Oral Answers to Questions

Chris Davies Excerpts

Monday 17th December 2018 Commons Chamber

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Education (Nadhim Zahawi)]

We have made £60 million available to maintained nursery schools up to 2020 because of the excellent provision that they deliver. My message, and that of the Secretary of State, to local authorities is not to take any decisions until we get to the spending review.

[Chris Davies (Brecon and Radnorshire) (Con)]

Does my hon. Friend share my concern about a creeping culture of censorship taking hold on some of our university campuses?

[The Minister for Universities, Science, Research and Innovation (Chris Skidmore)]

The Government are deeply committed to protecting freedom of speech in higher education. The Equality and Human Rights Commission and key partners in the higher education sector worked with the previous Universities Minister—to whom I pay tribute as a friend and colleague—to develop a single piece of guidance that will set out key principles. This will enable universities and student unions to understand their obligations to protect and support free speech, which must happen in our universities.

Oral Answers to Questions

Chris Davies Excerpts

Monday 10th September 2018 Commons Chamber

[Nick Gibb]

The hon. Gentleman is absolutely right about the importance of agriculture and of studying agricultural sciences. The sciences—maths, chemistry, physics and biology—are important preparation for studying agriculture post-16.

[Chris Davies (Brecon and Radnorshire) (Con)]

14. What steps his Department has taken to ensure that freedom of speech is protected in universities.

[Andrew Bowie (West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine) (Con)]

17. What steps his Department has taken to ensure that freedom of speech is protected in universities.

[The Minister for Universities, Science, Research and Innovation (Mr Sam Gyimah)]

We want our universities to be bastions of free speech where a free and robust exchange of ideas thrives. I am very encouraged that the Office for Students has made it very clear that, as a regulator, it will be encouraging free speech in our universities and that, if it intervenes, it will never be to restrict it.

[Chris Davies]

Earlier this summer, the Universities Minister made it clear that free speech on campus should be encouraged and that those attempting to shut it down should have nowhere to hide. Does my hon. Friend agree that hearing, considering and debating different views are a key part of learning?

[Mr Gyimah]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. We want free speech, diversity of opinion, diversity of thought and civility in debate, where people do not easily take offence or give offence too easily. That is why I am working with the Equality and Human Rights Commission and key stakeholders to come up with new guidance on free speech to deal with the dizzying array of regulations that wreckers on campus can exploit to frustrate free speech.

Oral Answers to Questions

Chris Davies Excerpts

Thursday 2nd February 2017 Commons Chamber

[The Solicitor General]

My hon. Friend is right to press the Government for a commitment to action. Work is being done with the Ministry of Justice, and both the Attorney General and I are committed to ironing out the obvious inconsistencies in the system, which cause understandable frustration among victims and their families.

[Chris Davies (Brecon and Radnorshire) (Con)]

Over the last 12 months, how often has my hon. and learned Friend been asked to review sentences handed down by the courts?

[The Solicitor General]

The number of sentences continues to increase. In 2015 we considered 713 requests, but of 80,000 passed in England and Wales in that year, only just over 100 were varied by the scheme. I think that that represents a vote of confidence in our judges and magistrates.

--- Later in debate ---

[Brandon Lewis]

As I just said, we have increased the funding to VAWG services to £80 million, and we are working with commissioners in local areas to make sure they can deliver the services that they understand are correct for their area and the women who live there.

[Chris Davies (Brecon and Radnorshire) (Con)]

I am proud that my local authority, Powys County Council, has become a white ribbon authority. Will my hon. Friend the Minister do all he can to encourage all local authorities to follow that example?

[Brandon Lewis]

My hon. Friend gives a really good example of where local work is delivering really good local results in a way that others can look at. We have to get better, throughout this country, at sharing best practice, and that is a really good example that others can look at.

--- Later in debate ---

[Justine Greening]

I have just set out that the female employment rate is at a record high, which is good news and we want it to progress. Indeed, it is the third highest female employment rate in the whole G7.

[Chris Davies (Brecon and Radnorshire) (Con)]

T4. What are the Government doing to support men to take a more active role in looking after their children?

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Women and Equalities (Caroline Dinenage)]

We know that when fathers take an active role in childcare, it is not only great for their relationships with their children; it is also important in eliminating the gender pay gap. That is why we have introduced shared parental leave and extended the right to request flexible working, helping both mums and dads to balance their work life with their family commitments.

Oral Answers to Questions

Chris Davies Excerpts

Thursday 8th December 2016 Commons Chamber

[Caroline Nokes]

As the hon. Lady will know, the Department for Work and Pensions has recently published the work and health Green Paper, and we are looking at working very closely with the Department of Health on a whole range of issues to make sure that older people and our pensioners are treated fairly by all Government Departments and services.

[Chris Davies (Brecon and Radnorshire) (Con)]

T4. A little earlier, my right hon. Friend stated that she did not wish to see a gender pay gap, so what steps are the Government taking to reduce it?

