Shared Rural Network

Debate between Baroness Morgan of Cotes and John Bercow

Monday 28th October 2019 Commons Chamber

[Nicky Morgan]

I thank my right hon. Friend very much for his question. As he will know, at the end of August we announced a consultation, which closes on 4 November, about how we can simplify the planning process in relation to mobile phone masts. Obviously, a balance needs to be struck between having masts and coverage right the way across the country and allowing local communities to have their say. We await the responses to the consultation and will bring forward further proposals to the House.

[Mr Speaker]

I call Chi Onwurah.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Baroness Morgan of Cotes and John Bercow

Wednesday 13th March 2019 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

We are out of time, but we must hear the question of the right hon. Member for Loughborough (Nicky Morgan).

[Nicky Morgan (Loughborough) (Con)]

8. What assessment he has made of trends in the level of intimidation of people in public life.

Points of Order

Debate between Baroness Morgan of Cotes and John Bercow

Monday 4th March 2019 Commons Chamber

[Nicky Morgan (Loughborough) (Con)]

On a point of order, Mr Speaker. Tonight, a programme is going to be broadcast on national television—an advance screening is already taking place for Members in Committee Room 10 upstairs—that looks behind threats received online by Members of Parliament from across this House in relation to Brexit. My hon. Friend the Member for Eddisbury (Antoinette Sandbach), the right hon. Member for Broxtowe (Anna Soubry) and I have co-operated with and appear in this documentary. I know we are grateful to the police and all the authorities for their responses and for the prosecutions that have been launched after those threats, but this is systematic intimidation and influencing of the votes that MPs cast in this House. Next week, we expect to have further key Brexit votes. Will you help us to ensure that this threat to our democracy and our safety is to be taken seriously and is to be challenged at all times?

[Mr Speaker]

I am extremely grateful to the right hon. Lady both for this immensely serious point of order and for her characteristic courtesy in giving me advance notice of her intention to raise it. The short answer, though it warrants a fuller response, is that I will do everything in my power, sitting in this Chair, to uphold and champion not merely the right but the duty of every Member of this House to do what he or she thinks is right for the country. I am sorry to say that there has in recent times been a burgeoning phenomenon of people who hold a particular view, often rather an extreme one, simply not seeming to be able to imagine that anyone can legitimately hold a view that diverges from their own. This is very different from straightforward political disagreement. What seems to have happened is that people who violently disapprove of the opinion of a Member of Parliament think it is somehow proper to write in quite the most horrific and obnoxious terms, to post blogs on the matter, to tweet in the most offensive terms and in person either to threaten or, worse still, to inflict violence.

With the help of the House authorities, conscientious reporting to the police and, above all, effective action by the police, two things are obviously necessary. The first is that such people should be brought to book and made to realise that that behaviour is not acceptable. The second is that Members, as a result, should feel that proper safety net around them, to which anybody is entitled. However, the importance of free expression in voice and vote for Members of Parliament can hardly be overstated, just as it is impossible to overstate the sinister character of the threats posed to journalists to boot.

It is true that men as well as women have been threatened, but I think it legitimate and proper to point out—I think this will chime with the right hon. Lady’s experience, and certainly with that of the right hon. Member for Broxtowe (Anna Soubry), the hon. Member for Liverpool, Wavertree (Luciana Berger) and others—that women have been disproportionately targeted by chauvinist and misogynistic abusers. This is intolerable.

In dealing with this threat, we have to be clear on three fronts. First, no matter how strongly people may feel, this behaviour is wrong. Period. It is not possibly wrong or partially wrong, but wrong. Period.

Secondly—I hope this reinforces the right hon. Lady’s collective and cross-party spirit on this matter—an attack on one Member has to be viewed as an attack on us all and on our democratic principles. Someone who is not currently in the line of fire has a responsibility to realise that he or she could be at any time. An attack on or threat to the right hon. Lady is frankly an attack on and a threat to every single one of us.

Thirdly, as a result of our conscientiousness and an effective regulatory and police enforcement process, it has to be made clear to the bigots—and they are bigots; there is really no other way to describe it—that not only is their behaviour objectionable, bullying, in many cases misogynistic, and utterly immoral, but it will fail.

If the House of Commons, as one of the two Houses of Parliament and the elected House, cannot do what it thinks is right, that would be the death of democracy. None of us in this House is going to allow the bigoted extremists, who do not just disagree with a person but want to trash that person’s motives, to win. It simply must not, cannot and will not happen. I applaud the right hon. Lady and her colleagues across the House and in several different parties for their courage and persistence in speaking up and out about this matter. I wish to associate myself both with what she said and with the actions she has undertaken.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Baroness Morgan of Cotes and John Bercow

Tuesday 29th January 2019 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

Order. The hon. Gentleman is a cerebral denizen of the House. I know he is arguing the toss about what he thinks is the inapplicability of the personal views or the professional opinion of the Chancellor, but he should not offer a lecture from a sedentary position. We are accustomed to hearing this eloquence when he is on his feet. We do not need to hear him when he is in his seat.

