March 2026

This Government have already launched five AI growth zones, creating 15,000 jobs and unlocking £40 billion of investment in industrial heartlands across the country. The east midlands AI growth zone— a high-potential bid for that is under active consideration —could bring thousands of good jobs to the region, including in Nottinghamshire, unlocking investment, creating opportunities and regenerating the area in partnership with local businesses and universities.

Parliamentary appearance by Liz Kendall

Parliamentary appearance by Derek Twigg

Parliamentary appearance by Derek Twigg

I am grateful to the Opposition for this debate. In the recent Westminster Hall debate on this topic, we heard powerful testimony about the reality that graduates face in making repayments every month and watching their balance grow, with their plans deferred and lives constrained. I am sure we will hear more of that today, and those stories deserve to be heard and to receive a clear response, not a political runaround. Parts of the motion are not wrong. The plan 2 threshold should be unfrozen,

I am glad that the hon. Gentleman raises that point. I totally agree with him that it is something that needs to be looked into and fixed. As I have mentioned, we know that 10 times as many young people want an apprenticeship at 18 as there are places available. The demand is there, but the places are not. To me, it makes complete sense to move from funding dead-end courses at universities to giving young people the opportunity to do an apprenticeship that will get them into a job, and they will

I will not. When the hon. Gentleman tried to intervene on me recently, he accused me of jumping on a bandwagon about rape gangs, so he will forgive me for not taking another intervention from him. Too often, students are receiving minimal face-to-face teaching, limited supervision and a university experience that falls far short of what was promised. This is not a fair system and it is not a sustainable one either.

Parliamentary appearance by Claire Hanna

Parliamentary appearance by Sir Keir Starmer

I do not know whether the hon. Gentleman was listening when I covered that point. The whole point is that those degrees do not lead to jobs in the creative arts industry. It is a mis-selling scandal. They promise a glittering career in the creative arts and do not actually deliver it. I think that is a problem, and I am sad that the hon. Gentleman does not think that. What are students receiving in return for these enormous fees?

My hon. Friend is spot on. It is not well known that apprenticeship degrees are more oversubscribed than Oxford and Cambridge. These are things that young people want to do, and that is why we are trying to expand them. Instead of celebrating the expansion of low-value degrees, the Government should ask whether it is right to continue pushing young people down a path that leaves them with debt but no clear prospects.

It seems like the hon. Gentleman was at university only yesterday. If we are asking young people to take on a mountain of debt, it is important for them to know that they will get a job and have prospects afterwards. I do not think that is an unreasonable proposition, and it is one that I will argue for.

My hon. Friend is, as ever, absolutely right. Opportunity should be created for young people here, not in other countries, and that is what we want to create.

I must declare an interest as someone in the first year group to have a plan 2 student loan under the broken system introduced by the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats that we have today. Will the right hon. Member apologise to my generation for £9,000 tuition fees, for the broken system she created and for failing to introduce the Renters’ Rights Act 2025 that this Government have acted to introduce?

Parliamentary appearance by Kirith Entwistle

Q9. NHS waiting list numbers are down by 374,000 thanks to this Government. Reform UK would take us back to the day when decent healthcare was only for people who could afford it. Innovation needs to be at the heart of our health service as we strive for better patient care. Does the Prime Minister agree that the partnership between Huddersfield Royal infirmary and the Huddersfield University health innovation centre is a great example of that? How do the Government intend to expand the brillian

Parliamentary appearance by Helena Dollimore

Parliamentary appearance by Jacob Collier

Parliamentary appearance by Afzal Khan

Parliamentary appearance by Mr Adnan Hussain