[Justine Greening]

Eliminating the gender pay gap remains an absolute priority for this Government. Transparency is one of the most important and powerful tools for shaping behaviour and driving change. That is why we will be requiring large employers to publish their gender pay gaps. Draft regulations were laid on Tuesday 6 December, and if Parliament approves this legislation, which I hope will happen, the regulations will commence in April 2017.

Oral Answers to Questions

Chris Davies Excerpts

Monday 10th October 2016 Commons Chamber

[Robert Halfon]

I notice that the shadow Minister—I have great respect for him and am pleased to face him across the Dispatch Box—called his campaign “Save our apprenticeships”. We have been saving 2.5 million people on apprenticeships over the past five years. In 2014-15, in his own constituency, he had 1,040 apprenticeship starts, 218 under-19 apprenticeship starts and 10,500 people participating in further education. If that is not saving apprentices, I do not know what is. As I have said, the apprentice funding will be doubled to £2.5 billion. He is ignoring the increase in the STEM uplifts, the extra money spent on new apprenticeship standards and the £1,000 going to every employer and every provider when they hire a 16 to 18-year-old.

[Chris Davies (Brecon and Radnorshire) (Con)]

6. What assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of educational provision in rural areas.

[The Minister for Schools (Mr Nick Gibb)]

Local authorities are responsible for assessing educational need in their areas, and they have a statutory duty to ensure that there are sufficient school places, including in rural areas. Nearly 600,000 additional school places were created between May 2010 and May 2015, with many more delivered since then and in the pipeline. The Government have committed a further £7 billion for school places, which, along with our investment in 500 new free schools, we expect to deliver another 600,000 new school places by 2021.

[Chris Davies]

Very sadly, Builth Wells and Llandrindod high schools in Radnorshire are under threat of closure. What more can my hon. Friend do to ensure that we keep educational parity across rural areas, so that pupils have access to superb local schools no matter where they live?

[Mr Gibb]

In May, the Government set out a package of measures to secure the continued success and sustainability of rural schools in England, including a £10 million fund for expert support to help rural schools through the academy conversion process and a new double lock to sit alongside the existing presumption against the closure of rural schools. By contrast, in Labour-run Wales, with a Liberal Democrat Education Minister, there is no presumption against the closure of rural schools.

Oral Answers to Questions

Chris Davies Excerpts

Monday 25th January 2016 Commons Chamber

[Mr Alan Mak (Havant) (Con)]

4. What steps her Department is taking to ensure that schools in every part of the country have access to high-performing teachers.

[Chris Davies (Brecon and Radnorshire) (Con)]

13. What steps her Department is taking to ensure that schools in every part of the country have access to high-performing teachers.

[Chris Green (Bolton West) (Con)]

16. What steps her Department is taking to ensure that schools in every part of the country have access to high-performing teachers.

--- Later in debate ---

[Mr Gibb]

I am delighted to congratulate Roxanne Vines on taking up her post as headteacher at Hill Mill Primary School and wish her all the very best. High-quality headteachers are vital if we are to achieve our ambition of excellence everywhere. We are currently funding a range of prestigious development and leadership programmes and qualifications for headteachers and senior teachers through the hugely effective and successful Teaching Leaders and Future Leaders organisations.

[Chris Davies]

My local authority has declared its intention to close a number of schools in Brecon and Radnorshire, including Nantmel, Dolau and Llanbister Primary Schools and Gwernyfed and Brecon High Schools. Does my hon. Friend agree that the best way for pupils to have access to great and talented teachers is to keep excellent local schools open and not allow Powys County Council and the Labour-run Welsh Assembly to close the door on our children’s education?

[Mr Gibb]

My hon. Friend is of course right that high-quality teaching is the single most important influence on academic standards. In England, we have more and better qualified teachers than ever before, with the proportion of graduates entering the profession holding a first or a 2:1 rising from 63% to 74% since 2010. I am sure that parents in his constituency will come to their own view about whether Powys County Council’s decision to close schools is an effective or ineffective way of improving the education of their children.

Childcare Bill [Lords]

Chris Davies Excerpts

Monday 25th January 2016 Commons Chamber

[Mr Gyimah]

It was a pleasure to meet the hon. Lady in the Department, along with some of my officials, to discuss how we could test the early implementers for children with special educational needs and disabilities. I assure her that that will be at the heart of the process. We will conduct specific research with parents’ groups to establish how they access childcare and what challenges they experience during the early implementer phase.

More broadly, the Department and HMRC recently commissioned a feasibility study to consider how best to evaluate the labour and childcare market impacts of both tax-free childcare and the free early education entitlement, both of which policies are aimed at working parents. The study is due to be published in February, and will inform the development of an evaluation framework for both the 30 hours and tax-free childcare.

[Chris Davies (Brecon and Radnorshire) (Con)]

Will people undertaking apprenticeships be eligible for the 30 hours, and what scope is there for the childcare sector to support more apprenticeships themselves?

[Mr Gyimah]

My hon. Friend makes an excellent point. The eligibility criteria are based on whether a person is under 25 and working 16 hours a week on the minimum wage, so the amount they earn is roughly £107. If an apprentice is earning that, then of course they will be entitled to the free entitlement. I agree that the early years sector can benefit from the huge investment in apprenticeships that this Government are making.