[Nicky Morgan (Loughborough) (Con)]

The next most important update on the deficit will be the Office for Budget Responsibility’s statement around the time of the spring statement, but the OBR has been clear that it can only make a forecast once it knows the Government’s plans for Brexit, so could the Chancellor give the House an update on when he thinks the OBR will be able to produce that work for the spring statement in relation to the Brexit timetable?

Leaving the EU: Economic Analysis

Debate between Baroness Morgan of Cotes and John Bercow

Wednesday 28th November 2018 Commons Chamber

[Nicky Morgan (Loughborough) (Con)]

Let me start by saying that this economic analysis has been published at the behest of the Treasury Committee, but none of the three men called before me so far from the Government side is on that Select Committee. I say to the Minister that I was very clear in the letter that I wrote to the Chancellor of the Exchequer on 27 June, which is available on the parliament.uk website for any interested parties. I said:

“The long-term analysis should consider the economic and fiscal impact of… implementing the Withdrawal Agreement and the terms of the future framework”.

It is clear, sadly, that that is not what has been published today. It may be the case that it is not possible, as we have heard, to model particularly those agreements and the future framework, but that should then be explained to the House out of respect for the House. This is only the first part of the economic analysis to be published. We will have the Bank of England’s economic analysis at 4.30 pm and that of the Financial Conduct Authority, and then there will be various relevant witnesses, including the Chancellor, giving evidence to my Committee in the course of next week. So I say to hon. Members that, rather than leaping to conclusions about what is on the printed page today, we should all take the time to read it in detail—all 90 pages, and the technical amendment of over 70 pages—and the Bank of England’s analysis, and we should listen to the evidence given next week, then listen to the debate, and then we will make our judgments on 11 December.

[Mr Speaker]

Order. Before the Financial Secretary responds, and I note what the right hon. Lady said, I just say to the House that by contrast with the experience of earlier periods, during and indeed throughout my tenure, it has been my overwhelming and almost invariable practice—[Interruption.]—as the sedentary nod of the hon. Member for Wellingborough (Mr Bone) testifies, to call everybody in urgent questions and statements. That did not use to happen. It almost always happens with me, so if people would just be a little bit patient, rather than everybody thinking, “I am more important than the other person,” everybody will get in. I called the Father of the House and two Secretaries of State of some standing. [Interruption.] And the right hon. Member for Loughborough (Nicky Morgan) was a Secretary of State, but the Chair decides who to call and when, and I will always ensure that everybody gets a fair opportunity. It has to be that way. I have always treated the right hon. Lady with the very greatest of respect and I will always do so. I will also try to equalise the gender balance, but I hope that people will understand when I say that there are limits to what the Chair can do. The Chair also depends on who is present and who is standing. I am doing my best and I always will.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Baroness Morgan of Cotes and John Bercow

Tuesday 11th September 2018 Commons Chamber

[Nicky Morgan (Loughborough) (Con)]

One of the people most interested in the trends in wage growth and inflation—and who gives the Treasury Committee evidence about that—is the Governor of the Bank of England. Will my right hon. Friend indicate to the House when he expects to be able to let us know about the discussions that he has been having with the current holder of that post about extending his position?

[Mr Speaker]

Not least because he will have important views about wage growth and inflation.

Spring Statement

Debate between Baroness Morgan of Cotes and John Bercow

Tuesday 13th March 2018 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

Order. I gently remind the House that, whatever impression might have been given so far, this is not a debate; it is a question and answer session following a ministerial statement.

[Nicky Morgan (Loughborough) (Con)]

I congratulate the Chancellor on his balanced approach. He and the Prime Minister have rightly identified housing as an economic and social priority. He will be aware that the Treasury Committee’s report on his autumn 2017 Budget recommended that the housing revenue account borrowing cap could be lifted to allow local authorities to play their part in building the right homes in the right places. Is that something he will consider?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Baroness Morgan of Cotes and John Bercow

Tuesday 18th July 2017 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

I call the Chair of the Select Committee on the Treasury, Nicky Morgan.

[Nicky Morgan]

Thank you, Mr Speaker. Would the Chancellor not agree that a growing economy is necessary to pay for our essential public services? The Office for Budget Responsibility’s “Fiscal risks report”, which has already been referred to, says that

“governments should expect nasty fiscal surprises from time to time”—

I am not referring to the shadow Chancellor there—and “plan accordingly”, but this Government also have to manage the uncertainties posed by Brexit. Should not a responsible Government not worsen uncertainties and risks by the decisions that they take?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Baroness Morgan of Cotes and John Bercow

Wednesday 5th July 2017 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

Order. I understand that the House is excited about hearing the right hon. Member for Loughborough (Nicky Morgan).

