Oral Answers to Questions

Baroness Hayman of Ullock Excerpts

Thursday 27th October 2016 Commons Chamber

[Caroline Dinenage]

I am delighted to agree with my hon. Friend, as we cannot overestimate the value of role models at every level and in every sector, inspiring girls and other women to follow them. We now have more women on boards than ever before. There are now no all-male boards in the FTSE 100. Women in key roles, such as the ones my hon. Friend mentioned, provide massive inspiration to girls and other women, as indeed does having a female Prime Minister.

[Sue Hayman (Workington) (Lab)]

I come back to the issue of STEM subjects. We do fantastic work in west Cumbria in encouraging women into the nuclear industry, and it would be great if the Minister could recognise that and look at how we can work it. However, often when I go to meetings at a senior level I find that I am the only woman in the room or, if I am not, that there are only one or two of us. What can we do to encourage women to come right the way up through to the senior level?

[Justine Greening]

It is about building the ladder at all levels. We have talked about the importance of STEM subjects, and there will be a national college that will focus on skills for the nuclear industry, which is the next stage. As the hon. Lady says, many of us have been to meetings where we are the only woman at the table, and we need to play our part as role models to encourage the next generation to aim high.

Oral Answers to Questions

Baroness Hayman of Ullock Excerpts

Monday 4th July 2016 Commons Chamber

[Nicky Morgan]

Of course I will be very happy to meet my hon. Friend and any teachers or headteachers she might like to invite from her constituency. Our aim is to give schools and colleges as much stability as possible to deliver the ambitious reforms set out in the White Paper. We want to give teachers and leaders the confidence to make changes based on their own professional judgment. We have a workload protocol that gives schools the time to prepare for significant changes, and we are making sure that it takes fully into account the implications for workload.

[Sue Hayman (Workington) (Lab)]

I have raised on the Floor of the House on a number of occasions the problems in west Cumbria with teacher recruitment and retention, which are leading to workloads building up, to the detriment of our children’s education. I am concerned to see that figures provided by the National Union of Teachers project that Cumbria will see a 4.5% real-terms cut in funding under the Government’s new national funding formula. What is the Secretary of State doing to address that, and to ensure that there is no detriment to children in my constituency?

[Nicky Morgan]

We are aware of issues relating to recruitment in certain parts of the country and in certain schools. I am pleased to say, as the Minister for Schools has said, that we have recruited more teachers to teacher training for the start of next year. The hon. Lady is right to say, however, that among the reasons that teachers often struggle to stay in the profession are workload, behaviour and other expectations. We will have more to say about the national funding formula. I ask the hon. Lady to wait for the consultation and to make sure that she takes part in it, but I think she will agree that it must be right that pupils with the same needs attract the same amount of money, regardless of where they are based.

Oral Answers to Questions

Baroness Hayman of Ullock Excerpts

Tuesday 28th June 2016 Commons Chamber

[Joseph Johnson]

That is right: studio schools are pioneering a new and valuable approach to learning and are focusing on equipping students with a wide range of employability skills and academic qualifications. Schools such as the ones my hon. Friend mentioned in Banbury and the one in Bicester that will open in September give students the opportunity to work with specialist employers such as the UK and European space agencies and those in the fields of technology, sustainable construction, engineering and computing.

[Sue Hayman (Workington) (Lab)]

As vice-chair of the all-party parliamentary group on nuclear energy, I am extremely keen to get more women into the nuclear industry and into studying STEM subjects at school and university, because we cannot meet the skills shortage without attracting more women and girls into engineering. I was therefore really pleased to hear the Minister agree with my hon. Friend the Member for Stretford and Urmston (Kate Green) about the need to get in much earlier, at primary school level, if girls are going to take that subject right the way through to higher education. What specific action are the Government taking to achieve that aim, and how will they take into account the good work that we are already carrying out in west Cumbria?

[Joseph Johnson]

The Government continue to work with all partners to raise awareness and interest in STEM careers. Initiatives such as the Inspiring Science Capital Fund, a £30 million programme that we launched with the Wellcome Trust, STEM Ambassadors, which is a £5 million-a-year programme, the Polar Explorer programme I have already mentioned, and the industry-led Your Life campaign are providing inspiration for young people to consider STEM careers. I am pleased to say that over 50% of STEM undergraduates are now women.

