Tim Farron secures commitment from Education Secretary to improve access to agricultural apprenticeships in Cumbria

On the floor of the House of Commons this afternoon, Westmorland and Lonsdale MP Tim Farron asked the Secretary of State for Education to invest in level 4 agricultural apprenticeships for young people in Cumbria.

Speaking during Education Oral Questions in Parliament, Tim said: “There's never been a greater urgency for us to equip our young people with the skills that we need to enter a career in farming, and yet, only a half of those who took level three agricultural apprenticeships in Cumbria last year completed them, and there were no availability of any level four apprenticeships.

“Will she look at this worrying situation, and will she pay personal attention to it and provide the funding necessary for us to have agricultural apprenticeships in Britain's leading agricultural county?

Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson replied: “I'd be more than happy to look at the issue that the honourable gentleman sets out, to look at it personally, to make sure that we do more in this area.

“He will be aware that at the moment we have a review underway around level three qualifications, but we also know that as a country, we need to do much more around level four and level five qualifications as well.

“So if the honourable gentleman would share further information with me, I'd be happy to look into it.”