[Nicky Morgan (Loughborough) (Con)]

Q4. Thank you very much, Mr Speaker. I know that the Prime Minister and her Ministers, and many other Members of this House, are committed to better mental health care for everyone. I am a founder of the Loughborough Wellbeing Project, and I recently visited the CAMHS––child and adolescent mental health services—eating disorder service in Leicester. As a result of this Government’s careful financial management, £1.4 billion more is going into mental health services. How can the Prime Minister ensure that that money is getting to frontline NHS services consistently?

National Citizen Service Bill [Lords]

Debate between Baroness Morgan of Cotes and John Bercow

3rd reading: House of Commons & Report stage: House of Commons
Wednesday 15th March 2017 Commons Chamber

[Nicky Morgan]

A number of heritage sites could fall within the definition of industrial undertaking, such as shipyards and railways. I believe that canals and waterways were mentioned in the debate in the other place. When we see anomalies that are clearly a nonsense in the 21st century and we have the opportunity to correct them, this House has a duty to try to do so.

I do not expect the Minister to accept the amendment today or to commit to changing the law, but I will listen with care to his response to this debate and during my meeting with my hon. Friend the Minister for Disabled People, Health and Work next week. I hope that in due course the House can resolve the legal logjam. Those of us who want young people to be able to volunteer in industrial undertakings and gain vital skills will continue to press the case.

[Mr Speaker]

The question is that the amendment be made—[Interruption.] I do not know whether the flickering lights are an effect of the right hon. Lady’s oration—it would be uncharitable of me to think so—or of my standing up. Who knows?

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[Nicky Morgan]

I beg to ask leave to withdraw the amendment.

Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.

[Mr Speaker]

I will now suspend the House for no more than five minutes in order to make a decision about certification. The Division bells will be rung two minutes before the House resumes. Following my certification, the Government will table the appropriate consent motion, copies of which will be available shortly in the Vote Office and will be distributed by Doorkeepers.

Nissan: Sunderland

Debate between Baroness Morgan of Cotes and John Bercow

Monday 31st October 2016 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

Order. There is much interest in this subject, and I want to accommodate it. Single, short supplementary questions—preferably a single sentence without preamble—and the Secretary of State’s customarily pithy replies are required.

[Nicky Morgan (Loughborough) (Con)]

The Secretary of State is to be congratulated on his announcement, which is clearly very good news for Sunderland, but I think that he will understand Parliament’s desire to understand the terms on which these and other negotiations are conducted. May I ask whether he has discussed this matter with the International Trade Secretary, and whether he will be in the driving seat of future trade negotiations? We all think that he is rather good at it.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Baroness Morgan of Cotes and John Bercow

Thursday 26th May 2016 Commons Chamber

[Nicky Morgan]

I always say that if you want something done, ask a busy woman, and they certainly make up the majority on the Women and Equalities Committee. I am delighted to see that it has been so busy. My right hon. Friend mentions two reports: one on transgender issues and one on the gender pay gap. They make recommendations for cross-government co-operation. I want to ensure that we get the best possible responses, but I expect to publish them shortly.

[Mr Speaker]

I hope that “shortly” means well before the summer recess. That seems to be a very tardy response indeed. This is really not very satisfactory.

“Educational Excellence Everywhere”: Academies

Debate between Baroness Morgan of Cotes and John Bercow

Monday 9th May 2016 Commons Chamber

[Nicky Morgan]

The shadow Education Secretary was as constructive and positive as always, but let me deal with some of the issues she raised. She asked about the support for academies. She will know about this, if she has read the evidence I gave to the recent hearing of the Select Committee on Education, where we went through this in great detail. I am sure she has also seen the very long letter I sent to the National Union of Teachers about the international evidence, but let me just give two statistics: primary sponsored academies are making substantial gains, with the percentage of pupils achieving the expected level in reading and writing and maths at the end of key stage 2 having risen by four percentage points last year; and those academies open for just one academic year having seen their results improve by five percentage points. She asked about the views of the chief inspector—[Interruption.] I am sure that if she has—[Interruption.]

[Mr Speaker]

Order. I say to Members on both sides of the House that there is far too much noise. Both sides and every Member must be heard. It is very simple.

[Nicky Morgan]

Thank you very much, Mr Speaker. It is extraordinary how some people do not want to hear any arguments against them, for example, from Sir Michael Wilshaw. The hon. Lady will have seen the letter from Ofsted in which he said:

“As you know, I fully support the government’s ambition to create a more diverse and autonomous school system. As I said in my latest Annual Report, academisation can lead to rapid improvements and I firmly believe that it is right to give more autonomy to the front line.”

The hon. Lady mentions the Education Committee report from 2014, published last year, which said:

“Academy sponsorship has encouraged and facilitated the contribution of individuals not previously involved in education provision and laid down a challenge to maintained schools to improve or face replacement by the insurgent academy model.”

It is extraordinary that it took until the hon. Lady’s final sentence for her to talk about standards. As usual, there was no mention of pupils, of standards or of aspiration. She has had nine months to set out a vision of what a strong, consistent education system looks like. I have set out ours very clearly in this White Paper and she now needs to do the same if she is to have any hope of office.

