Robert Halfon
As seen in:
MSN,
Daily Mail,
The Daily Mirror,
The Guardian,
The Telegraph,
Daily Express,
Financial Times,
Tes,
The London Standard,
HuffPost UK
and
Is this you? As a journalist, you can create a free Muck Rack account to customize your profile, list your contact preferences, and upload a portfolio of your best work.
Claim your profile
Articles by Robert Halfon
People skills - Research Professional News
Robert Halfon warns universities against being left behind in breaking down academic and technical hierarchies Britain’s manufacturers have 50,000 vacancies they cannot fill. That is not a forecast or a warning but is happening now, in a sector the new prime minister, Andy Burnham, has placed at the centre of his economic strategy.
How we make sure the ladder of opportunity stays strong
By Robert Halfon, former Skills Minister For the past decade, a quiet revolution has been underway in English education and skills – a determined effort to transform the prestige, quality, employer-focus, funding, and guidance surrounding vocational and technical education.
Apprenticeships are the answer to getting young people in work
Continue reading More for You Continue reading More for You
Robert Halfon: If you want to restore trust in the Tories, support Stride
Robert Halfon is the former MP for Harlow. For many years I have campaigned outside Harlow Lidls, listening and speaking to voters.
A big number worth celebrating | FE News
Skills Minister Robert Halfon MP shares his thoughts on National Apprenticeship Week 2024. This National Apprenticeship Week, I want to reflect on what government, businesses and educators have achieved together in the remarkable growth of high quality apprenticeships. For over a decade, this government has been striving to make high quality the feature that distinguishes these qualifications, whatever profession they lead to.
Jewish people in UK experiencing fearful time, says minister
The higher education minister also said there are “ever-increasing” incidents of antisemitism on university campuses, with reports of Jewish students getting Palestinian flags draped over their cars. He made the comments during several TV and radio appearances on Monday morning and after thousands of pro-Palestinian protesters took to the streets of central London demanding a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war at the weekend.
NHS pressure ‘intolerable and unsustainable’, warn medics
Professor Phil Banfield, chair of British Medical Association (BMA) council, hit out at both the Prime Minister and the Health Secretary as he offered a stark warning about the scale of the crisis facing healthcare workers. “The current situation in the NHS is intolerable and unsustainable, both for our patients and the hard-working staff desperately trying to keep up with incredibly high levels of demand,” he said.
Deaths caused by emergency care delays ‘not a short-term thing’
Mr Higginson told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “What we’ve been hearing over the last few days is that the current problems are all due to Covid or they’re all due to flu, or that this is complex, you mustn’t jump to conclusions – all that sort of stuff. “If you’re at the front line, you know that this is a longstanding problem. This isn’t a short-term thing.
Rishi Sunak supporters claim he’s the only candidate who can fix Britain’s economic woes
LAST weekend, I met a lady in my constituency who owns a small business. She has been a Conservative voter for many years. But she told me she was terrified. She was talking about her business loans that were going to be recalled by the bank, her mortgage rates that were going up and up and much more. This is being experienced by millions of people and business owners across the country. And this uncertainty is one of the reasons why the Conservatives are so low in the opinion polls.
Rishi Sunak supporters claim he’s the only candidate who can fix Britain’s economic woes
RISHI Sunak is the only candidate aiming to be Prime Minister with the credibility to fix the nation’s economic woes, his supporters declared last night. The ex-Chancellor is preparing to formally launch his second bid for No10 this weekend — as the markets had another wobble over the latest turmoil in Westminster.
How we can teach more career skills in schools
There has always been a debate about the purpose of education. The traditional answers have included passing on knowledge or fulfilling personal potential, while shows this is another aspect that will always be central to education. But preparation for work is an urgent cause for young people and should be one of our collective goals, too.
Robert Halfon: We Conservatives must now unite around giving Britain good government
Robert Halfon is Chair of the Education Select Committee. He was the former Skills Minister and former Deputy Chairman of the Conservative Party. I’ve always felt that politics and football have a lot in common. There is much shouting and screaming from both sides’ supporters but at the end of the match, the winner is the one who hits the back of the net the most, even if the winning goal is scored in the last twenty seconds.
Robert Halfon: We need education and children to be front and centre in the leadership race
Robert Halfon is Chair of the Education Select Committee. He was the former Skills Minister and former Deputy Chairman of the Conservative Party. With a large parliamentary majority for our next Leader to utilise, is it time for some more radical thinking when it comes to education? Children’s futures have been damaged with school closures for most pupils over the Covid-19 lockdowns.
