This has been a really useful, wide-ranging debate, and I thank everybody who has taken part in it. I particularly thank the hon. Member for Worcester (Mr Walker) for helping to secure it and for his flexibility around that, and also for his focus on 16-to-19 education and for raising the issue of BTechs. That is incredibly important; it is something that has been raised by local school leaders in my area, and something that the hon. Member for Twickenham (Munira Wilson) also raised.
I support my right hon. Friend the Member for Hayes and Harlington (John McDonnell) in calling for a national education service, free from cradle to grave. As he said, we are a long way away from that, but it is still a really important ambition that we should have. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Sheffield, Brightside and Hillsborough (Gill Furniss), who spoke about the impact of Government cuts. She spoke of a lost decade in adult education and the importance of meeting the skills challenges that we face. My hon. Friend the Member for Stretford and Urmston (Andrew Western) spoke about the appalling workforce crisis in his constituency, an issue that the hon. and learned Member for Eddisbury (Edward Timpson) also raised. Recruitment and retention of technical staff is something of an issue.
Adult education is a public good, and at a time when we are facing challenges in the economy, skills and employment, it is vital that the Government revisit the level of funding being provided to the sector and address the recruitment and retention issues that have been so clearly expressed. It is also important that the Government think again about their approach to non-vocational education and consider the value it can bring to an individual’s personal development and particularly to our cultural sector, and that they fund a broad curriculum.