Julie Minns
Main Page: Julie Minns (Labour - Carlisle)Department Debates - View all Julie Minns's debates with the Leader of the House
(2 days, 20 hours ago)
Commons ChamberAs the hon. Gentleman knows, the numbers he describes are within the normal fluctuations of these things. I am not clear whether this Conservative party supports getting more teachers into our state schools. As a result of the changes we have made to VAT on private schools, we have got over 2,000 more teachers in our schools this year, with more to come. It is vital to get more teachers into state schools, which educate 94% of young people in this country.
It will not have escaped the attention of Members of this House that Britain is in the grip of a viral addiction that has collapsed websites, stripped shop shelves bare and had the staff of Castle Chocolates in my Carlisle constituency working round the clock to feed it. I am of course speaking about Dubai chocolate. Will the Leader of the House not just join me in thanking the staff of Castle Chocolates, who are literally working round the clock, but give us time for a debate on the entrepreneurship of our small businesses and the contribution they make to our cities?
I join my hon. Friend in celebrating Dubai chocolate, and I congratulate Castle Chocolates in her constituency on meeting that demand. It shows the opportunity that social media brings to small businesses in parts of our constituencies; we should always remember that when we discuss issues around social media. I will join her in having a few Dubai chocolates later.