Oral Answers to Questions

Lord Evans of Rainow Excerpts

Monday 26th October 2015 Commons Chamber

[Mr Gibb]

We take very seriously the performance of multi-academy trusts and the trustees’ oversight of academies, and the regional school commissioners will be looking at my hon. Friend’s case, as they do all issues of poor performance by academies within multi-academy trusts.

[Graham Evans (Weaver Vale) (Con)]

16. What steps the Government are taking to support young people with their mental health in schools.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Education (Mr Sam Gyimah)]

Good mental health and attainment are different sides of the same coin, which is why the Secretary of State appointed me as the first Education Minister with responsibility for mental health in schools. We are taking a number of steps, working with partners, to improve the mental health of young people.

[Graham Evans]

Given that mental health conditions can be life-limiting for many young people in school, how are the Government ensuring that teachers have access to appropriate materials to teach pupils about mental health in an age-appropriate way so that we can break through this stigma?

[Mr Gyimah]

I am glad my hon. Friend has asked that question. We have been working with the PSHE Association to develop age-appropriate lesson plans, as well as improving counselling and guidance, so that teachers know how to teach about mental health and deal with the range of issues they come across in young people.

Oral Answers to Questions

Lord Evans of Rainow Excerpts

Monday 20th July 2015 Commons Chamber

[Ben Howlett (Bath) (Con)]

4. What steps her Department is taking to encourage schools to broaden opportunities available for disadvantaged children.

[Graham Evans (Weaver Vale) (Con)]

10. What steps her Department is taking to encourage schools to broaden opportunities available for disadvantaged children.

[The Secretary of State for Education (Nicky Morgan)]

Our education reforms are giving every child, regardless of background, a strong academic grounding and rigorous education. Through the pupil premium—a 2010 Conservative party manifesto commitment—we have invested an extra £6.25 billion in schools so all pupils can fulfil their academic potential. Disadvantaged pupil attainment is increasing and the gap between them and their peers is closing.

--- Later in debate ---

[Nicky Morgan]

I thank my hon. Friend for his question and can confirm that the pupil premium is having an impact. It is right that the most disadvantaged pupils are supported by targeted funding, which is why we will continue to provide the £2.5 billion pupil premium this year and have made a commitment to it in our manifesto. This is down to excellent schools, such as St Gregory’s Catholic college in Bath, using the best evidence-based strategies to transform their pupils’ life chances.

[Graham Evans]

The Russett school in Weaver Vale is a special educational needs school that has been rated outstanding by Ofsted. It is to become a special multi-academy trust in September. What will my right hon. Friend do to encourage further outstanding SEN schools to become leading sponsors and mentors for similar schools?

[Nicky Morgan]

I entirely agree with my hon. Friend. I am keen to encourage more special schools to become academies and, like the Russett school, set up multi-academy trusts to support not only other special schools but mainstream schools. We have had great success, with 146 special schools converting. Regional schools commissioners have responsibility for supporting schools to become academies, and I know they will strongly encourage further special schools to convert.

Oral Answers to Questions

Lord Evans of Rainow Excerpts

Monday 1st December 2014 Commons Chamber

[Mr Laws]

I think I have good news for the hon. Lady, because not only have this Government been considerably more generous than our predecessors in the allocation of basic need funding for our school system, but we are now allocating basic need funding for new school places for three years. In January, we will make another announcement of funding for basic need for 2017-18.

[Graham Evans (Weaver Vale) (Con)]

12. What recent assessment she has made of the performance of free schools.

[The Minister of State, Department for Education (Mr Nick Gibb)]

The performance of free schools is continually reviewed as more and more are inspected by Ofsted. Based on the inspections undertaken so far, the majority of free schools are performing well. With 24% rated outstanding, they are more likely to be rated outstanding than other state-funded schools.

[Graham Evans]

In Weaver Vale, I am proud to have worked with the founders of the Sandymoor free school, which has grown from strength to strength since it opened in 2012. Will my hon. Friend join me in applauding the school’s achievements, including its first Ofsted report as a good school with outstanding leadership?

[Mr Gibb]

I am delighted to join my hon. Friend in paying tribute to the governors—I understand that he is one—and the staff at Sandymoor school. The school’s motto is “Ordinary people. Extraordinary achievements.” That is right in one respect, in that it is extraordinary to secure a good grading from Ofsted within the first two years of opening a new school, but there is nothing ordinary about the head teacher, Andrew Green-Howard, or his staff at a school where, to quote Ofsted, the

“majority of students are meeting or exceeding…ambitious targets…in mathematics, English and science”,

and behaviour “is very impressive.”

