If any constituency in the UK needs further education, it is Nottingham, North. It takes in eight outer-city former council estates in the north of the city. Sadly, as the Minister knows from his interest in taking on the problems and tackling them, it is the least educationally attaining constituency in the UK. We send the fewest youngsters to university of any constituency, youngsters cannot stay on beyond 16 at any of the seven local secondary schools, and all the Nottingham, North wards are in the bottom 5 per cent. for educational attainment. Of those who go on to secondary school, 11 per cent. cannot read the first lesson at their school.

However, all the above are symptoms and not the cause of our perpetual educational underachievement. The cause is the anti-education culture of all too many parents on the estates. It is that which needs to be tackled, above all by developing effective parenting skills in the parents of children aged nought to five. Every Ofsted report on local primaries shows that children do not arrive at primary school school-ready; hence they do not have a fighting chance to develop the social and emotional intelligence that they need to learn and to attain. Putting those building blocks in place at nought to five is not a scheme or a nice-to-have—it is a prerequisite for sustainable improvement in attainment in a place like Nottingham, where 58 per cent. of children are born out of wedlock, and which has one of the highest teenage pregnancy rates in the UK. Both of those factors contribute to poor inter-generational parenting skills.

I would ask the Minister to ensure that the Department for Education and Skills is at least as demanding in measuring local performance in improving parenting skills as it is in targeting five A to Cs in areas such as mine. One size does not fit all. Middle-England targeting does not fit the UK’s most under-attaining constituencies. DFES and local education policies must be much more sensitive to local situations and solutions. For example, we have not been helped by dilution of the local focus on education—on its own the toughest job in Nottingham—by piling children’s services, youth offending, social exclusion, teenage pregnancy and half a dozen other subjects on to one local education department. One difficult child abuse case could divert the single-minded drive on parenting and school readiness that we so desperately need to focus on in Nottingham. Those and other structural problems need to be confronted, but it is important that decisions are not made that make things worse, and that is where the Basford Hall college further education campus comes in.

We began to hear rumours that New College, Nottingham was planning to close its Basford Hall campus, the last further education base in Nottingham, North, and sell it for housing. In educational terms, that beggars belief, as the site is sandwiched between the Aspley ward, where two out of three people have no qualifications whatever, and the Basford ward, which has the highest number of people not in employment, education or training of all 20 wards in the city of Nottingham. Those two wards are flanked by the outer-city estates of Broxtowe, Bulwell, Bilborough and Bestwood, whose educational records are just as chronic. They are shockingly illustrated by this map, which shows the distribution of people who have qualifications below level 2. The darker the blue, the fewer the qualifications. We can see the appalling concentration of darkest blue on the map, and right in the middle of those areas—perfectly located—is Basford Hall college. Which educationist in their right mind would close a college that is located in exactly the right spot for a base to fight back against the local problems, which is what we are doing?

A local campaign led by tenants’ and residents’ associations, churches, councillors, communities and many others sprang up almost immediately. It has been absolutely magnificent. I hope that New College, Nottingham, having finally listened to our representations, will agree not only to keep Basford Hall open but to use it as a base to reach out seriously to the local communities whose youngsters need it so much. In fact, its board is meeting in Nottingham at this very moment. We do not want Basford Hall campus pickled in aspic. We want it to be used for something that has not been done effectively for many years: reaching out to local communities and drawing in the people who so badly need its services.

It is not always clear what has been agreed with New College, Nottingham, but, having met with the principal and the chair of governors of the college on Saturday, I hope that it will now publicly commit to the Basford Hall campus tackling not just educational underachievement but much more, and that it will become, as further education everywhere should, a motor for wider regeneration of the area and for the personal development of the young people and adult learners of Nottingham, North and elsewhere. Our objective as a campaigning group, if I am allowed the privilege of speaking on behalf of the Basford Hall action group—

I want, too, to thank the Minister’s officials for the way in which they have ensured that this has been a constructive debate.

The objectives of the campaign are clear. First, to remain on the existing site and rebuild the construction block there. Secondly, to acquire the now defunct Red Lion pub on the site and to use it, either as a base or to create better road access. Thirdly, to create a community learning base—a brain factory—that might well accommodate our community learning champions. They are people who, having learned skills in further education, return to the estates from which they came to encourage other people into further education. They have been there and done it, and can say, “It doesn’t hurt. It actually helps you; give it a try.” Fourthly, to agree a land swap with the city council to create a further education shop front on that prime roadside site on the main route from the M1 to Nottingham city centre. Thousands of vehicles pass by every day. Those points make it more evident what is going on on the site.

