The Prime Minister opened Cabinet by inviting the Leaders of
the Commons and the Lords to update on business in both Houses.
This included bills being taken through Parliament this week,
including the Skills White Paper, due to be published later this
afternoon, and legislation relating to renters' rights, planning
and infrastructure and sentencing.
Turning to the Skills White Paper, the Prime Minister said there
was a need for a system that values apprentices as it values
graduates and that it was striking how many of the senior
management of Britain's biggest businesses are ex-apprentices. He
added he would like to see a world where ex-apprentices sat
around the Cabinet table, as well as those who had gone to
university.
The Education Secretary thanked colleagues across government for
the work they had done to make the white paper a reality, and
outlined the once-in-a-generation reforms aimed at creating the
skilled workforce the economy needs, driving up earnings and
productivity. She said new V-levels giving young people both
flexibility and choice, while putting universities on a long-term
financially stable footing. The Work & Pensions Secretary
also noted the work from colleagues on the white paper, saying it
underlined the importance of the transformation from a dependency
welfare state to an opportunity welfare state.
The Chancellor then updated Cabinet on tomorrow's Regional
Investment Summit in Birmingham, saying it was key to unlocking
opportunities in all parts of the country in sectors including
defence, technology and energy. She thanked the Mayor of the
West Midlands, , for hosting the summit,
saying it would send a message that the government was
pursuing growth everywhere, outside London and the South East,
underpinned by good jobs that people can see. The Business
Secretary added that the summit would welcome around 350
attendees, including from the biggest firms, driving growth and
investment in the UK.
