School and College Funding: The Midlands

Debate between Jane Hunt and Jonathan Gullis

Tuesday 9th May 2023 Westminster Hall

[Jonathan Gullis]

In fact, we had a 5.1% increase in per-pupil funding at Kidsgrove Primary School. That is an astonishing increase, which will make a massive difference to the school. I have seen it use that support.

[Jane Hunt (Loughborough) (Con)]

Will my hon. Friend give way?

[Jonathan Gullis]

I give way to my hon. Friend and then I will happily come on to the hon. Member for North Shropshire (Helen Morgan).

[Jane Hunt]

In my hon. Friend’s wonderful speech, will he talk about T-levels, for example, and how we are putting some fantastic skills into local communities, as we are doing at Loughborough College?

[Jonathan Gullis]

At the Conservative party conference last year, I sat next to my hon. Friend, who is a fantastic champion of the T-level programme. The Minister—I served on the Education Committee when he was in the Chair—was also a fantastic advocate. T-levels such as the digital T-level offered by the City of Stoke-on-Trent Sixth Form College will truly transform people’s lives with that access to on-the-job training as well as the in-classroom opportunity. It is a fantastic scheme. I fully support the Department in all its efforts and success to date in rolling this out. As I promised, I give way to the hon. Member for North Shropshire.

Employment Agencies and Trade Unions

Debate between Jane Hunt and Jonathan Gullis

Monday 11th July 2022 Commons Chamber

[Jane Hunt]

I thank the hon. Lady for her question. It is, of course, their choice. It is also their choice to take up an agency position.

[Jonathan Gullis (Stoke-on-Trent North) (Con)]

To help the hon. Member for York Central (Rachael Maskell) with her intervention, as a former teacher and a former trade union representative, I am more than happy to go back into any classroom to help out when the disastrous “not education union” is threatening to bring down schools.

[Jane Hunt]

I thank my hon. Friend for his intervention, and for his expertise and knowledge in the field.

This is a permissive change that will not force employment businesses to supply agency staff to employers to cover strikes. Agency workers will still be able to decline any assignments they are offered and the right to strike is unaffected. This change is simply about giving both employers and employees more freedom and flexibility to decide what works best for them—a freedom that the current outdated regulations deny them.