between academic and technical education and boost educational attainment. It will also include some maths and English up to the age of 18, bringing us more in line with our global competitors and providing additional support for young people who need maths and English skills to be competitive in the job market.
The reforms to education will also increase teaching time by a minimum of 195 hours over two years, allowing an increase to the breadth and depth of study for 16-19 year olds. There will be an investment of £600m in teachers – doubling the generosity of teacher retention premiums and working to expand recruitment.
Of course, education was only one area where longer term reforms were announced and beyond the main headlines I was particularly pleased to see the new Smarter Regulation Programme which will review the performance and agility of our regulators. From my work as Chair of the Regulatory Reform Group, I know the transformational impact that could have for unlocking productivity, innovation and economic growth over the medium to long term.
As your Member of Parliament, I will continue to work to deliver for you over the longer term – both locally and in Westminster.
