UK politics: Tories’ Philp rejects French claim that shots fired from naval boat near him were training exercise – as it happened

UK politics: Tories’ Philp rejects French claim that shots fired from naval boat near him were training exercise – as it happened

double quotation markThe French are now claiming that the shots were a training exercise

There were no warnings in place about live firing training exercises. They fired the live rounds at the closest point of approach to us - and didn’t fire anything that we saw before or after

It looked and sounded exactly like deliberate intimidation

Chris Philp, the shadow home secretary, has accused the French authorities of not telling the truth about why shots were fired from a naval vessel near a boat he was on in the Channel. He was there to film migrants coming to the UK. (See 2.25pm.) The French say the officer firing a pistol, not in the direction of Philp’s boat, was engaged in a “small-arms firing exercise”. But Philp claims the French were trying to intimidate him. If so, it did not work because this afternoon he has clogged up his social media feed with video footage intended to show how the French are “doing nothing” to stop small boats. Rajeev Syal has the story of Philp’s Nelsonian heroics here.

Three teaching unions have expressed some concerns about Andy Burnham’s plan to get schools to offer early, localised access to technical education. (See 4.55pm.) Burnham has summarised his approach in a video on social media, saying that AI might be able to write an essay, but it can’t build a train, and that for too long young people have been told that desk jobs, not practical jobs, are the future.

Kemi Badenoch has called for emergency legislation to stop serious offenders being included in the prisoner early release scheme due to start in the autumn. (See 9.36am.)

Young people will be expected to engage with new support to find work, Pat McFadden has said, as he announced parents receiving benefits could get £4,500 a year if their child starts an apprenticeship.

Andy Burnham has been urged to launch a tax raid on UK banks, as Barclays revealed a 30% increase in its half-year bonus pool after a rise in profits.

For a full list of all the stories covered on the blog today, do scroll through the list of key event headlines near the top of the blog.

This is from Michael Gove, who was credited with toughening academic standards in English schools when he was education secretary, on Andy Burnham’s plans for vocational education.

double quotation markLabour re-introducing secondary moderns

The Institute for Fiscal Studies thinktank has published a short analysis of Andy Burnham’s plans to reform vocational education. It says what is particularly new is the suggestion that pupils should choose technical education from the age of 14. “That brings its own challenges, not least the risk of asking young people to specialise too soon, though there are other countries which specialise even earlier,” the IFS says.

But the IFS agrees there is a problem to be solved. It says:

double quotation markCurrently, there is a mismatch for many young people in England between the training they receive and the work they go on to do:

-The number of graduate jobs has not kept pace with the expansion of higher education in many places. More than half of graduates in Cumbria and Lincolnshire work in jobs that do not require a degree. England has the highest level of overqualification among OECD countries: in 2022, 37% of workers were overqualified for their jobs, compared with an OECD average of 23%.

-41% of workers in England work in jobs that are not aligned to their area of study. This is not much higher than the OECD average of 38%. But countries with strong vocational pathways linked to local employers, like Germany and the Netherlands, have achieved lower field-of-study mismatch (33% and 31% respectively).

At her press conference this morning, Kemi Badenoch said that the last Conservative government “created 14,000 new prison places”. (See 10.11am.)

However, as the Press Association points out in a QuickCheck analysis, this figure on its own is deeply misleading. PA explains:

double quotation markData from the government show that between May 2010 and April 2024, 14,142 prison places were added by building new prisons or adding more space in existing prisons.

However, there was a decrease in prison capacity of 13,660 in the meantime.

This meant that the overall number of prison places rose by 482 over that period.

Three teaching unions have expressed some concerns about Andy Burnham’s plan to get schools to offer early, localised access to technical education.

Daniel Kebede, general secretary of the National Education Union, said:

double quotation markAndy Burnham’s first announcement should have been that he will end austerity in education. These proposed changes to technical education are welcome, but they will hit the skids unless there is sufficient investment in schools.

Support and investment for schools, colleges and young people must come first. The FE [further education] sector is severely underfunded and the government have not fully funded teacher pay for next year. Where will the teachers, lecturers and physical infrastructure to support these new routes come from without proper funding?

Broader options and flexibility for students are in principle a positive step forward, but if the government’s plans close doors for young people by narrowing their options at 14 this may place limits on their future opportunities. This will disproportionately hit the most disadvantaged.

This is from Matt Wrack, general secretary of NASUWT.

double quotation markThe prime minister has identified a significant issue with the learning offer made to secondary pupils in England. It is entirely legitimate for him to look at how programmes can be reshaped to support young people’s engagement with and enjoyment of learning and create the breadth and balance that the current curriculum lacks.

However, to date there is a dearth of detail on how these new pathways will work and how they will be integrated with the existing curriculum. It will be essential as further details of these proposals are developed that teachers and school leaders are able to help shape the structure and implementation of any plans.

And this is from Paul Whiteman, general secretary at NAHT, which represents school leaders.

double quotation markSchool leaders support the principle of giving technical and vocational education the same status and recognition as more traditional academic routes. Young people should be able to access pathways that reflect their strengths, interests and future aspirations, as part of a broad and balanced curriculum.