Oral Answers to Questions

Lord Evans of Rainow Excerpts

Monday 27th October 2014 Commons Chamber

[Andrew Stephenson (Pendle) (Con)]

8. What steps her Department is taking to improve school buildings where most needed.

[Graham Evans (Weaver Vale) (Con)]

10. What steps her Department is taking to improve school buildings where most needed.

[The Minister for Schools (Mr David Laws)]

Investment in the school estate is one of the Government’s highest priorities. This Government will invest £5.6 billion on maintenance and improving the condition of school buildings between 2011 and 2015. In addition, the £2.4 billion priority school building programme is addressing 260 schools in the worst condition.

[Mr Laws]

I am delighted to hear about the new school buildings opening in my hon. Friend’s constituency. The Secretary of State notes the kind invitation she has received and will try to find time to visit my hon. Friend’s constituency in the near future.

[Graham Evans]

What steps are being taken to support the installation of energy-efficient measures such as solar panels, similar to the ones installed at the outstanding Helsby high school in my constituency of Weaver Vale?

[Mr Laws]

The Government are committed to helping schools to become greener and more energy efficient. That is why we have invested £20 million so far in the Salix energy efficiency loan scheme, supporting a wide range of energy-efficiency technologies with projected energy savings in excess of £40 million.

Oral Answers to Questions

Lord Evans of Rainow Excerpts

Monday 6th January 2014 Commons Chamber

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Education (Mr Edward Timpson)]

I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for asking that question, if for no other reason than that I get to answer a question. This is an extremely important issue. I know that he agrees with me about the utmost need to make further inroads into eradicating child neglect in our society. There are two definitions of child neglect which relate to criminal law and civil law. I assume that he is talking about the criminal aspect and the work that is being done in the Ministry of Justice, with which I have had discussions. This is an ongoing issue and I am happy to discuss it with him further.

[Graham Evans (Weaver Vale) (Con)]

T2. What steps is my hon. Friend taking, working with the Treasury, to equalise the VAT treatment of sixth-form colleges, such as the outstanding Mid Cheshire college in my constituency, to bring them in line with school, academy and free school sixth forms?

[The Minister for Skills and Enterprise (Matthew Hancock)]

I am a passionate supporter of sixth-form colleges. I recognise the work that they do, in particular Mid Cheshire college with its outstanding status. I have regular discussions with the Treasury. However, we do not think that we will be able to find the resources in the current spending round to solve the problem with VAT that my hon. Friend raises. I will continue to work with the Treasury to try to find a solution.

Secondary Schools (Accountability)

Lord Evans of Rainow Excerpts

Monday 14th October 2013 Commons Chamber

[Mr Laws]

This announcement was not timed for the party conference season; it was timed on the basis of the evidence available to us. If schools believe that young people should be entered in November, they are perfectly at liberty to do that—we have done nothing to stop them. Indeed, if they are confident that students will be able to secure their best grades at that time, they should put the students in for the exam. If, however, the students will achieve only a C grade when they could have achieved a B or an A later, schools should think twice.

[Graham Evans (Weaver Vale) (Con)]

I warmly welcome the Minister’s statement. As the father of three children in a state school, I have always been frustrated by the smoke and mirrors used by some state schools. Does the Minister agree with exposing coasting schools, rather than rewarding them like the previous Labour Government did?

[Mr Laws]

This information will expose coasting schools. It will also expose any school that has been focusing its curriculum offer in a narrow way and not delivering the breadth that young people need. The data based on the new accountability measures will shine an interesting light both on schools that are perhaps not as good as they thought they were, and on schools that looked like they were at the bottom of the table but are actually achieving good results given the prior attainment of their students.

Manufacturing and SMEs

Lord Evans of Rainow Excerpts

Wednesday 4th September 2013 Westminster Hall

[Graham Evans (Weaver Vale) (Con)]

It is a pleasure to speak under your chairmanship, Dr McCrea. I add my congratulations to my hon. Friend the Member for Carlisle (John Stevenson).

