Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Robin Walker and Andrew Selous

Monday 23rd May 2022 Commons Chamber

[Mr Walker]

We have a presumption against closure for rural schools, but we also want to make sure, through a fairer funding formula, that they are properly funded according to the cohorts of people and the sparsity of the area that they serve, rather than according to a formula that was set up decades ago.

[Andrew Selous (South West Bedfordshire) (Con)]

The Church of England and the Catholic Church run a third of schools in England. How does the Secretary of State plan to improve that partnership even further for the benefit of all children?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Robin Walker and Andrew Selous

Monday 14th March 2022 Commons Chamber

[Andrew Selous (South West Bedfordshire) (Con)]

12. What plans he has for the proposed register for home-schooled children.

[The Minister for School Standards (Mr Robin Walker)]

The Government have committed to a form of local authority register for children not in school, as was detailed in the children not in school consultation response that we published on 3 February. We hope to legislate on that measure at the next available opportunity to create the duty to keep and update a register and for local authorities to provide support to home educators where they want it.

[Andrew Selous]

If a local authority found that illiterate home-schooling parents were unable to teach their children to read, write and add up, would it signpost them to proper adult literacy and numeracy as well as ensuring that the children could access their inalienable right to a good education?

[Mr Walker]

My hon. Friend makes an important point. Government guidance sets out the powers that local authorities have and the actions that they can take. He is right that the adult education budget has funding to support literacy and, with the new numeracy programme, to support numeracy. There is a role for stepping up in that space. Local authorities already have powers to specify levels of literacy and numeracy on a case-by-case basis, and having the statutory register will encourage them to use those powers.