Birmingham Schools

Lord Blunkett Excerpts

Monday 9th June 2014 Commons Chamber

[Michael Gove]

My hon. Friend makes a very important point. The Department for Education has been faster to react to concerns expressed about schools and to deal with failure than many local authorities. The case of Saltley, a local authority maintained school, is shocking, but let me stress that Birmingham city council is now fully seized of the importance of dealing with this problem. Let me pay tribute to Sir Albert Bore, whom I met earlier today, who now understands fully the vital importance of working with central Government to deal with it. Local government has failed in the past. We need to ensure that central and local government work together to deal with this problem.

[Mr David Blunkett (Sheffield, Brightside and Hillsborough) (Lab)]

May I first welcome the fact that we seem to be moving inexorably towards a national curriculum that is applied nationally? That is progress.

In the spirit of the Secretary of State’s last answer, will he ask his right hon. Friend the Home Secretary to delve into the Home Office archives for a research report of 10 years ago—funded by the Government—which examined the cultural isolation of, and the lessons to be learned from, schools in Burnley and adjoining Blackburn? The report was counter-intuitive, but it would now be extremely helpful in going forward.

[Michael Gove]

I am very grateful to the right hon. Gentleman. I think that he is referring to the Cantle report, which we have looked at in the past. Certainly, there is a body of work that helps us to understand some of the challenges of separate communities and of how to secure better integration.

On the question of the curriculum, the one thing I would say is that I am confused about Labour’s position on the national curriculum. Labour Members seem to want to extend it to all schools, but the shadow Secretary of State has said that all schools should have the ability to opt out completely from it. I appreciate that the right hon. Gentleman has the benefit of experience and that the shadow Minister does not, but until we get a consensus view from the Labour party I will listen to Sir Michael Wilshaw.