A sound evidence base, including statistical information on relevant areas, is an essential component of public policy. As some Members of the House pointed out, the OECD is not the only provider of statistics on education. In the future we can expect a much livelier debate than before on education and training in a European context, where social and educational issues will move up the agenda, and that is the way it should be. Once again, indicators and statistics of educational investment, outcomes and learning behaviour will be required to inform policy making at European level.