We know what today’s Labour party is all about—it is about taking sides. That is what Labour told us in the local elections and it is what its leader is all about. Today, Labour has picked its side: the side of vested interests in the status quo; the side of no change; the side of those who want to push back the tide of progress and return to Labour’s bad old days. I say no. We pick the other side: the side of parents, teachers and, above all, pupils; the side of higher standards and aspirations; and the side of progress and reform—the side of educational excellence for all.

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[Nicky Morgan]

This model of education is giving 1.4 million more children the opportunity to be in a good or outstanding school. We want to go further.

[Mr Speaker]

I call Chloe Smith.

[Chloe Smith (Norwich North) (Con)]

Thank you, Mr Speaker. [Laughter.] I am delighted to be picked from among the serried ranks of excellent Back Benchers. Evidence such as the social mobility index sadly shows that my constituency has some of the poorest opportunities for the poorest children. May I urge the Secretary of State to stick to her guns, and to ensure that her focus is on standards for those who need it most?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Baroness Morgan of Cotes and John Bercow

Monday 25th April 2016 Commons Chamber

[Nicky Morgan]

I have already set out very clearly our desire to make sure that every child gets the best start in life. We believe that academies, as the House has heard from other Conservative Members, are absolutely the right vehicle for innovation on curriculum, pay and freedom for headteachers. I wonder whether the hon. Lady in her vocal opposition has taken account of the writer on the Labour teachers blog, who said that

“we have people on the left describing thousands of schools, in fact a majority of secondary schools, and the hundreds of thousands of teachers who work in them, in terms that are so unjust as to be deceitful.”

Is that how the hon. Lady wants to be taken?

[Mr Speaker]

Order. I simply point out to the Secretary of State that she is not responsible for what is written on Labour blogs and that there is a shortage of time on topical questions. We must press on, without extraneous matters being introduced.

[Lucy Powell]

Thank you, Mr Speaker.

The Secretary of State may not appreciate what a huge amount of upheaval, uncertainty and, frankly, panic she has caused by her announcement. Headteachers are already facing huge challenges trying to work around her botched new SATs tests, her massively behind-schedule new GCSEs and her real-terms cuts to school budgets, and those heads need and deserve more clarity from the Secretary of State than we have heard so far. Let me remind the right hon. Lady that she already has powers to turn underperforming schools into academies and that good and outstanding schools can already choose to convert, so the only remaining power she needs to deliver her objectives is to force any good or outstanding school that does not want to become an academy to do so. Is it still her intention to ask Parliament for these new powers—yes or no?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Baroness Morgan of Cotes and John Bercow

Thursday 14th April 2016 Commons Chamber

[Nicky Morgan]

Members on both sides of the House will know of my long-standing interest in mental health issues for all young people, and of the priority that we give it in the Department for Education, which flows through to the priority we give it in the Government Equalities Office. In the financial year that has just ended, we provided £4.9 million to 17 voluntary and civil society projects delivering support to children and young people with mental health issues, including almost a quarter of a million pounds £250,000 to Metro Centre to establish a mental health service for LGBT young people and to those working with them across London and Kent. We are obviously looking at what we can do in this financial year to make sure that services will continue to be funded. Again, I will work with my colleagues in the Department of Health to make sure that people of all ages with mental health issues get the support they need.

[Mr Speaker]

I call Mr Martyn Day—get in there, man.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Baroness Morgan of Cotes and John Bercow

Monday 7th March 2016 Commons Chamber

[Nicky Morgan]

I thank the hon. Gentleman. I know that his colleague, the hon. Member for, I think—[Interruption.] His colleague, Frank Field, is proposing a private Member’s Bill on this issue. I agree that all families who are entitled to free school meals should be able to obtain them. There are issues to do with the collection of data and the sharing of information between different benefits, but I am keen, as I say, to make progress on this very important matter.

[Mr Speaker]

I think Birkenhead was the place the Secretary of State had in mind.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Baroness Morgan of Cotes and John Bercow

Monday 25th January 2016 Commons Chamber

[Danny Kinahan (South Antrim) (UUP)]

I lost my voice at the weekend, and I am afraid that that makes it a bit harder for me to speak.

The all-party parliamentary group for education will shortly launch an inquiry into how well our education system is preparing children for the world of work. Will the Secretary of State ensure that schools have enough resources to teach “soft” skills, such as IT skills, so that young people are well prepared for their careers?

[Mr Speaker]

The hon. Gentleman’s mellifluous tones can still be heard. I am pleased to inform both him and the House of that.

[Nicky Morgan]

I very much enjoyed listening to the hon. Gentleman’s question, and I welcome the work of the all-party parliamentary group. We are, of course, already teaching computing throughout all the key stages of the national curriculum, having introduced coding last year. The hon. Gentleman is right to draw attention to the important role of our education system in preparing young people for the world of work and for 21st-century Britain, and I look forward to hearing more from the all-party parliamentary group.

