Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Lord Gove and Gareth Johnson

Monday 27th February 2012 Commons Chamber

[Michael Gove]

I have often been tempted to move the goalposts, as a Queens Park Rangers fan, but I realise that the situation is more serious than that. The hon. Gentleman rightly raises the importance of making sure that we tackle child poverty. Following on from the work done by the right hon. Member for Birkenhead (Mr Field) and the recent work done by the Government’s adviser on social mobility, Alan Milburn, I believe that the really important thing to do is ensure that when we target child poverty we recognise not only an income measure but access to quality services. That is why it is so important that we make sure that more child care places are available and that those places have people of high quality and good qualifications supporting children to do better.

[Gareth Johnson (Dartford) (Con)]

T2. Does my right hon. Friend agree that the announcement that further education colleges are to be reclassified as private rather than public bodies demonstrates the genuine progress that the Government have made to free colleges from unnecessary central control?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Lord Gove and Gareth Johnson

Monday 15th November 2010 Commons Chamber

[Michael Gove]

I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman, and I know how committed he is to improving continuous professional development. Our White Paper will say more about how we can do that. Teachers TV will—I think—operate in future on a commercial basis. That is one of the many ways in which outside organisations can attempt to improve education. In that respect, we will allow teachers, governors and heads to make decisions about the type of external support that they buy in to help them to improve the valuable work that they do.

[Gareth Johnson (Dartford) (Con)]

3. What recent assessment he has made of academic standards in primary schools in (a) Dartford constituency and (b) England; and if he will make a statement.