The community is bursting with bright ideas, including negotiating changes in bus routes to help the youngsters to get off the estates and access the site. Our action group has agreed to a brainstorming session with New College, Nottingham in the near future if it agrees to keep the Basford Hall campus open. We would also welcome other FE providers, both from the private sector and from other FE colleges, to work together for the good of the community and of Nottingham on that site.

I can see the question going through the Minister’s head of why the matter could not have been worked out locally rather needing to be brought before him and Parliament by an MP. That is one question that I shall have to leave him to think further about. I cannot answer it at the moment.

Thankfully the debate is being answered by a Minister who is not only committed to the mission of further education but has taken the time to visit Nottingham, North. We appreciate that. The Minister has seen our problems and has been supportive of our activity. We do not have the fatalistic view that we are bottom of the league and there is nothing we can do about it. We have worked hard in a number of areas so that we can get two academies and “Building Schools for the Future” money, and so that Ministers, including the Minister who is present today, will come along to see what we can do. The Secretary of State came just a few months ago. We are buzzing with ideas and creativity and we need to get on and do that sort of stuff.

I hope that the Minister will dispose of the following questions and of one or two of the red herrings that have been thrown up. We all need New College, Nottingham to put together a clear proposal in an accommodation strategy, after consulting local people and others, and to get that proposal in front of the local learning and skills council without further delay.

The first point that the Minister can help us with is the 14-19 strategy, which must continue to be honed to improve vocational education. I understand that if the local learning and skills council makes it clear that it supports a project—in this case, the educational redevelopment of Basford Hall—the national Learning and Skills Council’s capital committee is not bound by rigid formulas but can act flexibly. Can the Minister confirm that that means meeting on average 35 per cent. of the costs and that new guidance is being considered by the Department for Education and Skills that could take that up to 100 per cent. were that considered to be appropriate?

The second point is about using the small but significant amount of DFES capital funds that is available via the LSC to build community learning centres in areas of great need. Will the Minister tell me the name of that fund, say something about its scope and confirm that it can be accessed by further education colleges such as Castle college and New College, Nottingham, not least to help build a community learning centre that is welcoming to those who live on the local estates? It should help to outreach from the base to the estates to draw people in.

The third point is increased participation at 16-plus. The increased flexibility programme gives 14 to 16-year-olds the chance to sample vocational education. It motivates them when they are at the greatest risk of being turned off by education. I present the certificates annually for that programme at the Basford hall campus, and it is great to see the delight of the winners and their parents when they receive their prizes for education—often their first. I know that changes are planned, and the strong feeling on the ground is that it must be done with great care. Will the Minister explain the changes to that programme and confirm that it will not simply result in dispersing the IFS money to the schools from next year?

The fourth point concerns training for adults. We need to continue the drive to ensure that training is better linked to the job market, and I welcome the Government’s emphasis on that, but we must not forget that some of the routes into vocational training for adults are via softer courses. If I can continue to present to adults from the Hope centre on the Broxtowe estate their first ever certificates of achievement, then I don't give a damn if it is for nail-painting, door keeping or basket weaving. It is the vital breakthrough for people who have never before attained anything, and it could be the first step to their receiving training in other more productive and vocationally based areas. It is getting them that taster—that education does not hurt and that it can be enjoyable and interesting—that may help them to progress and get a better job.

We all agree with the new priorities—focusing on the skills that employers need, and seeking fee income from those who can afford to pay. However, in areas like Nottingham, North, which is not middle England, we have to get adults back on the learning track—and I do not care whether it is by hook or by crook. Can the Minister confirm that funding will continue to be available to support adults back into learning and so help them progress into employment and other learning opportunities?

I now throw in something that I did not have the chance to warn the Minister about. He will know that I am the chair of the local strategic partnership, One Nottingham, and our proposal for a city strategy on welfare to work has been approved by the Government. Perhaps the Minister would be kind enough to write to me. I do not expect a reply today, but I am concerned that the assistance for adult skilling includes employability skills for those cities with city strategy pathfinders. I would be most appreciative if the Minister or his officials could write to me.

The fifth and final point is strengthening the learning and skills council. The LSC has been supportive of efforts to tackle Nottingham, North’s further education problems, and has itself undertaken a study into the constituency. There is a need for a clearer focus on the foundation curriculum for young people, and the LSC area director tells me that he will make it a particular focus of his planning for next year. Local providers would all be grateful for more clarity on where they might each fit into that local strategy. Will the Minister consider strengthening the planning powers and control of the LSC over education providers, and give it formal responsibility for ensuring that the adult learning and the 14-to-19 strategies are delivered?

