Speeches by Hinds.

“This is a thorough piece of work from Professor Francis. There are things in it to welcome, including the retention of key stage 2 assessments and the triple science entitlement, although the Government will have to say where the resourcing will come from to make that a reality. In truth, there are other things that we…”

“Let me try to help the Minister, because Conservative Members are very keen to know the answer, and probably many of his colleagues are keen to know it too. It is one thing to say, “We would like to reduce the cost by 25%”—sure you would! The question is: how do the Government think they are going to realise savings of…”

“The hon. Gentleman makes a very good point. I might return the favour by mentioning the Robert Bolt theatre, which I think is in his constituency. Colleagues will know of “A Man for All Seasons”, and the hon. Gentleman is something of a man for all seasons himself. As well as bringing more people into the town centre, …”

“I largely agree. In truth, it is a blend. Having distinctive independent traders is what sets all our towns apart; it makes them unique and it makes us very proud of them. But customers want both those independent traders and some brand-name retailers, and there is nothing wrong with being a brand-name retailer. The se…”

“It is a pleasure to take part in this debate, Madam Deputy Speaker. It is natural in these debates that we repeatedly hear phrases like “lifeblood” and “beating heart”, because colleagues across the House love our town and village centres; they are the essence of our local communities. For me, that means principal town…”

“I want to talk about skills. It has come up a few times, including from Eilish earlier, and you mentioned both modern transferable skills like governance and digital skills but, crucially, I want to talk about traditional craft skills and heritage skills. On the red list of endangered crafts, 72 skills are listed as be…”

“Is it a question for the Church of England or is it a question for the Department of Culture, Media and Sport?”

“Do you have a formal road into Skills England—or did you go to IfATE before—for setting the occupational standards in these craft skills? Matthew?”

“Thank you very much. Can I follow up first on a question that Rupa asked about the historic churches? I have three in my constituency, two small ones and one grand one, but they are all subject to a restrictive rule that they can be used only six times a year for religious services. At the same time, all manner of diff…”

“On a different tack, there has been a shift away from people wanting to own stuff to having experiences, particularly since covid. It is a big trend of the leisure area. Heritage skills, particularly some of these rarer skills, in theory offer quite a big opportunity. I wonder how or if you see the opportunity of uppin…”

“That is of course already possible, to be clear. You can do an apprenticeship across more than one employer.”

“I want to pick up on what Geoff said earlier about the project funding being fine but there being limited preventative and maintenance funding. To what extent are you able, as English Heritage, to focus the money that you control on the former, on the preventative maintenance? To what extent do you do that?”

“There will be more flexibility in how the apprentice levy will be used. It is changing to the growth and skills levy, although that question about covering salaries is a different one. How long would a typical apprenticeship in a craft skill be?”

“It is currently changing. All the main institutions are changing. Has that solved or will it solve any of your problems?”

“I want to talk about skills. It has come up a few times, including from Eilish earlier, and you mentioned both modern transferable skills like governance and digital skills but, crucially, I want to talk about traditional craft skills and heritage skills. On the red list of endangered crafts, 72 skills are listed as be…”

“Is it a question for the Church of England or is it a question for the Department of Culture, Media and Sport?”

“Thank you very much. Can I follow up first on a question that Rupa asked about the historic churches? I have three in my constituency, two small ones and one grand one, but they are all subject to a restrictive rule that they can be used only six times a year for religious services. At the same time, all manner of diff…”

“I want to pick up on what Geoff said earlier about the project funding being fine but there being limited preventative and maintenance funding. To what extent are you able, as English Heritage, to focus the money that you control on the former, on the preventative maintenance? To what extent do you do that?”

“On a different tack, there has been a shift away from people wanting to own stuff to having experiences, particularly since covid. It is a big trend of the leisure area. Heritage skills, particularly some of these rarer skills, in theory offer quite a big opportunity. I wonder how or if you see the opportunity of uppin…”

“That is of course already possible, to be clear. You can do an apprenticeship across more than one employer.”