The future of Portsmouth Naval Base continues to be at the forefront of my activities at Westminster. I was lucky enough to secure a debate in the House of Commons where I was able to set out to the defence minister Derek Twigg the importance of the naval base to the whole economy of our area.

I was very heartened by the cross party support I received in the debate from other local MP’s from all the political parties. This issue is much more important than party politics. This is a time when we all need to be united in support of the naval base. The workers at the base do a fantastic job. Together with the Royal Navy, our industrial partners, FSL and VT Shipbuilding and the trade unions we are delivering cost effective and efficient ship support to our front line sailors. I was pleased to host a delegation from  Amicus Southern Defence Workers in Parliament last week. The skills of our workers are second to none and maintaining that skills base is essential if we are to remain competitive against competition from overseas.

That was the theme of Gordon Brown’s Pre Budget Report delivered a couple of weeks ago. We will not be competitive if our workers lack basic skills. The Chancellor announced an increase in the current number of Government funded apprenticeships to 500,000, up from just 75,000 in 1997. I know from visiting local schools that an apprenticeship is the goal of many of our young people, but many boys lag behind the girls in their basic skills, that is why I welcome the focus on small group tuition targeted at the schools with the greatest gender gap.We all know the best start we can give our children is a good education, this gives them the grounding to build up their skills levels. 15% of adults still cannot read properly.

Under the “Every Child a Reader” scheme, every child entering primary and secondary school in the school year 2007/08 will receive a voucher to buy a book, building a firm foundation for the future.