Paul Davies MP introduced a debate in Parliament (Westminster Hall debate) calling on the Government to bring in a new National Lifelong Learning Strategy.
You can:
In his remarks, Mr Davies invited ministers to take inspiration from the report from the Ministry of Reconstruction’s Adult Education Committee, published in 1919. You can read the report online here
“This debate is well timed, as we are midway through Get the Nation Learning Week, a national campaign co-ordinated by the Learning and Work Institute“
“I didn’t know it was Get the Nation Learning Week!”
Well you do now. They even made a video for it:
Adult education and lifelong learning – not just for work, but for leisure & enjoyment too
This has been an issue I’ve campaigned on for years, ranging from courses, architectural styles of buildings people learn in, to methods of transportation getting people to and from the venues.
Below: “I want that one!” – the revamped adult education centre in Blackburn.
Above – The Victoria Building, Blackburn, being converted into a new Adult Education College
“Lifelong learning needs to be incorporated across government agendas within a national lifelong learning strategy.”
I agree.
“What did the Minister say in response?”
Josh MacAlister responded for the Government even though it’s outside of his portfolio. He’s the Minister for Children and Families – his colleague in the Lords, former Home Secretary Jacqui Smith holds the Lifelong Learning portfolio.
The minister highlighted the relevance of history in policy-making.
“I particularly want to thank my hon. Friend for setting out the historical context of this debate and for drawing Members’ attention to the efforts of previous Governments during reconstruction and some of the economic tumult that the UK has experienced in recent years.”
Above – Josh MacAlister, 04 Nov 2026
Surprisingly he acknowledged that the department as yet has not been working with the WEA (Workers’ Educational Association – which used to have a notable presence in Cambridge until the 1990s)
“I also want to thank the Workers’ Educational Association, representatives of which are in the Public Gallery for this debate. The association has been in existence for 123 years, following an inspirational mission. I start my contribution by confirming that the Government would very much welcome working with the WEA on these matters and many others.“
Might have to follow that one up because as I mentioned in this Lost Cambridge piece from 2023, the WEA is no longer with us.
Above – from the WEA here: a county-sized hole in lifelong learning.
Above – from the Cambridge Evening News 08 Dec 1999, p64 via British Newspaper Archive. You can see how embedded the WEA used to be within the continuing education provision
“What else did the Minister say?”
“There is a clear case for action. Recent polling indicates that nearly half of adults in England are considering a career change, but for many, finding the time to retrain around work and family life remains a major obstacle.”
Above – MacAlister (2026)
Which is splendid!
“That is why this Government are delivering a more flexible post-18 education and skills system with the lifelong learning entitlement at its heart, giving people greater flexibility over what, when and how they study. Student finance in England is changing to reflect that, and this debate is timely, because last Friday 30 October, the application service for the new student finance system, the lifelong learning entitlement was launched.”
Above – MacAlister (2026)
Which is anything but! The new student finance system simply piles up the loans and debts onto people who cannot afford it. The burden of learning for adults has shifted away from employers to employees. And I’ve moaned about this before:
- Two days ago – employers invest one third less training per employee than in 2005.’
- Back in 2021 when the Education Select Committee found out 39% of employers admitted to training none of their staff.
The problem with the Minister’s response is that his mindset was entirely restricted to a jobs-and-growth framework. And even within that, the Minister had nothing to say about the chronic skills shortages we have in/around Cambridge nor on what policies the Government could develop to ensure employers contribute substantially more to meet the costs of training and maintenance for those retraining to fill those vacancies that remain unfilled.
“The Government’s response to lifelong learning, however, is broader than that single programme. We are building a system of post-18 education, skills, adult learning, career advice and higher education.”
Above – MacAlister (2026)
There’s nothing about learning for leisure – which is essential for improving people’s physical and mental health. Look at the number of people who do physical activities such as dance, and other sports. Furthermore, it took a backbench intervention to pin the Minister down on citizenship education for adults.
“On the Minister’s point about building stronger communities, does he agree that lifelong learning should also include civics education?”
Above – John Slinger (Lab – Rugby)
With that in mind, the publications by the old Advisory Council for Adult and Continuing Education 1977-83 (I’ve bought and digitised four reports here) are still relevant.
Above – ACACE reports on: Political education for adults, Protecting the Future for Adult Education, Basic Science Education, and Local Learning Centres.
The minister’s response:
“Given some of the threats and challenges that our democracy faces, there are wider debates about how we ensure that not only our institutions, but our society is more resilient and deeply democratic. Education is crucial to that.”
Above – MacAlister (2026)
Surprising he didn’t go further as he mentioned he’s a former citizenship teacher at school. (For those of you interested, it’s worth buying a past GCSE Citizenship textbook from the pre-EURef days as it shows how comprehensive the course is meant to be). His response indicates that ministers have not given much thought to it. So if anyone wants to contact their MP to ask ministers to make a policy statement on democracy education for resident adults, see https://www.writetothem.com/
On loneliness
Mr Davies said:
“I chair the all-party parliamentary group on tackling loneliness and connected communities, which spoke to young people a number of weeks ago. The key thing they talked about was individualised support, and many of them talked about SEND issues.
“Not only do 86% of people who attend learning courses say that they make new friends as a result, but the volunteers also benefit: 77% of WEA volunteers feel more connected to their community following their involvement. From my perspective as chair of the APPG, that connection and that aspect of tackling loneliness are especially powerful merits of lifelong learning.”
“What was the Minister’s response?”
He completely ignored it, sticking to the script put in front of him by his department’s civil servants. Which was particularly frustrating given the local brick wall I have run into locally on trying to connect the two in the minds of local institutions.
“Understandable given that this isn’t his policy area”
It’s a shame that there’s no means of following up these issues on the floor of the Commons with the Lords’ Minister Jacqui Smith because of the conventions that Lords scrutinise Lords’ ministers, and MPs scrutinise the Government Ministers who got elected to Parliament.
So if there are any friendly peers out there who might be willing to take this up, please do!
Because the Minister did not give a sufficiently detailed response to the points MPs made.
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