State must do better for looked-after children
The phrase “looked after” has given me pause to reflect recently. What does “looked after” mean for you and for the children in your life? It is a given that nearly all parents want the best for their children, and that starts with education - a child’s first rung on their ladder of opportunity. But in my role as chair of the Commons Education Committee, the words have quite a different meaning - children and young people who are “looked after” by, or in the care of, their local authority.
Robert Halfon: We're Conservatives, not Maoists - and shouldn't be threatening Johnson with a second ballot this year
Robert Halfon is Chair of the Education Select Committee. He was the former Skills Minister and former Deputy Chairman of the Conservative Party. Are we Maoists or are we Conservatives? That’s the question that every Tory MP should ask themselves as we prepare to vote in the upcoming 1922 Committee elections. It was Chairman Mao Tse Tung who said: “All political power comes from the barrel of a gun.
Robert Halfon: A law and order agenda must put compassion at the heart of the justice system
Robert Halfon is MP for Harlow, a former Conservative Party Deputy Chairman, Chair of the Education Select Committee and President of Conservative Workers and Trade Unionists. Too often, victims of crime are treated abominably by the very apparatus meant to protect them, the criminal justice system. Time and time again in my own constituency of Harlow I have seen how the system has failed: domestic abuse survivors let-down, Family Court proceedings flawed, and harassment victims overlooked.
Robert Halfon: Our chaotic prison education system is crying out for an overhaul
Robert Halfon MP is Chair of the Education Select Committee, a former Minister for Skills, and former Deputy Chair of the Conservative Party. For the majority of offenders, prison must be a place where the skin of an old life is shed, and a new one begins.
Robert Halfon: Before polling day, a reminder of the good this Government has done
Robert Halfon is MP for Harlow, a former Conservative Party Deputy Chairman, Chair of the Education Select Committee and President of Conservative Workers and Trade Unionists. With sincere apologies to the Editor of ConservativeHome, if there was ever a nickname for this wonderful website, it might be ‘Conservative Groan’ or ‘Conservative Moan’. “The Government should do this, the Government should do that”. “The Government have got this policy wrong.” “No – they’ve got that policy wrong”.
Robert Halfon: Our Party's track record on refugees is one to be proud of
Robert Halfon is MP for Harlow, a former Conservative Party Deputy Chairman, Chair of the Education Select Committee and President of Conservative Workers and Trade Unionists. Britain and Conservative Governments should be proud of their record on refugees. I went to Rwanda, in both 2008 and 2009, as part of the Conservative Social Action ‘Project Umabano’ led by Andrew Mitchell MP. I was there to teach would-be English teachers English.
Robert Halfon: There is much, much more to be done to help schools recover from Covid
Robert Halfon is MP for Harlow, a former Conservative Party Deputy Chairman, Chair of the Education Select Committee and President of Conservative Workers and Trade Unionists. Last week, the Department for Education (DfE) released not one, but two significant new policy documents – a White Paper on Schools and a Green Paper on children with special educational needs. Published just hours apart, the White Paper and SEND Review together could form a bold and cohesive vision for our schools.
Robert Halfon: Why we shouldn't try to ban obnoxious protesters from outside Parliament
Robert Halfon is MP for Harlow, a former Conservative Party Deputy Chairman, Chair of the Education Select Committee and President of Conservative Workers and Trade Unionists. Many, many moons ago, I had the pleasure of being employed as Michael Fabricant’s (otherwise known as ‘Fabbers’) researcher. One could not hope for a kinder boss under which to cut some very junior parliamentary teeth.
Robert Halfon: We need to cut fuel duty and set up a new regulator to protect motorists
Robert Halfon is MP for Harlow, a former Conservative Party Deputy Chairman, Chair of the Education Select Committee and President of Conservative Workers and Trade Unionists. For over eleven years, the Conservative Government has both cut and frozen fuel duty, saving motorists an extra £15, in tax terms, every time they fill up at the pumps.
Addressing poverty means financial education in primary schools
The first weeks of the year are viewed by many as some of the toughest.
Skills for every young person: The Financial Impact of Youth Unemployment – FE News
Last week the House of Lords Youth Unemployment Committee published an important new report – Skills for every young person. The findings of the report make for grim reading Today, 800,000 young people (which is 12.6% of 16 to 24-year-olds) are not in work, or in full-time study. Moreover, 631,000 are not in any form of education, employment or training and 475,000 are unemployed, of which 141,000 have been unemployed for at least six months.
