Like a lot of people contemplating the anniversary of the autumn of 1989, I look back on it with a mixture of pleasure at the recollections - and puzzlement that it must make me 20 years older. Full Article at BBC News

The number of 16- to 18-year-olds branded as “Neet” – not in education, employment or training – has risen amid growing fears that school-leavers are bearing the brunt of job shortages in the recession. Full Article at The Telegraph

David Cameron lays out plans to save millions in NHS reform "David Cameron promised yesterday to cut the cost of running the NHS by a third while handing day-to-day management of the health service over to an independent body. Full Article at ConservativeHome

David Cameron will seek a "manifesto mandate" to renegotiate Britain's relationship with Europe rather than hold a post-ratification referendum on Lisbon "Last night the influential website ConservativeHome reported that the Tories would not seek a... Full Article at ConservativeHome

When I was five my parents split up, and as neither of them was able to care for us at the time, my three-year-old brother and I went to live with my paternal grandmother. She was in her mid-sixties, a widow with a house full of antique furniture. Full Article at Times Online

Universities have failed to earn the right to charge £3,000 a year in tuition fees, David Willetts, the Shadow Universities Secretary, said yesterday. He told students that if the issue arose now he would probably not vote for higher fees. Full Article at Times Online

In the coming weeks the Business Secretary, Lord Mandelson, will announce the terms of reference for a review of student fees. Full Article at The Independent

If the Tories win the next election the law will be changed to ensure grandparents do not lose contact Most of the nation's grandparents would be unlikely to use terms such as ‘empowerment’ but that is apparently what they have to look forward to under... Full Article at Daily Mail - UK

Many students are still waiting for loans The Tories have accused the government of introducing an over-complicated system for delivering student loans, which has left 109,000 undergraduates struggling with inadequate financial support weeks into their... Full Article at VNUNet.com

Yesterday morning saw a panel, which included MPs David Willetts and Stephen Timms, expounding the benefits of community volunteering for young people. Full Article at Total Politics

The law would be changed to ensure that grandparents do not lose contact after a family split or bereavement, and they would be put "at the front of the queue" for custody if their grandchildren were being fostered or taken into care, shadow cabinet... Full Article at Scarborough Evening News

David Willetts, the Shadow Minister for Universities and Skills who has special responsibility for family policy, said courts should “at least have to consider” continuing legal rights for access to their children’s offspring in the event of a family... Full Article at The Telegraph

Millions of grandparents will be given sweeping new legal rights if the Tories win the next election. The law will be changed to ensure they do not lose contact with their grandchildren after a family separation, divorce or bereavement. Full Article at Daily Mail - UK

Students would be able to rate their lecturers on a government-sponsored website designed to give university applicants better information about courses if the Conservatives were to form the next government. Full Article at Times Online

A big government announcement on the review of tuition fees has been postponed amid speculation that the Conservatives’ Higher Education spokesman David Willetts is at odds with the Business Secretary Lord Mandelson over the choice of chairman for the... Full Article at The Independent

The Conservatives have warned that delays with student loans are causing "widespread and deep concern", while the government has said it is sorry for the problems. Full Article at ePolitix

Responding to claims from the Conservative Party education spokesman David Willetts that 140,000 prospective students missed out on a university place this year, Alice Hynes, chief executive of the higher education representative body GuildHE said: "We... Full Article at ePolitix

David Willetts, the Tory shadow universities secretary, said vice-chancellors would have to prove the “student experience” would improve before the existing £3,200 cap is lifted. Full Article at The Telegraph

Tory David Willetts could raise student fees to £7000. It's not enough. Full Article at Adam Smith Institute Blog