What steps he is taking to increase the number of apprenticeship places in Sedgefield constituency.

Last year, 590 people started an apprenticeship in the Sedgefield constituency—the highest number for five years. In January, the new online National Apprenticeship Vacancy Matching Service went live, enabling employers to advertise apprenticeship vacancies at no cost and prospective apprentices to search for places across England.

The new National Apprenticeship Service will be fully functional from 1 April, providing a single point of contact for employers and apprentices. To raise awareness and encourage more employers to take on more apprenticeships, we are running a national advertising campaign fronted by Sir Alan Sugar, no less.

I thank the Minister for that reply. We need to applaud the Government for saving the apprenticeships scheme from the previous Administration. In my constituency, the number of apprenticeships has gone up by 80 per cent., but 15 per cent. of adults still do not have any qualifications. Will he tell me what the Government are doing to ensure that that figure continues to decline?

I will tell my hon. Friend, and I thank him for his analysis, which means a lot coming from such an assiduous representative of his constituents. He wanted to know the number of apprentices in Sedgefield; the answer is 590. Shall I tell him how many apprentices per UK constituency, on average, were starting apprenticeships in 1997? The answer is 20. Congratulations are due for the fact that there are 590 apprentices in Sedgefield. The biggest single thing we are going to do is increase the investment in apprenticeships to more than £1 billion over the next two years, unlike the Conservative party, which is committed to cutting it.