Deputy Presiding Officer, earlier this year I made a statement to the Assembly announcing the Government’s response to Professor Ellen Hazelkorn’s report, ‘Towards 2030: A framework for building a world-class post-compulsory education system for Wales’. That report made significant recommendations for reforming the post-compulsory education and training—hereafter I shall call it PCET—system in Wales. The two primary recommendations, which the Welsh Government has accepted, were that we should develop an overarching vision for the PCET system and that there should be a new arm’s-length body as the sole regulatory, funding and oversight authority for the post-compulsory system.

I was delighted by the cross-party support given in January to the direction of travel set out in Professor Hazelkorn’s report, and I am pleased today to announce the publication of ‘Public Good and a Prosperous Wales’, our White Paper, that sets out our proposals for reforming the PCET system, covering further and higher education, research and innovation, work-based learning and adult community learning, and which seeks the views of stakeholders on the way forward.

At the heart of the White Paper are our proposals for a new body—the tertiary education and research commission for Wales—which would replace the Higher Education Funding Council for Wales and provide oversight, strategic direction and leadership for the whole PCET sector. This model draws on best practice from successful tertiary systems and economies around the world. We propose in the White Paper that the commission’s functions would include: the strategic planning of educational and skills delivery across PCET; funding; quality assessment and enhancement; managing performance and risk across the system; overseeing and co-ordinating Welsh Government’s research and innovation expenditure; and providing a step change in available data, including measuring educational progression, destinations and outcomes for learners.

A key focus of the commission would be protecting the interests of learners, ensuring that vocational and academic routes are equally valued, and helping to impart the skills needed to succeed in an increasingly competitive economy. Through its strategic planning and funding activities, the commission would also be responsible for aligning PCET more closely with the needs of employers, helping to build a stronger future economy.

We set out in the White Paper three potential models for managing the relationship between the commission and providers of education and training, based on the core principle of registration. The three models are: (1) a registration of provider model; (2) an outcome agreements model; and (3) a regional compacts model. The consultation seeks views on each of these.

Research and innovation is integral to the future success of our universities and economy. The commission would be responsible for co-ordinating research and postgraduate research capacity funding in a more strategic and dynamic way. It is proposed that a statutory committee of the commission, to be known as ‘research and innovation Wales’, would lead on this. This would protect and promote Wales’s interests in the context of UK Government changes, which are likely, I believe, to blur the difference between UK and English interests.

This consultation proposes a ‘made in Wales’ approach to post-compulsory education and training so that it’s easier for people to learn and acquire skills throughout their careers. Our lives and economy are undergoing huge technological change—it was referred to earlier in First Minister’s questions. The knowledge and skills needed in a transformed workplace mean that average is over. Doing nothing or maintaining the status quo is not, in my view, a viable option.

We also need to encourage and support increased research and innovation activity in companies and other organisations. We need to build on our strengths—and we do have strengths—but align them where possible and appropriate with the needs and aspirations of business and the broader community. By doing so, we hope to attract increased research funding from UK investments over the next five years. Moving in this direction will be increasingly important if we are to manage the process of leaving the EU with the minimum of disruption to our research and science base. The new commission would be charged with overseeing these changes and developing research, innovation, and enterprise activities in universities, colleges and with other providers.

Deputy Presiding Officer, I’m pleased with the progress that has been made in embedding student representation into the governance structures of institutions in Wales. But there is still more to do. I would expect to see students’ involvement, both in the commission and at individual institutions, extended further within our new system. The consultation also sets out the opportunities and challenges of including sixth forms within the remit of the new commission. This includes the possibility that the commission might be established initially without sixth forms in its remit and that legislation might allow for them to be brought within its ambit at a later date. The paper seeks views on this approach and the wider position of sixth forms.

I believe the proposals in the White Paper will enable us to raise standards, support learners in Wales to achieve their full potential, whatever their background and circumstances, and make our PCET system one of the best in the world. But we have to acknowledge it will take time to implement these changes. The formal consultation will run until late October. This will be followed by a more detailed technical consultation towards the end of the year. And these far-reaching changes will also require legislative reform. During the period of transition, the Welsh Government will be seeking new members for the HEFCW board with experience of a wider range of areas, including business, to help guide and support the move to a new system.

Deputy Presiding Officer, I recognise that to make a success of these ambitious reforms we need to work closely with our stakeholders. So, if you are a learner or, indeed, a potential learner, an education or training professional, a learning provider, a researcher, or a business person with strong views about the skills of your workforce, then we want to hear from you. We need your ideas about how best to ensure that the system can work well, both now and in the future. We will also be holding engagement events throughout Wales this autumn. I will also be undertaking a separate young persons’ consultation. I hope I can count on Members from across all parties in the Assembly to encourage engagement in these consultation exercises, so that we can have the very best ideas to draw upon in developing a PCET system that will meet the needs of learners, communities and the businesses of Wales for many years to come. Thank you.