Nottingham has a pilot scheme for linking up funding for 14 to 19-year-olds. It is between the LSC and the LEA. It should be a mainstream approach. Only in that way will it be rolled out effectively. There should be a mainstream joint budget between the LSC and the LEA to pay for curriculum development, courses, transport between sites and capital development. Currently, the budgets are not focused enough and are in separate pots. The funding pilot is helping, but it needs to be extended and made a permanent feature, even if it means considering top-slicing current allocations. My final question to the Minister is whether he will consider strengthening the role of the LSC and mainstreaming the LSC-LEA 14 to 19-year-old pilot.

Some of the ideas emerging from the Basford Hall action group and New College, Nottingham are exciting; they include a learning park, a base for learning champions, employability skills, and a centre of excellence for voluntary and third sector providers working with the college. We must enable such social entrepreneurship to thrive by ensuring flexibility and responsiveness in our funding systems. Central and local educational bureaucracies need to develop imaginative and hand-made solutions to tackle the deep-seated problems that are holding back areas such as mine and preventing them from benefiting from the prosperity that higher qualifications can bring—qualifications which are taken for granted in so many parts of the country.

If the DFES, the local education department, the LSC, New College, Nottingham and the local community can work together, not only will we make Basford Hall campus a great success, but we will make a serious contribution to developing talented and achieving youngsters. They will be the parents of tomorrow’s generation and, in turn, they will be the ambassadors within the family, passing on the value of education and learning to their children. That, and only that, will destroy once and for all the inter-generational, anti-education culture that disfigures the life chances of so many of my constituents.

I congratulate the my hon. Friend the Member for Nottingham, North (Mr. Allen). I know from personal experience that he takes such issues exceedingly seriously—he has rightly lobbied me heavily—and when I visited his constituency, I saw the real need there.

My hon. Friend has raised a series of points to which I shall try to respond in the short time available to me. He spoke about children’s services and early years. In “Reaching out: an action plan on social exclusion”, we recently announced that we were setting up 10 demonstration projects in 10 local authority primary care trust areas. We have no preconceived preferences for where those projects should be located, and partners in Nottingham, North may wish to consider making a bid once they have seen the criteria.

I agree with my hon. Friend about the importance of parenting skills. In Nottingham and throughout the country, we need a strong further education sector. Everyone who wants it should have the chance to benefit from further education, regardless of their background or circumstances. Access to good FE helps create opportunities for students in areas of under-attainment particularly—as in my hon. Friend’s constituency—if there is no tradition of continuation in education and training beyond the age of 16. That is especially important in areas such as Nottingham, North, which includes the most deprived ward in Nottinghamshire. Indeed, we are doing some work in my hon. Friend’s constituency, which has one of the three lowest participation rates in higher education.

My hon. Friend mentioned his specific concerns about the long-term future of the FE campus on the Basford campus.

We are expecting a Division in the House at half-past 5, and I ask that we return afterwards. I apologise for delaying everyone, but it is an important issue and I am sure that those extra nine minutes will be well spent.

I am happy to do that.

My hon. Friend is aware that New College, Nottingham is considering how it will deliver FE provision in the future, and it has been considering the provision of accommodation on all its sites. It is important that FE colleges regularly assess their plans and consider the available options. However, they must ensure that opportunities for high-quality learning are maintained and that the needs of all students, but particularly those in areas of under-attainment, can continue to be addressed. For example, we know that ease of access and transport will be key issues for many students, and colleges will need to consider them carefully before any decision about the future location of provision is made.

Many young people and adults recognise the potential benefits of studying at the local college. For some it is a second chance, an opportunity previously thought lost, to get back into education and training and to improve their life chances. Whatever their reasons, it is vital socially and economically that all who can benefit from further education have the chance to do so.

Let me say a word about consultation with partners. Given the requirements that I have set out, we would expect any college considering the future of its sites to consult and work with students, local employers, community groups and other local partners when making decisions. The role of MPs in that process is paramount.

Any decision on the future location of college sites also has to meet the needs of learners in the local area and take into account the requirements of those with the potential to become disengaged from education or training. In that regard, only in very exceptional circumstances would we expect to see the removal of a significant FE site from an area of educational under-attainment and low achievement, particularly given the links and reputation that will have been established between the FE provider and local community over many years.

I understand that New College, Nottingham is participating in numerous discussions at a local level and it may be helpful for all parties if a clear timetable is now set out to clarify when and how decisions about the future of the campus will be made.

