The new English Minister of State for Further Education, Skills and Lifelong Learning, Conservative MP John Hayes told the Guardian “Adult education is arguably all the more important in the current economic climate”. Taking evening classes improved adults’ physical and mental health, encouraged them back into work and helped build tight communities, the minister said. “[The classes] aren’t just about utility in its narrowest sense,” he said. “There are a lot of studies that show the beneficial effect adult education has on health and social interactions.”