Oral Answers to Questions Debate

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Department: Department for Education

Oral Answers to Questions

John Bercow Excerpts
Monday 11th March 2019

(5 years ago)

Commons Chamber
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Anne Milton Portrait Anne Milton
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Yes, we have invested £500 million in music and the arts. To put that into context, the hon. Lady should be aware that the Secretary of State met headteachers on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. He did not meet any on Sunday, but I am sure that he will meet more headteachers this week, so there has been no snub from the Secretary of State. He meets headteachers all the time—[Interruption.] From a sedentary position, the hon. Lady suggests that the Secretary of State refuses to meet headteachers, but that is not the case. That is not an honest representation of the Secretary of State that I know—[Interruption.]

John Bercow Portrait Mr Speaker
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Order. Please stop issuing instructions to withdraw. The statement from the Minister was borderline, because there can be no accusation of anything other than honesty in the Chamber, so I was happy to leave it there. I do not require advice or help from any other quarter.

Dominic Raab Portrait Dominic Raab (Esher and Walton) (Con)
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2. What progress he is making on increasing the number of free schools.

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Robert Halfon Portrait Robert Halfon (Harlow) (Con)
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In The Times on Friday, the Secretary of State said that

“an exclusion should not just be the end of something but be the start of something new and positive.”

What is he doing to address the postcode lottery of alternative provision, particularly in areas with high amounts of exclusion? Why does the latest free school wave contain just two free schools with alternative provision? What is he doing to change that?

John Bercow Portrait Mr Speaker
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Three questions truncated into one.

Damian Hinds Portrait Damian Hinds
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Some alternative provision free schools are already open, and there will be more over time, and my right hon. Friend is right that today’s announcement contained two more. Like him, I have seen some outstanding alternative provision in our country, and we need to ensure that that happens everywhere.

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Damian Hinds Portrait Damian Hinds
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Of course I recognise the value of rural schools, not least as a constituency MP—I have many brilliant rural schools in my constituency. As we come to look again at the formula, of course we will look at how the different elements work to make sure that all types of schools are supported.

John Bercow Portrait Mr Speaker
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The hon. Member for Harborough (Neil O’Brien) is a jolly lucky fella to get in at Question Time, as he withdrew his own question. He is a very busy fella, with many commitments and a very full diary, but I got him in early, which I know he duly appreciates.

Emma Hardy Portrait Emma Hardy (Kingston upon Hull West and Hessle) (Lab)
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Surely it is impossible to raise standards in schools when 15.93% of children with special educational needs and disabilities are excluded, compared with 3.6% of children without special educational needs. What is the Minister doing to address this stark difference in exclusions?

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None Portrait Several hon. Members rose—
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John Bercow Portrait Mr Speaker
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Order. Progress is very slow, so we need to speed up. There are a lot of questions to get through; short questions and short answers would facilitate us in the process.

Ben Bradley Portrait Ben Bradley (Mansfield) (Con)
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5. What progress his Department has made on its review of post-18 education and funding.

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Anne Milton Portrait Anne Milton
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I have to say that I do not think the hon. Gentleman always believes what he says from the Dispatch Box. [Interruption.] He talks apprenticeships down. How can he possibly talk about an overspend on higher level apprenticeships? In this country, we are desperate for people who are able to do level 4 and level 5 qualifications. The National Audit Office report was a very backward-looking report. I am sure he would agree with me in private, if not from the Dispatch Box, that the difference he will have seen between National Apprenticeship Week this year and the one last year is quite extraordinary.

John Bercow Portrait Mr Speaker
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Everybody in this Chamber believes what he or she says from either the Front Bench or the Back Benches. It is a point so blindingly obvious that only an extraordinarily sophisticated person could fail to grasp it.

Rupa Huq Portrait Dr Rupa Huq (Ealing Central and Acton) (Lab)
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13. What recent assessment he has made of the effect of trends in the levels of (a) pay and (b) workload on the recruitment and retention of teaching and support staff.

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John Bercow Portrait Mr Speaker
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It is time for the right hon. Gentleman to issue his brevity textbook. Let us have an extract.

Desmond Swayne Portrait Sir Desmond Swayne
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We are spending more per pupil than any other G7 nation, but headteachers are complaining that they are cleaning the loos themselves. Something is going wrong. What is it?

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Damian Hinds Portrait Damian Hinds
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I am sorry; we struggled a tiny bit to hear the full question. We have several programmes on the subject of FE staff and ensuring that posts are sufficiently attractive. However, it is probably best if I say that either my right hon. Friend the Minister for Apprenticeships and Skills or I will meet the hon. Gentleman to discuss the college in Eastbourne.

John Bercow Portrait Mr Speaker
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I heard perfectly clearly. Does the hon. Gentleman want to blurt out the last sentence very briefly?

Stephen Lloyd Portrait Stephen Lloyd
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Thank you, Mr Speaker. In the past few years, the salaries of FE teachers teaching A-levels and vocational education have ended up almost 20% lower than those of the teachers at the school down the road. What will the Secretary of State or the Minister do to address that?

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Nick Gibb Portrait Nick Gibb
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Yes, of course, and I will very happily meet my hon. Friend to discuss this further.

John Bercow Portrait Mr Speaker
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I feel I must respect the position of a former headteacher, no less—I call Thelma Walker.

Thelma Walker Portrait Thelma Walker (Colne Valley) (Lab)
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Thank you, Mr Speaker. When a child is excluded, where the responsibility for their education lies can be ambiguous, meaning that too many pupils fall through the net. What steps is the Secretary of State taking to clarify who has responsibility for excluded or off-rolled children to stop that from happening in future?