--- Later in debate ---

[Nicky Morgan]

I thank my hon. Friend for raising an important point, which my hon. Friend the Minister for Children and Families has already touched on. We are looking at raising the qualifications of social workers, attracting the brightest and the best into the profession, and making sure there is strong leadership for them to benefit from. We are also looking at setting up a new body to regulate the training of children’s social workers, who form a hugely vital, but often under-appreciated service, and we want to make sure that it gets the same attention as our teachers and schools rightly do.

[Mr Speaker]

Last, but not least, the voice of East Antrim, Mr Sammy Wilson.

[Sammy Wilson (East Antrim) (DUP)]

Thank you, Mr Speaker.

Many churches, youth groups and youth organisations are concerned that they may be subject to Ofsted regulation as a result of the nationwide registration scheme. The Prime Minister has said that they will be exempt: the head of Ofsted has said that they will not. Will the Minister tell us who is right?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Baroness Morgan of Cotes and John Bercow

Thursday 14th January 2016 Commons Chamber

[Peter Grant (Glenrothes) (SNP)]

16. The Secretary of State insists that the Government are not changing the definition of child poverty, so will they accept the findings of several respected organisations, including, most recently, the Resolution Foundation, which has indicated that, as a direct result of the summer Budget alone, between 300,000 and 600,000 children and 3.7 million and 3.9 million people on these islands will move into poverty by 2020? What discussions has she had with the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions about the likely impact of the changes on poor children on these islands?

[Mr Speaker]

I gently point out to the House that there is a difference between asking a question and leading an Adjournment debate.

[Nicky Morgan]

Some 11.8% of children live in workless households, which is down by 4.4 percentage points since 2010. If the hon. Gentleman wants to talk about the impact of Budgets on people in Scotland and elsewhere in the UK, he might like to know that 176,000 women in Scotland have been taken out of income tax since 2010 because of UK Budgets. Those sorts of measures have a direct impact on children’s life chances and families’ prospects.

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[Nicky Morgan]

My hon. Friend is a member of the Select Committee and I warmly welcome the landmark report that has been published today. It has highlighted lots of actions that are needed to be taken across government. He is absolutely right to mention the issue of social media and online bullying, which I have already mentioned, and the effects that that has on mental health, and the ability of members of the transgender community to take part in life, the workplace and elsewhere. We take such issues very seriously. We need to look at all the action we have taken on online abuse, and work out how we can ensure that it is also accessible to members of the trans community.

[Mr Speaker]

Carolyn Harris not here.

[Lucy Allan (Telford) (Con)]

9. When the Government plan to publish their response to the closing the gender pay gap consultation, published in July 2015.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Baroness Morgan of Cotes and John Bercow

Monday 30th November 2015 Commons Chamber

[Nicky Morgan]

It is very nice to hear the hon. Gentleman, who I believe is his party’s education spokesman, although we have not heard much from him on education since he took up that position. He will be aware that these matters were explored fully by the Education Committee in the previous Parliament. We want Ofsted to inspect individual schools and the support they get. It is able to question multi-academy trusts and chains as part of those inspections.

[Mr Speaker]

We have heard from the hon. Gentleman twice today, and it is worth pointing out that he is a philosopher. That we know: it is on the record on his CV.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Baroness Morgan of Cotes and John Bercow

Monday 26th October 2015 Commons Chamber

[Michael Fabricant]

My right hon. Friend will know that schools in Staffordshire receive about £320 less per pupil than the English average. At the risk of boring you, Mr Speaker, I raised this matter in 1992, and I raised it during Prime Minister’s questions with Tony Blair, who was very sympathetic but also did nothing, and when I raised it in the previous Parliament, I was told that it was being blocked by the “wicked Liberals” and David Laws. Well, now we are in government, so what are we going to do about it and when will it happen?

[Mr Speaker]

The hon. Gentleman might be considered exotic, but never boring—not by the Chair anyway.

[Nicky Morgan]

I entirely agree, Mr Speaker.

The Minister for Schools recently met colleagues in Staffordshire to discuss school funding, which I hope they found useful. My hon. Friend the Member for Lichfield (Michael Fabricant) was unable to attend, but I know that he was there in spirit. As I have said, we have protected the per pupil funding in Staffordshire so that schools will continue to receive the additional £130,000 they received in 2015-16, but I am determined to make further progress on this.

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[Ruth Cadbury]

As someone who has in the past been a council lead member for children and education, I know the importance of children and adolescent mental health services and the educational psychology service in ensuring that teachers and other school staff are able to keep children with challenges in school and learning effectively. The Mental Health Foundation has said that one in 10 children have mental health problems at some point in their school career; that 81% of educational psychologists have seen an increase in demand for their services in the past 12 months; that there is a shortage in services; and that ed psychs are leaving the profession in alarming numbers, possibly owing to the pressure of their workload. How is the Secretary of State ensuring that an adequate number of professional educational psychologists are working in schools? Is she—

[Mr Speaker]

Order. We have the thrust of it and are deeply obliged to the hon. Lady, but a degree of truncation would be helpful.

