What steps her Department is taking to promote the development of character in schools.

As part of our plan for education, I want to ensure that all young people are prepared for life in modern Britain. I am committed to ensuring that all young people develop a range of character attributes such as resilience and grit, which underpin success in education and employment. My Department is investing £5 million to expand capacity and character education, to build evidence of what works and to deliver a national award scheme to recognise existing excellence.

I thank the Secretary of State for that answer. As she will be aware, one school in my Constituency recently had its successes recognised in the Tatler and came in the top 22 in the country. Will she tell the House what steps her Department is taking to encourage more schools to follow its example?

We want to recognise and share excellent practice in schools in Mid Derbyshire and across the country. I recognise the work that my hon. Friend does with her local schools. I encourage any school doing good work in this area to apply for the character awards, which I have mentioned. Applications close on 30 January, and I look forward to hearing how schools up and down the country are already working to develop well-rounded young individuals.

On the subject of birthdays, I am sure that you, Mr Speaker, would like to extend birthday greetings to Sir Simon Rattle—the man who put Birmingham on the map in terms of music—who shares a birthday with you today. However, on character building, I encourage the Secretary of State to look at the work of Professor James Arthur at Birmingham university who is doing a lot of work on how character education can be brought into the curriculum at every level in our schools.

Personally I am inclined to offer up birthday wishes to Stefan Edberg, a six-time grand slam champion and currently coach to the greatest tennis player of all time, Roger Federer.

I understand that several hon. Members are celebrating their birthdays in the House today, but we would be here for a long time if I named them all. I am trying to remember some of their constituencies. There is my right hon. Friend Sir John Stanley and my hon. Friend David Tredinnick. I have not quite memorised all the names and constituencies in the way that you have, Mr Speaker.

I have met Professor Arthur and I think that he is doing fantastic work in Birmingham and I look forward to him taking part in our work on building the plans for character education in our schools.

Does the Secretary of State agree with me that if first aid was made part of the national curriculum as part of her inquiry into character building and well-rounded citizens it would greatly help both of those objectives?

The hon. Gentleman is right that those are of course important skills that we would like to see in all our young people. In the work of the Department I need to balance demands for additional subjects and for academic qualifications, but many schools already teach life-saving skills. As a Department, we have recently negotiated a contract so that schools can obtain defibrillators at reasonable rates and they will of course want to train their pupils on how to use them.

Some time ago, I asked 15-year-olds in Birkenhead what they most wanted from their school. They said that they wanted to know how to be good parents, how to make lifelong friendships and how to get and keep jobs. When we have done some more work in secondary schools in Birkenhead, might I come and present it to the Secretary of State and the Shadow Secretary of State?

Perhaps the Secretary of State and I should show true character, resilience and grit by sitting in the same room and listening to what I am sure will be a very interesting presentation.

Just before Christmas, the Department announced plans to downgrade highly popular skills-based qualifications on developing personal effectiveness and to use section 96 powers to revoke approval for such qualifications. As ASDAN, based in my Constituency, told me on Friday, it is difficult to imagine more contradictory policy making. Those qualifications were aimed exactly at what the Secretary of State is talking about, so why is she planning to downgrade them?

Those qualifications did not help the young person who took them to get work and were not valued by employers. The qualities we are talking about run all the way through education at all ages and are important skills, but having spoken to providers of ASDAN qualifications in my Constituency, I know that other skills and qualifications give those young people the best start in life and the greatest credibility with employers.