Ministerial Corrections

Tuesday 24th November 2020

(3 years, 12 months ago)

Ministerial Corrections
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Tuesday 24 November 2020

Education

Tuesday 24th November 2020

(3 years, 12 months ago)

Ministerial Corrections
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Childcare Provision
The following is an extract from Education questions on 23 November 2020.
Stuart Anderson Portrait Stuart Anderson (Wolverhampton South West) (Con)
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What steps his Department is taking to support parents with childcare provision.

Vicky Ford Portrait Vicky Ford
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We have made an unprecedented investment in childcare of £3.6 billion this year. Childcare settings have been prioritised for reopening, childcare bubbles have reduced pressure on working parents, and from next Easter, disadvantaged children will be able to take part in our holiday activities and food programmes all across the country.

[Official Report, 23 November 2020, Vol. 684, c. 581.]

Letter of correction from the Under-Secretary of State for Education, the hon. Member for Chelmsford (Vicky Ford).

An error has been identified in the response I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for South Cambridgeshire.

The correct response should have been:

Stuart Anderson Portrait Stuart Anderson (Wolverhampton South West) (Con)
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What steps his Department is taking to support parents with childcare provision.

Vicky Ford Portrait Vicky Ford
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We have made an unprecedented investment in childcare entitlements of £3.6 billion this year. Childcare settings have been prioritised for reopening, childcare bubbles have reduced pressure on working parents, and from next Easter, disadvantaged children will be able to take part in our holiday activities and food programmes all across the country.

National Funding Formula

The following is an extract from Education questions on 23 November.

Edward Leigh Portrait Sir Edward Leigh
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The headmaster of Caistor Grammar School has contacted me. This school produces, for kids from all sorts of backgrounds, some of the best results in the east midlands, but its buildings are in a shocking state. He has been refused a condition improvement grant, despite the fact that he has temporary and mobile classrooms that are classed by the Secretary of State’s Department as grade A. Will the Secretary of State assure me that, in his national funding formula negotiations, there is no discrimination against grammar schools? I often find that, while the education is wonderful, the buildings are peeling.

Gavin Williamson Portrait Gavin Williamson
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I can absolutely assure my right hon. Friend that there will be no discrimination shown against grammar schools. I encourage him to be in contact with the school as the next round of condition improvement funding is due in January next year. I very much encourage that school, as well as other schools in his constituency, to apply. That gives me the opportunity to highlight the fact that we are spending more on the condition and improvement of our schools, with an extra half a billion pounds allocated to support schools and their rebuilding.

[Official Report, 23 November 2020, Vol. 684, c. 582.]

Letter of correction from the Secretary of State for Education, the right hon. Member for South Staffordshire (Gavin Williamson).

An error has been identified in the response I gave to my right hon. Friend the Member for Gainsborough (Sir Edward Leigh).

The correct response should have been:

Edward Leigh Portrait Sir Edward Leigh
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The headmaster of Caistor Grammar School has contacted me. This school produces, for kids from all sorts of backgrounds, some of the best results in the east midlands, but its buildings are in a shocking state. He has been refused a condition improvement grant, despite the fact that he has temporary and mobile classrooms that are classed by the Secretary of State’s Department as grade A. Will the Secretary of State assure me that, in his national funding formula negotiations, there is no discrimination against grammar schools? I often find that, while the education is wonderful, the buildings are peeling.

Gavin Williamson Portrait Gavin Williamson
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I can absolutely assure my right hon. Friend that there will be no discrimination shown against grammar schools. I encourage him to be in contact with the school as the next round of condition improvement funding is open now. I very much encourage that school, as well as other schools in his constituency, to apply. That gives me the opportunity to highlight the fact that we are spending more on the condition and improvement of our schools, with an extra half a billion pounds allocated to support schools and their rebuilding.

Topical Questions

The following is an extract from Education topical questions on 23 November 2020.

Harriett Baldwin Portrait Harriett Baldwin (West Worcestershire) (Con)
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Many schools in West Worcestershire have benefited from the condition improvement fund, but Malvern Parish Primary School, with its leaky, draughty Victorian windows, keeps missing out. Would the Secretary of State kindly look again at its bid?

Gavin Williamson Portrait Gavin Williamson
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I have some good news: on 14 January —after Christmas—there is going to be an opportunity for such schools to apply for the next round of condition improvement funding. There is more money in this pot than ever before due to the fact that we are spending more money on the improvement of our schools. Of course, I would always be very happy to sit down with my hon. Friend and discuss her educational priorities, including for the schools in her constituency.

[Official Report, 23 November 2020, Vol. 684, c. 599.]

Letter of correction from the Secretary of State for Education, the right hon. Member for South Staffordshire (Gavin Williamson).

An error has been identified in the response I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for West Worcestershire (Harriett Baldwin).

The correct response should have been:

Harriett Baldwin Portrait Harriett Baldwin (West Worcestershire) (Con)
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Many schools in West Worcestershire have benefited from the condition improvement fund, but Malvern Parish Primary School, with its leaky, draughty Victorian windows, keeps missing out. Would the Secretary of State kindly look again at its bid?

Gavin Williamson Portrait Gavin Williamson
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I have some good news: there is currently an open round, in which schools can apply for condition improvement funding. There is more money in this pot than ever before due to the fact that we are spending more money on the improvement of our schools. Of course, I would always be very happy to sit down with my hon. Friend and discuss her educational priorities, including for the schools in her constituency.

Health and Social Care

Tuesday 24th November 2020

(3 years, 12 months ago)

Ministerial Corrections
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Covid-19
The following is an extract from the debate on covid-19 on 22 October 2020.
Nadine Dorries Portrait Ms Dorries
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… My hon. Friend the Member for Christchurch (Sir Christopher Chope) mentioned Sweden, but an article in The BMJ—a research study—concluded that Sweden and the US are the only two countries that are failing to reduce their numbers of deaths. In fact, it is far more accurate to compare Sweden with its Nordic neighbours. Sweden has 586 deaths per 1 million people, while its neighbour Norway has 279, so I am not quite sure why Sweden would be cited as a country of success.

[Official Report, 22 October 2020, Vol. 682, c. 1337.]

Letter of correction from the Minister for Patient Safety, Mental Health and Suicide Prevention, the hon. Member for Mid Bedfordshire (Ms Dorries).

An error has been identified in the response I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Christchurch (Sir Christopher Chope).

The correct response should have been:

Nadine Dorries Portrait Ms Dorries
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My hon. Friend the Member for Christchurch (Sir Christopher Chope) mentioned Sweden, but a JAMA research letter referred to in the BMJ concluded that Sweden and the US were among eight countries that were failing to reduce their excess mortality numbers. In fact, it is far more accurate to compare Sweden with its Nordic neighbours. Sweden has 582.3 covid-related deaths per 1 million people, while its neighbour Norway has 52.5 covid-related deaths per 1 million people, so I am not quite sure why Sweden would be cited as a country of success.