[Nicky Morgan]

The hon. Lady speaks with great passion on an issue that she obviously cares about greatly. We have commissioned more places with educational psychologists this year than last year. She is absolutely right to say that a lot of this is about making sure that young people stay in education and that there are no barriers to them doing so. I am very happy to write to her with further details.

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[Nicky Morgan]

What I would say to the hon. Lady is that the reason funding in all areas of Government is so tight is the fact that we are dealing with the economic legacy left by the hon. Lady’s own party. If she were so interested in this, she would have allowed her peers to support the Bill.

If the hon. Lady wants to—[Interruption.]

[Mr Speaker]

Order. These are highly charged exchanges, but Members must not seek to shout down the Secretary of State. Let us hear the right hon. Lady.

[Nicky Morgan]

If the hon. Lady had wanted people to believe promises, she would not have tried to carve them on the 8-foot six-inch “Edstone” that was unveiled by the former leader of her party. What we are seeing is a dearth of thinking from the hon. Lady. So far, in her short tenure as shadow Education Secretary, we have heard negativity about teacher recruitment, about childcare and about schools. Indeed, she has attacked a school in her own constituency, Manchester Enterprise Academy, whose headteacher claimed that she had misled him over what was going to be said about the school during the debate on the Bill’s Third Reading.

School Expansion

Debate between Baroness Morgan of Cotes and John Bercow

Monday 19th October 2015 Commons Chamber

[Mr Barry Sheerman (Huddersfield) (Lab/Co-op)]

I do not want to get into the tribal politics we always get into as soon as grammar schools are mentioned. [Interruption.] No, I am not going to get into it. I have a new declaration of interest to make, because I am now chair of the advisory committee of the Sutton Trust, and I will take that responsibility very seriously. I must say, however, that our education policy is a rag, tag and bobtail mess, because different Governments under different parties have made it a fragmented mess. Is it not time we got back to the spirit of the Education Act 1944 and asked, cross-party, “What are the great challenges in our country?” The great challenge is not the brightest kids but the poorest kids, who, especially in Kent, do not have a fair crack at using their talents to the full and getting good qualifications and a good job.

[Mr Speaker]

The hon. Gentleman should apply for an Adjournment debate, but then, on reflection, I think he has already had it.

[Nicky Morgan]

I congratulate the hon. Gentleman on his appointment to the Sutton Trust, which is a very important organisation doing great work, but I disagree with his remarks. The education system in this country is actually doing very well for pupils of all abilities. My task over the next few years is to extend the excellent education that many of our pupils are getting. We have seen 1 million more pupils in good and outstanding schools since 2010, but I now need to focus on the next 1 million across the country and to root out those parts of the country—I will not say which local authorities—where the education is not yet good enough, and make it so.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Baroness Morgan of Cotes and John Bercow

Thursday 2nd July 2015 Commons Chamber

[Mr Peter Bone (Wellingborough) (Con)]

The European Union recently decided to dictate to this country that we have too many women not in work who are staying at home to look after their children. Does the Minister think it wrong that the EU should stigmatise women who want to stay at home and work, and would she like to tell the European Union to butt out?

[Mr Speaker]

With particular reference to consideration of careers in all sectors of the economy—not that I wish to suggest that the hon. Gentleman is seeking to shoehorn into this matter his own particular preoccupation with British approaches to the European Union. Far be it from me to suggest anything of the kind.

[Nicky Morgan]

I shall take your direction, Mr Speaker, and say that we are talking about choice of careers, and that choice of course extends to women staying at home and looking after their families. We want women to be able to make that choice, as well as fathers, as often it will be they who stay at home. I am tempted by my hon. Friend’s invitation to speak to the European Union. I might change the language, but I think I will take him up on his offer.

--- Later in debate ---

[Nicky Morgan]

I entirely agree with the hon. Lady about the pride we all saw in the England women’s football team playing last night. She invites me to set a target for executive appointments on boards. I am not a great fan of targets, but I agree that much more progress needs to be made.

[Mr Speaker]

I call Stephen Phillips.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Baroness Morgan of Cotes and John Bercow

Monday 15th June 2015 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

I think the sound went off or died down during the hon. Gentleman’s question. The idea that he should not be heard is beyond even the most vivid imagination. I have never known such a thing, and I doubt that he has either. I am sure Mrs Bone hasn’t.

[Nicky Morgan]

Fear not, Mr Speaker, I heard my hon. Friend very clearly. He spoke of a school in his constituency that has been rated outstanding, and I know that that was the result of hard work by the school leadership and no doubt by everyone else working in the school. I am delighted to hear about such achievements and I hope that I will have an opportunity to visit the school in due course.

[Nicky Morgan]

I thank the hon. Gentleman for his welcome. He is also right to pay tribute to the teacher from Dixons Kings Academy who was stabbed last week. Members will be relieved to hear that his injuries do not appear to be life-threatening.

