Like all MPs, I am regularly contacted by constituents struggling to access the training they need to secure fulfilling and meaningful work. I also speak to employers about the severe skills shortages they face in key areas across the local economy.
The coronavirus generation of students – from primary school to adult learners – have faced a previously unimaginable transformation in the way they learn. The resilience, creativity and imagination of the education sector during this time to support them has been inspiring.
Energy security is vital to UK prosperity. As a net importer of all main fuel types, further investment in domestic production is needed to not only limit our exposure to foreign shocks impacting the cost or supply of fossil fuels, but to facilitate the transition to a net zero economy and to diversify our energy portfolio.
When the prime minister used one of his first speeches to talk about ‘levelling up’ England’s left-behind regions, he could quite well have been referring to the lack of opportunities available to young adults in deprived coastal or rural communities, with no clear career pathway after leaving secondary school.