Oral Answers to Questions

Baroness Hayman of Ullock Excerpts

Monday 25th April 2016 Commons Chamber

[The Minister for Children and Families (Edward Timpson)]

I commend the work of the dyslexia group in my hon. Friend’s constituency. I can reassure him that we are investing heavily in practical and financial support for SEND—special educational needs and disability—including funds for a project run by the British Dyslexia Association to address issues such as early identification and effective provision, and funds to enable the Dyslexia SpLD Trust to provide expert advice, information and training for schools and parents. I can also tell my hon. Friend that we are procuring a new contract in 2016-17 so that we can continue to support children and young people with dyslexia and other specific learning difficulties—including dyspraxia—in schools and post-16 institutions.

[Sue Hayman (Workington) (Lab)]

T10. Last year I spoke to the Minister about the difficulty of recruiting and retaining teachers in my constituency, which is partly due to its remoteness. He has talked a great deal about the recruitment of teachers, but what specifically is being done to encourage them to come to remote areas such as west Cumbria?

[Mr Gibb]

The National Teaching Service was established to second high-performing teachers to parts of the country with a history of recruitment problems. When a remote rural school is part of a multi-academy trust, that helps to recruit teachers, because they know that they can move, within the trust, from a rural to an urban school and back again. That makes recruitment and retention far easier.

Budget Resolutions and Economic Situation

Baroness Hayman of Ullock Excerpts

Thursday 17th March 2016 Commons Chamber

[Sue Hayman (Workington) (Lab)]

Yesterday, in his Budget announcement, the Chancellor made much capital out of the economic recovery and the rate at which unemployment was falling, but he needs to understand that not every part of Britain is enjoying this economic recovery. In my constituency, not only do we have above-average unemployment, but the latest figures from the House of Commons Library show that unemployment recently increased for the third month in a row. The Chancellor says he wants to put the next generation first, but youth unemployment remains stubbornly high in my constituency, at nearly twice the national average.

The Chancellor says all schools have to become academies by 2020. While I wish the schools in my constituency that are already academies every success, there is simply no evidence that forcing all schools to become academies will deliver higher educational standards and more qualified teachers. I am also concerned that removing accountability to local authorities may put children with special educational needs and disabilities at risk of losing the vital support they need. Schools are also still struggling financially, and we have a particular problem in my constituency with recruiting and retaining teachers, which puts huge strain on our schools’ ability to meet the educational needs of our children.

We struggle to recruit skilled professionals in not just education, but healthcare, and that is in part down to our poor transport infrastructure. It is all very well the Chancellor announcing money for the northern powerhouse and talking about High Speed 3, but that does nothing for people in Cumbria, who have totally inadequate road and rail infrastructure. To get people to come to west Cumbria, we need to be accessible from the outside world. Simply upgrading the A66 between Scotch Corner and Penrith does not help west Cumbria or our recruitment crisis. I have been calling for investment in the crucial A595 artery, which will be heavily relied on following the new investment in the nuclear new build at Moorside.

To be honest, people in west Cumbria are fed up with the usual warm words and rhetoric from the Government. It is about time Ministers recognised that the north extends beyond Lancashire. With the nuclear new build at Moorside, Cumbria will physically put the power into the northern powerhouse.

The money announced yesterday for flood defences is welcome, because it is important we do everything we can to ensure we do not see a repeat of the devastation caused by Storm Desmond. My constituents need safe, secure homes and businesses, and I understand from the Treasury today that money will be available for the village of Flimby in my constituency, but there is no mention of Workington or Cockermouth.

The Budget documents talk about investing in Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs, yet the Government want to close the office at Lillyhall in my constituency and to centralise operations in Manchester and Newcastle—more than two hours away. That means not only that my constituents will lose any access to face-to-face interaction, but that hundreds of people will lose their jobs.

My constituents are absolutely fed up with being left out of the Government’s plans. Just because west Cumbria is remote, that does not mean we should be forgotten. We have huge potential—given the right tools to make things happen. I urge the Government to look again at how west Cumbria can be properly incorporated into the northern powerhouse so that all our people can have a future.

Trade Union Bill

Baroness Hayman of Ullock Excerpts

Monday 14th September 2015 Commons Chamber

[Jack Dromey]

The idea of cabals of shop stewards who pursue nakedly party political or political agendas is a myth peddled by the Conservative party.