The hon. Gentleman asked about the Education and Adoption Bill. I am sure that he will have seen the answer to the written parliamentary question tabled by the hon. Member for Cardiff West (Kevin Brennan), which stated that we intend to publish the definition of “coasting schools” when the Bill reaches its Committee stage. I am glad to hear that he wants action to tackle failing schools, and I wonder whether he stands by the comments that he made in February 2011, when he said:

“I think when a school is not delivering for its pupils it’s quite right that you have a change of governance.”

I hope that he will remember that as he supports our Bill.

[Mr Speaker]

I must gently point out that we cannot have the Front-Bench exchanges taking up an excessive proportion of the time. I want to get Back Benchers in, and pithiness is of the essence.

[Mr Speaker]

May I say in the nicest way at the start of this Parliament, without discrimination between the sides, that this must not happen again, because it is not fair on Back-Bench Members, for whom topical questions are especially designed.

[Nicky Morgan]

The hon. Gentleman clearly does not know the meaning of pithiness. I have explained when the definition of “coasting schools” will be published. He has admitted that he failed to convince his former leader of the merits of campaigning on education policy, and I am beginning to understand why he is so failing in his persuasiveness.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Baroness Morgan of Cotes and John Bercow

Monday 19th January 2015 Commons Chamber

[Nicky Morgan]

I appear to have set a trend in referring to your birthday, Mr Speaker.

I thank the hon. Gentleman for his letter, which I will look at carefully. If I cannot meet him, I am sure that one of my ministerial colleagues will, but I will endeavour to ensure that he is able to have a discussion with the Department.

[Mr Speaker]

I very much appreciate colleagues’ good wishes, but there is no need for them to be added to, because I think it will just delay proceedings. However, everybody’s good will is greatly appreciated.

[Roberta Blackman-Woods (City of Durham) (Lab)]

And mine, too.

As I am sure the Secretary of State is aware, The Durham free school got a notice to improve from the Education Funding Agency before Christmas, and today it was put into special measures. However, it is extremely difficult for me or anyone else to get information from the Education Funding Agency, so will she intervene to ensure that all information about this school, and the reasons why it has failed and is so badly managed, is put into the public domain?

--- Later in debate ---

[Ms Gisela Stuart (Birmingham, Edgbaston) (Lab)]

On the subject of birthdays, I am sure that you, Mr Speaker, would like to extend birthday greetings to Sir Simon Rattle—the man who put Birmingham on the map in terms of music—who shares a birthday with you today. However, on character building, I encourage the Secretary of State to look at the work of Professor James Arthur at Birmingham university who is doing a lot of work on how character education can be brought into the curriculum at every level in our schools.

[Mr Speaker]

Personally I am inclined to offer up birthday wishes to Stefan Edberg, a six-time grand slam champion and currently coach to the greatest tennis player of all time, Roger Federer.

[Nicky Morgan]

I understand that several hon. Members are celebrating their birthdays in the House today, but we would be here for a long time if I named them all. I am trying to remember some of their constituencies. There is my right hon. Friend the Member for Tonbridge and Malling (Sir John Stanley) and my hon. Friend the Member for Bosworth (David Tredinnick). I have not quite memorised all the names and constituencies in the way that you have, Mr Speaker.

I have met Professor Arthur and I think that he is doing fantastic work in Birmingham and I look forward to him taking part in our work on building the plans for character education in our schools.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Baroness Morgan of Cotes and John Bercow

Thursday 16th October 2014 Commons Chamber

[Nicky Morgan]

I am pleased that the hon. Lady has been listening to what I have said. She will, I hope, know from my previous track record that I am all in favour of action, not just words. I think that PSHE is very important, and that sex and relationships education is also very important. SRE is already required to be taught in maintained schools, and many academies already do it. As I have said, the important thing is to emphasise particularly the relationships aspect, which is why I support the Government’s “This is Abuse” campaign. I intend to continue to look at these areas further.

[Mr Speaker]

Last but not least, I call Diana Johnson.

[Diana Johnson (Kingston upon Hull North) (Lab)]

I am very intrigued by the answer that the Minister has just given. Is she or is she not in favour of compulsory sex and relationships education? That is what I am really interested to know.

Specialist Disability Employment

Debate between Baroness Morgan of Cotes and John Bercow

Tuesday 10th July 2012 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

Order. There is extensive interest in this very important subject, but there is also enormous interest in the second day of the Second Reading debate on the House of Lords Reform Bill, which I am inclined to accommodate, so I shall try to get in as many as I can now, but I need short questions and short answers.

[Nicky Morgan (Loughborough) (Con)]

I welcome the Minister’s statement and, in particular, the emphasis on Access to Work, especially for those with mental health disabilities, in which I am specifically interested. Will she say a little more about how Access to Work is helping those with mental health problems to have fulfilling jobs?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Baroness Morgan of Cotes and John Bercow

Monday 16th April 2012 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

The Minister expresses himself, as always, with the eloquence of Demosthenes, but I fancy that Demosthenes was somewhat briefer.

