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It may be useful if I explain some of the background. A school CCF can include sections that represent any or all the single services. Indeed, some include Royal Marine detachments. The school chooses the section, and the choice is often based on the preferences of the young people. Each CCF is a partnership between the
individual school and the Ministry of Defence, with the head recommending officers and instructors from the school staff. The Ministry of Defence provides training, some equipment and administrative support. However, I stress that the commitment of the school, the pupils, and especially the teaching staff, is critical to the success of the CCF.
The CCF had its origins in boarding schools because those children were not able to join community-based cadet forces. Given that most boarding schools were in the independent sector—although some were state schools—it followed that most CCFs were in independent schools.
I want to make one crucial point, however. My hon. Friend suggested that the majority of Ministry of Defence funding goes to CCFs in those independent schools. That is not the case. In fact, the share of the cadet budget given to independent schools today represents only 9 per cent. of Ministry of Defence expenditure on all cadets throughout the country.
Over the years, CCF units have spread beyond the boarding sector to include other state schools. We want to build on that success to give more children in the state sector the opportunity to benefit from membership of a CCF. That is why we announced a pilot scheme to expand CCF units in the state sector, in an initiative that the Treasury is funding to the tune of an additional £800,000.
The first school to participate in the pilot, Haberdashers’ Aske’s in London, was announced last year. I announced four more schools in England and Wales earlier this month, and we aim to announce the final participant in the pilot—hopefully from Scotland—soon. Those schools were chosen from among those that applied for the scheme, and my hon. Friend may be aware that Bishopsford community school did not apply. I understand the points she made in her speech.
In deciding which schools to select, we had to take into account a number of factors, including geographical spread, the facilities at the school and its capacity to provide the level of commitment from busy teachers and other staff to make the CCF work, as well as the availability of MOD personnel to help with staffing. It was a pretty stringent process—it had to be—and I am confident that the schools we have chosen will give the pilot scheme the best possible prospect of success. I can equally understand the disappointment of the schools and their supporters who were not included in the scheme.
Our pilot scheme will run for three years, which will give us the opportunity to determine demand and our capacity to expand further. We will be working closely with these schools throughout the process, building strong and effective educational partnerships with each contingent and giving as much support as possible. In the meantime, we will also continue to keep in touch with those schools that expressed an interest in having a CCF, so that we can get a clear picture of the demand.
Siobhain McDonagh:
My concern is that a number of the schools successfully involved are already thriving schools that are doing well, so would the Minister look further into the possibility of directing cadet forces
into schools that are currently in difficulty and are not achieving the sort of results that the Government would hope for? Perhaps something rather similar to the academy process could be directed.
Derek Twigg: I clearly understand my hon. Friend’s point. Obviously, we have to have the support of the school and the leadership within it as well as the staff. I will take her comments away with me and consider them in respect of any future schemes that we put forward or, indeed, of any other relevant developments that take place. I take her points on board.
As I was saying, our pilot scheme will run for three years, which will give us the opportunity to determine demand—that is the important thing—and our capacity to expand in future. I was also saying that we will keep in touch with those schools, and I would encourage any school that is applying to log on to the MOD website for further information.
The cadets form a huge and diverse organisation. In fact, I think it is pretty fair to say that there is no such person as a “typical” cadet. What they do have in common is a huge range of opportunities to offer our young people to help them meet the challenges and realise their potential. The cadet forces are the largest operating authority for the Duke of Edinburgh award, and I am not sure that it is widely known that membership gives young people the opportunity to gain nationally recognised qualifications.
The cadets, not just the combined cadet forces, are Edexcel’s most successful partner in the delivery of the BTEC first diploma in public services, and more than 8,000 cadets have so far gained that qualification, which is not widely known. The BTEC is a vocational qualification equivalent to 4 GCSEs at A to C level. It is a qualification that can make a huge difference to a child’s life chances, because without it, nearly half those children would have left school with fewer than five GCSEs. For others, the qualification is enough to provide a vital step-up into further education, or in some cases it has contributed to cadets getting into their university of choice.
The curriculum is expanding all the time. A first diploma in the performing arts has recently been introduced and a BTEC engineering diploma and a team-leading certificate will be launched shortly. All
those qualifications are provided at no cost to the cadets taking part. As I said before, we are committed to opening up those opportunities for our young people.
The MOD is playing a key role in driving forward the Government youth agenda. We are working closely with the Youth Justice Board, for example, to explore ways in which the cadet forces can help young people at risk of offending. While the cadets are very much the flagship of the MOD youth agenda, we are also working with other Government Departments—most notably, the DFES—on a number of other initiatives such as the skill force programme, which helps to provide alternative training for young people at risk of exclusion.
We are also working closely with the Home Office on helping vulnerable young people through the outreach programme and on an Army Cadet Force youth and community project, which helps socially disengaged young people to become responsible citizens. The success of the scheme has been independently evaluated by the National Association for the Care and Resettlement of Offenders, showing an 85 per cent. improvement in school attendance and community behaviour. These results are excellent. I should add that the Home Office’s historically important funding of this project also makes an important contribution.
These are exciting times for the cadet forces. Their potential and importance has been recognised across government, and they represent a success story that we want to carry forward. But let us not forget that this success owes much to a very special group of people: the adults who devote a huge amount of time and energy to running cadet forces up and down the country. Each and every one is deeply committed, and we are very grateful for the work they do, as it really does make a difference to the lives of so many young people.
It is almost 150 years since the first cadet units were formed. I know that my hon. Friend and other hon. Members will agree that the cadet force continues to make a tremendous contribution to young people, their families and communities, and to society itself. I would urge all Members of the House to support their local cadet units, whatever uniform they wear.
Adjourned accordingly at twenty minutes to Seven o’clock.
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