Brexit and Covid aside, Times journalist James Kirkup asks what the Johnson administration is for and identifies two main reforms which could leave a lasting legacy on both his government and the country.
“The first is net zero. The second is the lifelong loan entitlement. You’ve probably heard of the first but not the second. You probably haven’t heard how both will change much of the way we live.
If, as he ought to, Johnson sticks with net zero, a legacy from his years in office should be the greening of Britain’s industry, homes and transport. That sort of change outlives poll ratings and election results.
The lifelong loan entitlement (LLE) is that sort of change too. Revealed in the Queen’s Speech, it heralds a genuinely significant change in funding and access to learning and skills for adults. By opening up student loan finance to everyone and allowing them to fund part-time courses, it should give Britain a system and culture of skills and knowledge fit for the 21st century.”
That last sentence must surely form the bedrock of any future education policy and finally address the decades’ long underinvestment in work-related skills which has had such a devastating impact on our rates of productivity and regional economic performance.
The full article is enclosed below with a link to the original beneath it.
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