Our proposals on home education need not be intrusive
MPs understand that if council powers are used inappropriately it will negatively impact relationships, writes Robert Halfon This week, cross-party colleagues and I on the House of Commons education select committee were delighted to see the release of our report, Strengthening Home Education.
Schools sexual assault scandal: Halfon calls for review to investigate if safeguarding rules are fit for purpose
There are quite a few misapprehensions about the ever-growing school sexual abuse scandal.
The benefits of lifelong learning go beyond the economy
Our nation faces major skills and employment challenges. The fourth industrial revolution is upon us, we have an ageing population, and now we must deal with the added impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. It is clearly more important than ever that people can adapt to the ever-changing world of work and learn new skills throughout their lives. The benefits of lifelong learning go beyond simply the boost to productivity and the economy.
The hidden costs of lockdown on Apple Podcasts
37 min Jack Blanchard abandons Westminster for a week and explores the hidden costs of lockdown, by delving into the postbags of two MPs in different parts of the U.K. 37 min
FE White Paper marks a sea-change in Government thinking on skills
Further Education News The FE News Channel gives you the latest education news and updates on emerging education strategies and the #FutureofEducation and the #FutureofWork. Providing trustworthy and positive Further Education news and views since 2003, we are a digital news channel with a mixture of written word articles, podcasts and videos.
The looming epidemic of educational poverty must be prevented
Privacy Overview This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful. Strictly Necessary Cookies Strictly Necessary Cookie should be enabled at all times so that we can save your preferences for cookie settings.
Failing to plug skills gaps will set us back on the road to recovery
Further Education News The FE News Channel gives you the latest education news and updates on emerging education strategies and the #FutureofEducation and the #FutureofWork. Providing trustworthy and positive Further Education news and views since 2003, we are a digital news channel with a mixture of written word articles, podcasts and videos.
Universities need to up their game to survive
Further Education News The FE News Channel gives you the latest education news and updates on emerging education strategies and the #FutureofEducation and the #FutureofWork. Providing trustworthy and positive Further Education news and views since 2003, we are a digital news channel with a mixture of written word articles, podcasts and videos.
Coronavirus and exams: Ofqual mustn't be afraid of scrutiny
In a few weeks, the anxious annual wait for our young people will finally come to an end as they collect their GCSE and A-level exam results. For many, it is a time of celebration, when all their hard work from previous months and years finally pays off, and they get the grades that allow them to move on. This year, however, there is an added worry. There is the risk that some students will not be getting the results they deserve.
Traditional academic learning has got to evolve to reflect the fourth industrial revolution
#StandUpForSkills - Recovery and Resilience: Reskilling Our Way Back into Work It's very apt that [this Recovery and Resilience report] comes on the back of the prime minister only this week talking about Build, Build, Build. I think we would probably say Skills, Skills, Skills. Basically, what we're talking about in the report is the need to act now.
Blow the cobwebs from the UK’s apprenticeship programme
The writer is Conservative MP for Harlow and chair of the Commons education select committee Though the announcement about British pubs...
Subscribe to read | Financial Times
Purchase a Team or Enterprise subscription for per week You will be billed per month after the trial ends
Help for the helpers
Image: Chris McAndrews [CC BY 3.0], via Wikimedia Commons Government must clarify whether student nurses on the frontline should pay tuition, says Robert Halfon Across the country, many people have stepped forward during the Covid-19 pandemic to help others and their communities cope in these uncertain and troubling times—from teachers and school staff looking after vulnerable pupils and the children of key workers, to supermarket employees making sure we have enough to eat.
Why an 'apprenticeship guarantee' is needed post-Covid-19
Prime minister Boris Johnson last night told the nation that young people “should be guaranteed an apprenticeship” as part of the country’s recovery from Covid-19.
Help for the helpers
Image: Chris McAndrews [CC BY 3.0], via Wikimedia Commons Government must clarify whether student nurses on the frontline should pay tuition, says Robert Halfon Across the country, countless people have stepped forward during the Covid-19 pandemic to help others and their communities cope in these uncertain and troubling times—from teachers and school staff looking after vulnerable pupils and the children of key workers, to supermarket employees making sure we have enough to eat.