Of course sometimes, for example with London Underground, there will be disruption, but one cannot in a free society shackle the right of working people to withdraw their labour. Ballots before industrial action? Absolutely. Sensible measures to get turnout up? Without hesitation. There can be workplace balloting and e-balloting. However, it is absolutely wrong to apply in this Bill a test that, were it to be applied in this place, would mean that very few people would come here.

[Sue Hayman (Workington) (Lab)]

Clause 3 sets out the important public services for which 40% support will be required in ballots. Is my hon. Friend as surprised as I am that

“decommissioning of nuclear installations and management of radioactive waste and spent fuel”

is included in the list? Can he think of any instance when a strike at a nuclear decommissioning facility has put the public at risk?

[Jack Dromey]

No, and I dealt with the nuclear industry for 15 years. There were rarely disputes, there were very good dispute-resolution mechanisms and when there was the occasional dispute, workers and their trade unions went out of their way to protect vital and sensitive establishments.

I will deal with the other issues briefly in the time I have left. On picketing, I stood on a picket line in my constituency in 2011. Six careworkers from 10 to 22 years’ service faced being sacked by a Conservative council. Under the Bill, they would have had to report to and give their names to the police. As one of them said to me last week, “Jack, we’re not criminals.” As a police officer said to me last week in the west midlands, “Jack, this is not a police state.”

On agency workers, lasting damage would be done to industrial relations if workforces were divided in the way that is proposed. To cut back facility time would rob people of the ability to have a friend in the world of work that they can count on at a time of need.

Finally, to introduce the Bill on today of all days is a slap in the face that treats working people with contempt. This is arrogance that knows no bounds from a Government that are once again treating working people and trade unions as the enemy within.

Recruitment and Retention of Teachers

Baroness Hayman of Ullock Excerpts

Thursday 18th June 2015 Commons Chamber

[Louise Haigh]

As pay and conditions continue to decrease as the system fragments, the situation will only continue to get worse. Indeed, the profession is now so unattractive that for every 1% the economy grows, applications fall by 5%.

There is, of course, a financial as well as a human cost to this crisis. The past five years have seen a massive increase in the number and cost of agencies supplying teachers to schools, some of which charge up to £1,000 per week per teacher. As much as half of that money goes to the agency and not to the teacher. A survey for the National Union of Teachers found that almost eight in 10 supply teachers found work through such agencies, and only 6.9% were paid according to national pay rates.

[Sue Hayman (Workington) (Lab)]

Does my hon. Friend agree that the proposals on regional pay for public sector workers would kill recruitment and retention in areas further away from London such as west Cumberland?

[Louise Haigh]

Absolutely. Increasingly, teachers and supply teachers are being exploited, both by agencies and by certain schools.

It is clear from all the points that have been raised that there is a recruitment crisis as a result of fragmented and confusing pathways into teaching, and a retention crisis caused by a complete collapse in morale. The cost of those crises is being felt in the education budget, through the use of extortionate agencies.

--- Later in debate ---

[Mr Gibb]

It would be a figure considerably higher than 1%. If I may cite another figure, UCAS publishes statistics every month, and they show that acceptances are down by 2% compared with the corresponding period last year. That is an improvement on last month’s figures. We are not complacent, and we understand the challenges that exist, particularly with the strong economy that we have, but being 2% down does not represent the crisis that Opposition Members are intimating.

The Government are responding to the challenges. We have funded the geographical expansion of Teach First into every region of England, and the hon. Member for Sheffield, Heeley’s home city currently has 28 participants completing the two-year programme. A further 21 teachers who have already completed the programme are still teaching in Sheffield schools. The expansion will give Teach First the scope to reach 90% of eligible schools by 2016. That will strengthen the Government’s commitment to recruit more top teachers throughout the country, including in rural, coastal and disadvantaged areas.

[Sue Hayman]

My constituency is in north-west Cumbria, a rural area far from the centre, and we struggle enormously to recruit and retain in teaching. Can the Minister confirm that the programme will start to do something to change what is happening in west Cumbria?

[Mr Gibb]

The hon. Lady makes a good point. Despite being among the most beautiful parts of England, such rural areas find problems in recruiting. That was why we wanted to extend Teach First to those areas. We are cognisant of the fact that some parts of England find challenges in recruiting teachers, particularly younger teachers, who like to be in the cities.