The learning and skills council has a key responsibility for planning and funding and it is critical to ensure that appropriate high-quality provision continues to be available in areas such as Nottingham, North. In that particular case, the LSC is fully aware of the issues that the area faces and has a strategy focused on helping to deal with them. I am assured that the LSC is open to considering any proposals from New College, Nottingham that set out its plans for future delivery arrangements and that it will want to ensure that meeting the needs of learners is at the heart of any proposed changes.

My hon. Friend has raised a number of specific questions that I will try to respond to. First, on capital funding, he asked about the funding to support the development of vocational education. He is correct that, on average, projects receive 35 per cent. grant support contribution from the LSC. The LSC will be prepared to pay up to 100 per cent. to ensure that we have the right provision, mix and delivery of programmes if the circumstances dictate it. Next month the capital prospectus will be published, which will give more detail, and that will generally be welcomed in the FE sector.

Secondly, my hon. Friend asked about funding for building new learning centres. The LSC administers the neighbourhood learning and deprived communities capital fund, which is available to help local voluntary and community sector organisations to deliver learning opportunities for people living in disadvantaged neighbourhoods. The priority recipients of this fund are voluntary and community sector organisations engaged in direct delivery of learning or working in partnership with a range of providers that are offering learning.

However, I assure my hon. Friend that the fund is not designed exclusively for them. FE colleges are also eligible to apply for funding, but if such provision is required in an area and a suitable plan is presented by a college, that would be supported out of mainstream FE funding.

Thirdly, my hon. Friend asked about the increased flexibility programme. I am pleased that he has seen the benefits of that at first hand. Let me reassure him that funds for that programme are not being cut or phased out; rather, funding will not be ring-fenced in future. However, we have made it clear that we do not expect to see any reduction in the overall volume of provision next year. The LSC will still be able to allocate funding to 14-16 college provision; indeed, that funding can be enhanced if it is aligned with local authorities’ own vocational provision. That could lead to an increase.

The fourth issue is the first steps provision: the stepping-stone provision up to level 2. My hon. Friend raised key concerns. Certainly, we are maintaining our commitment to learning for personal and community development and we have safeguarded through the LSC budget £210 million in both this financial year and the coming financial year for that type of learning.

We are also conscious that while our approach is rightly targeted at level 2, which is the minimum educational attainment level necessary to maintain someone in a sustainable manner with employment, we nevertheless need to ensure that we have proper stepping-stone provision up to level 2. That is why we are creating the foundation learning tier, to identify what genuinely leads to progression and what does not in terms of course provision. Over time, as resources allow, we have made it clear that we look to make that foundation learning tier an entitlement.

Fifthly, my hon. Friend talked about the strengthening of the role of the LSC and mainstreaming an LSC and local education authority 14-19 pilot. He asked about strengthening the LSC. In the recent White Paper we set out our intention for the LSC to become a strategic commissioner, strengthening both its ability to plan at a regional level and its ability to work on the ground at a local level. That is part of the way forward.

My hon. Friend also asked about mainstreaming a pilot being run in the area for 14-19 year olds. The pilot in Nottingham is one of a number that encourage 14-19 partnerships to develop effective area organisation and funding models led by the LSC and local authorities. It includes pragmatic local arrangements for pooling and aligning funds from a range of sources into a virtual budget to support 14-19 delivery and development. We will want to draw on best practice from those pilots in rolling out the specialised diplomas from 2008.

My hon. Friend also talks about the role of One Nottingham, which I know he chairs, and its engagement with the city strategy on welfare to work. The Department for Work and Pensions is working on that programme. He raised an important question and I will respond to him.

We appreciate the need for the long-term planning and funding of 14-19 reforms and the delivery of specialised diploma entitlements, in particular to be underpinned by mainstream funding in line with the principles for 14-19 funding announced in the White Paper.

My hon. Friend rightly raised genuine concerns that exist on the ground in his constituency. I know from all that I have seen and having visited his constituency that it is an area of genuine deprivation where we need to work across agencies and Departments to help to raise aspirations, attainment and engagement with the education service. I fully understand the views and concerns that my hon. Friend expressed this afternoon. I hope that an effective solution can be found for the problems of Nottingham, North that meets the needs of its students, partners and the local community quickly. I reiterate that I fully understand his concerns and I trust that those will be addressed by the college and the LSC. I again thank him for the real interest that he takes in these issues and the assiduous way in which he put forward the concerns of his constituents.

Question put and agreed to.

Adjourned accordingly at twenty-three minutes to Six o’clock.