Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Damian Hinds and Grahame Morris

Monday 11th March 2024 Commons Chamber

[The Minister for Schools (Damian Hinds)]

I support all great schools in our diverse school system, including strong grammar schools. I continue to encourage grammar schools to increase access for disadvantaged pupils, which can help so much with social mobility.

[Grahame Morris (Easington) (Lab)]

T3. Acre Rigg Infant School in Peterlee was given a 25-year life expectancy when it was built in 1950. It has asbestos in every wall and a metal structure made from recycled world war two aircraft. Seaham Trinity Primary School has lifting floors, rising damp, black mould caused by a faulty roof, leaking pipes and poor screeding. It is a £5.3 million school that was built in 2008 by Surgo. Can the Schools Minister explain to parents how their children are supposed to flourish and prosper in such an inadequate educational environment?

[Damian Hinds]

In the 2021 spending review, we committed £19 billion for school capital over the three years. I do not know offhand the specifics of the schools that the hon. Gentleman has mentioned, but I would of course be very happy to meet him to hear further details.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Damian Hinds and Grahame Morris

Monday 11th December 2023 Commons Chamber

[Grahame Morris (Easington) (Lab)]

3. What steps her Department is taking to ensure the adequacy of school funding in County Durham.

[The Minister for Schools (Damian Hinds)]

Nationally, school funding will rise to over £59.6 billion next year, the highest ever in real terms per pupil. This year, the north-east had the largest percentage increase in per pupil funding in the whole of England.

[Grahame Morris]

I welcome the Minister to his place.

Every day is a school day, but I wonder whether the new Schools Minister is familiar with the School Cuts website, which indicates that 214 out of 240 schools in County Durham face spending cuts in 2024-25. The cumulative impact of cuts in County Durham amounts to £113 million, equating to a £175 cut per pupil. Does he believe that restricting school budgets will help or hinder the educational opportunities and life chances for children in my east Durham constituency?

[Damian Hinds]

I have seen the website that the hon. Member mentions. Its calculations are based on some very speculative assumptions, and the conclusions that it reaches should therefore be treated with great caution. Next year, County Durham will receive over £391 million based on current pupil numbers, which is an extra £7.8 million for schools.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Damian Hinds and Grahame Morris

Tuesday 22nd November 2022 Commons Chamber

[Grahame Morris (Easington) (Lab)]

18. If he will establish a royal commission on prisons and the wider criminal justice system.

[The Minister of State, Ministry of Justice (Damian Hinds)]

The hon. Gentleman will know of our commitment. Following the pandemic, it is also right that we prioritise recovery in the criminal justice system.

[Grahame Morris]

Notwithstanding that answer, which I thank the Minister for, a little earlier the Justice Secretary referred to manifesto commitments, and I remind the House that the Conservatives made a manifesto commitment to establishing a royal commission on criminal justice, but that is looking like a pretty slim commitment. Prisons in particular are at the heart of our criminal justice system, and they are in crisis, plagued by violence, drugs, squalor and a shameful lack of meaningful rehabilitation activity. Does the Minister accept that the priority must be a full public inquiry with statutory powers to find out what has gone wrong?

[Damian Hinds]

The hon. Gentleman is of course right about the commitment, and I referred to it in my opening response. It is true that the coronavirus changed many things, including causing significant issues in the criminal justice system and in prisons. We have published the prisons White Paper, which sets out a strategy for further improvement in all aspects of the secure estate, and I am pleased to be able to report significant progress on matters such as employment, which we know is important to reducing reoffending, and accommodation, with a five percentage points reduction in the number of individuals leaving prison who are homeless or rough sleeping.