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| Version 3 | Version 4 |
|---|---|
| Non-learners 'may lose benefits' | Non-learners 'may lose benefits' |
| (10 minutes later) | |
| The Chancellor, Gordon Brown, has said he would seek to take away benefits from young people who refused to take up education or training opportunities. | The Chancellor, Gordon Brown, has said he would seek to take away benefits from young people who refused to take up education or training opportunities. |
| In a BBC interview he advocated a "carrot and stick" approach - education maintenance allowances (EMAs) balanced by "compulsion if necessary". | In a BBC interview he advocated a "carrot and stick" approach - education maintenance allowances (EMAs) balanced by "compulsion if necessary". |
| He wanted to ensure all aged 16 to 18 were in some form of education, as part of a drive to improve the UK's skills. | He wanted to ensure all aged 16 to 18 were in some form of education, as part of a drive to improve the UK's skills. |
| His priorities would be "excellence, excellence, excellence", he said. | His priorities would be "excellence, excellence, excellence", he said. |
| Earlier this month, the Department for Education and Skills confirmed plans to raise the school leaving age in England, in effect, by 2013. | Earlier this month, the Department for Education and Skills confirmed plans to raise the school leaving age in England, in effect, by 2013. |
| Statistics indicate 267,000 of those aged 16 and 17 are not in education or training. | |
| Compulsion | Compulsion |
| The chancellor's interview remarks fleshed out his suggestions in a speech in Scotland, hinting at some measure of compulsion. | The chancellor's interview remarks fleshed out his suggestions in a speech in Scotland, hinting at some measure of compulsion. |
| Young people will have to be in training or education until 18 | Young people will have to be in training or education until 18 |
| He also called for employers to take a more active role in training young people. | He also called for employers to take a more active role in training young people. |
| He proposed adapting the existing "Train to Gain" scheme to provide work-based training for 16 to 18-year-olds, alongside his commitment to double the number of apprenticeships to 500,000. | He proposed adapting the existing "Train to Gain" scheme to provide work-based training for 16 to 18-year-olds, alongside his commitment to double the number of apprenticeships to 500,000. |
| Mr Brown said young people must realise they could not receive benefits unless they were "contributing to their own training". | |
| "I believe it's the combination of the carrot and stick that's going to make the difference." | |
| But the first stage would have to be consultation with parents and teachers on developing a national programme. | |
| Also in his sights was the lack of any requirement on employers to provide training for young people they took on. | |
| He believed people were generally recognising that, faced with the rise of countries such as China and India, they would have to have better qualifications in future. | |
| "We have got to be number one in the world in education," he said. | |
| "My priority is excellence, excellence, excellence: we have got to upgrade our skills." | |
| Education was "my passion" and "my priority", he said. | |
| "It will have pride of place." | |
| 'Muddle' | |
| Asked whether he was looking forward to being a parent in the state school system, Mr Brown said he did not want to comment on his children's education. | |
| "The important thing is that every child has the best possible start in life," he said. | |
| Shadow education secretary David Willetts said that at long last Gordon Brown had had to recognise that Labour's policy for 16 to 18-year-olds was not working. | |
| Since 1997, the number of 16-18 year-olds not in education, employment or training (the so-called Neets) had risen by 27%, he said. | |
| "That is why Gordon Brown now wants to raise the school leaving age to 18." | |
| But staying on was not the same as getting qualified: more than half of Britain's apprentices dropped out of their courses before they completed them. | |
| He also seemed to be in "a constitutional muddle", given that education and training were devolved matters. | |
| "So why is the UK Chancellor talking about creating 50,000 extra Scottish apprenticeship places when this is a matter for the Scottish Executive? | |
| "And why is he addressing the Scottish Parliament on English educational matters over which Holyrood has no powers?" |