St George and the dragon
In November 2017 my publisher shelved publication of my book, Silent Invasion, which detailed the influence of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in Australia. I was shocked. The publisher had been enthusiastic; the manuscript had been through expert review, revision, editing and legal vetting. Now, in a startling vindication of the essential argument of the book, Allen & Unwin said they feared retaliation from Beijing.
Toponymic subjugation
Excessive politeness by Britons is making a mess of place names at home and abroad Cracow, Kraków, Cracovie, Krakau, Cracóvia or Krakovía —but please, never “Krakow” (©Steve Allen Travel Photography / Alamy Stock Photo) Widely-travelled people may well have some degree of familiarity with the European cities that Hungarians call Bécs, Czechs Kodaň, Poles Mediolan, and Lithuanians Kelnas—but they will probably not know them by those names.
A focus on economic growth is too narrow
The grand sweep of human history is colourful and complex, but its message to politicians is surprisingly simple. If they seek to help humans flourish, and they should, then just two threads, ubiquitous from ancient Jewish philosophy to the modern Office for National Statistics (ONS), matter above all else. A purpose and a partner feature in Genesis, one of the first allegories of creation. God gives Adam the command to “subdue the earth” and somebody with whom to do it.
A response to some open letters
Being in the privileged position of re-elected Chair of both the best and most important select committee at Westminster (and I’m not at all biased), I welcome the clear enthusiasm and passion for our role shown by Mark Lehain and Debra Kidd in their open letters to the new committee.
Halfon: 'We must prioritise tackling social injustice'
Being re-elected as chair of the Commons Education Select Committee is a special moment in my political life. Not because of the status, or simply in order to have another job: I would not have stood for any other committee-chair post. But I believe that education is one of the most important influences in transforming the lives of young and old, right across the country. The education ladder of opportunity, which I go on about often, describes precisely that.
We must tackle apprenticeships stereotypes in retail, Robert Halfon writes
Robert Halfon MP pens an exclusive oped for Retail Gazette as part of National Apprenticeship Week. I am delighted that the theme for National Apprenticeship Week this year is “Look Beyond”. Indeed, in the words of my current parliamentary apprentice Dan Swords, “we must stop the apprenticeships snobbery”. Moreover, we must encourage people to look beyond the outdated idea that retail is a first job rather than a career.
Do you pay your energy bill by cash or cheque? It could cost you £100+ – Which? Conversation
Robert Halfon MP tells us how he’s pushing energy companies to ensure non-Direct Debit customers pay a fair price for paying their bill. With support from 177 MPs across the parties, he’s demanding action. I was outraged to hear from a constituent that his elderly mother had received a letter from the Co-op Energy Company stating that she was going to be charged £63 extra unless she switched to pay her gas and electric bills by direct debit.
Robert Halfon: I've been told that, if Corbyn wins, the Conservative Party and I will be sued for negligence
Robert Halfon is the Conservative candidate for Harlow. The General Election: Let’s just get on with it I’m not working myself up into a lather about the Brexit Party standing. My own view is that they have every right to run for election, even if I happen to disagree with their tactics and strategy. In Harlow, we have a decent Brexit Party candidate standing and it’s his every right to have a pop at me, just as much as he will, no doubt, at the Labour Party.
The case for a life-long learning guarantee
Give people—including the most disadvantaged—the tools to adapt by Robert Halfon / September 1, 2019 / Leave a comment Poor access to life-long learning is one of the great social injustices of our time. Around 9m adults in England have low literacy and/or numeracy skills. With the march of the robots, the consequences of the skills deficit are only set to deepen. A full 28 per cent of jobs taken by 16-24 year olds are at risk of automation by the 2030s.
Life-long learning: how to tool up modern Britain
The government’s record leaves much to be desired by Nic Dakin / September 1, 2019 / Leave a comment The government talks the talk. Will it walk the walk? Photo: Kirsty O’Connor/PA Wire/PA Images Thanks to the new report from Labour’s Life-long Learning Commission, together with the Social Mobility Commission having made it clear we must up our game on further education, we are at long last taking life-long learning seriously again.
The voting tightrope
I voted Remain because I was wary of risk and support alliances of democracies in an uncertain world, even though I accepted that the EU itself was an undemocratic institution. But, as a believer in democracy, I also feel passionately about following through the result of 17.4 million voters.
Show More
loading
Actions
Is this you?
As a journalist, you can create a free Muck Rack account to customize your profile, list your contact preferences, and upload a portfolio of your best work.Get in touch with Robert
Contact Robert, search articles and posts on X, monitor coverage, and track replies from one place.
Learn more about Muck Rack