[Nicky Morgan (Loughborough) (Con)]

The Minister will be aware that good careers advice and guidance are critical in tackling this problem. What are the Government doing to ensure that such advice and guidance are embedded in local communities and available to all young people?

Solar Power (Feed-in Tariff)

Debate between Baroness Morgan of Cotes and John Bercow

Wednesday 23rd November 2011 Commons Chamber

[Nicky Morgan]

I am not going to take any interventions. I have been asked to be brief and it is only fair that I should be so that other hon. Members can speak.

This is the fault of the previous Government and the one word that was missing, as always, from the shadow Secretary of State’s speech—as it is from those of any shadow Secretary of State—was the word “sorry”. She should have said sorry to those consumers who face higher bills, who thought they had agreed things and who are now having to deal with the date of the cut-off and the changes to the tariff.

The House needs to discuss how to ensure that there is a sustainable system so that we have certainty for tariffs. As my right hon. Friend the Member for Hitchin and Harpenden (Mr Lilley) said, it is not the Government’s role to support bubbles. Unfortunately, when we are left a bubble by the previous Government, this Government have to burst it. We have to face the realities of the situation and we will potentially get it in the neck, as we have with the other decisions we have had to take, for dealing with the mess left to us by them.

I have some points for clarification. First, will the Minister confirm whether the cut-off date in December is the date of installation or the date when the application for the tariff has been processed? Secondly, I and other Members would appreciate some explanation of how the consultation dates work. Obviously, we have been given the date of 12 December and the consultation closes after that. It is worth addressing that point. Finally, I mentioned the company Loughborough Solar Technologies, which would appreciate a clear commitment from the Government to the industry—

[Mr Speaker]

Order. We are extremely grateful to the hon. Lady.

Feed-in Tariffs

Debate between Baroness Morgan of Cotes and John Bercow

Monday 31st October 2011 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

Order. May I remind the House that Members who were not here at the start of this exchange should not expect to be called?

[Nicky Morgan (Loughborough) (Con)]

I understand the necessity of ensuring a sustainable scheme, but will the Minister assure me that the voices of small companies such as C. Gascoigne, a family-based electrical installation company in my constituency, will be heard as part of the consultation and that it will not be left just to the big companies to set the policy?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Baroness Morgan of Cotes and John Bercow

Tuesday 25th October 2011 Commons Chamber

[Nicky Morgan]

I thank the Minister for his reply. Just in case the House has not debated Europe enough in the past 24 hours, can he shed any light on why the Leader of the Opposition thinks that the Prime Minister was mistaken to stand up to the French President at the weekend? Is it not essential that Britain is represented at the EU meetings this week for the sake of our economy?

[Mr Speaker]

Order. This question is on the responsibilities of the Prime Minister and not those of the Leader of the Opposition.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Baroness Morgan of Cotes and John Bercow

Monday 17th October 2011 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

Order. The Secretary of State will resume his seat. He will answer questions on matters for which he is responsible, not on other matters. I have made the position clear, and no dilation from the Secretary of State is required.

[Nicky Morgan (Loughborough) (Con)]

T5. My right hon. Friend will be aware that so far two secondary schools in my constituency have become academies, and that a further two are applying to do so. However, one of those schools has run into problems because it runs a nursery. Rawlins college tells me that it has received unclear advice from his Department on the best way for the nursery to be constituted, which must be sorted before the college can become an academy. Will he agree to assist me in finding the most effective solution to this problem, so that Rawlins can hit its preferred conversion date of 1 November?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Baroness Morgan of Cotes and John Bercow

Thursday 15th September 2011 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

We are better informed about Trixi mirrors and we are grateful to the Minister for that.

[Nicky Morgan (Loughborough) (Con)]

9. What steps he is taking to ensure the economic sustainability of the rail network.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Baroness Morgan of Cotes and John Bercow

Monday 23rd May 2011 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

Order. I ask the Secretary of State to resume his seat, and let me make it clear beyond peradventure, to the Secretary of State and to the House, that questions are about the policy of the Government and answers, suitably succinct, should be about the policy of the Government. That is how we will proceed from now on.

[Nicky Morgan (Loughborough) (Con)]

8. What progress he has made on the reform of provision for children with special educational needs in (a) Loughborough constituency and (b) England.

Swine Flu

Debate between Baroness Morgan of Cotes and John Bercow

Monday 10th January 2011 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

Order. Many right hon. and hon. Members are seeking to catch my eye. If I am to have any realistic chance of accommodating the interest of most Members, short questions and answers alike will be essential.

[Nicky Morgan (Loughborough) (Con)]

The Secretary of State is right that general practitioners are on the front line, and it is to them that patients will turn. Does he have any thoughts on the case of a constituent of mine who contacted me yesterday to say that he has been trying to get a vaccination, but has been unable to do so because he wants to have one after 4 o’clock in the afternoon, when he can get away from work? He does not want to jeopardise his job and is finding it difficult to access the vaccination before then, but GPs would rather vaccinate in the morning.