I am deeply proud of Weaver Vale’s huge range of manufacturing enterprises. I personally spent more than 20 years working in manufacturing, starting off at BAE Systems making RAF Nimrods. I am delighted that EEF has announced that the domestic market is at its strongest in almost three years and export sales are at a two-year high. That marks a significant growth in confidence and provides some reassurance that the industry is on the right track. However, although that shows a short-term improvement, it is set against the long-term trend that has seen manufacturing’s share of the economy fall from 23% in 1997 to about 10% currently. That sits alongside the Government’s ambitious target to double UK exports to £1 trillion by 2020—manufacturing currently makes up about half the market. I would be interested to hear my hon. Friend the Minister’s opinion on that and whether he thinks that this country could once again have 20-odd per cent. of its GDP based on manufacturing.

How do SMEs fit into that pattern of ambition and decline? In 2012, SMEs—defined as companies with fewer than 250 employees—made up 99% of all manufacturing businesses, with a turnover of £167,455 million, less than a third of the whole industry’s turnover. However, not all SMEs are created equal. Clearly, the needs and capacity of a 249-employee company are very different from those of a nine-employee company. In 2012, there were 203,000 manufacturing business with nought to nine employees, which made up 88% of manufacturing businesses and 96% of all businesses in the UK.

What can we proactively do to support SMEs? There are two clear lines of support which could and should be better developed. Research and development is key to the UK’s manufacturing future. Manufacturing is responsible for three quarters of business R and D. That is a staggering amount and a credit to our world-leading universities and work ethic. The flexibility, adaptability and innovation of SMEs make them perfect leaders of R and D. To ensure our place in the world market, we need to be able to provide financial, research and trade support to SMEs at this crucial time.

First, we should consider finance. Simply put, without strong, reliable and consistent funding, we cannot expect SMEs to grow and thrive. There are some strong incentives to help SMEs involved in R and D. From April 2012, the tax relief for SMEs is 225%. For every £100 of qualifying costs, corporation tax is not paid on an additional £125 income that would be liable for corporation tax. It is worth noting that HMRC has extended its definition of an SME to companies of under 500 employees.

I have spoken previously in the House about the German political infrastructures set up to nurture industry and especially the Mittelstand—small and medium-sized companies. Foremost among those tools stands KfW, the state-backed bank that ensures that the Mittelstand can access funding, even when the commercial banks are unwilling to lend.

Certainly Government schemes such as the advanced manufacturing supply chain initiative and the high-value manufacturing Catapult, which is designed to bridge the gap between early-stage innovation and manufacturing, are helpful, but they do not address the industry’s concerns about simple access to finance. The right hon. Member for Sheffield, Brightside and Hillsborough (Mr Blunkett) ably pointed that out earlier.

Secondly, with 71% of manufacturers planning innovation to export to new markets and 73% planning to bring new products to the market, they require not only funding but research collaboration. I welcome the work of the Technology Strategy Board’s Catapult network on high-value manufacturing, which brings together SMEs and industrial investors to work together on the centre’s core research and on their own challenges and the knowledge transfer partnership. That form of business/research collaboration speeds up innovation. It is a credit to the Government that 62%—up from 44% in 2010—of manufacturing companies are now engaged in work with research institutions. I have seen that in action at the excellent Daresbury science and innovation campus in my constituency.

Once development has been completed, UKTI must take the innovations and provide a clear and supported route to market. I welcome the £70 million increase for UKTI and I believe that it is the role of those in this House to push the manufacturing agenda to the forefront of campaigns such as the GREAT campaign to demonstrate our unique and innovative industry to key and emerging markets.

It is clear that we need a blueprint for the long-term future of the manufacturing industry and especially SMEs that goes beyond general commitments to industry as a whole. That is why we are all waiting with bated breath for the report of the Future of Manufacturing project, which will set out the long-term future of the manufacturing sector to 2050. It is due in the next few months. I sincerely hope that much of what has been discussed today will feed in to that report in order to help to ensure that the powerhouse that is SMEs in the manufacturing industry is properly supported.

Oral Answers to Questions

Lord Evans of Rainow Excerpts

Monday 22nd April 2013 Commons Chamber

[Graham Evans (Weaver Vale) (Con)]

4. What steps he is taking to remove underperforming teachers from the classroom.

[The Secretary of State for Education (Michael Gove)]

We have introduced new appraisal and capability arrangements, which should make it easier for governing bodies and head teachers to tackle underperformance. These procedures are shorter and less complex than the previous ones, and make it possible, in some cases, for schools to dismiss incompetent teachers in about a term.

[Graham Evans]

I thank my right hon. Friend for that answer. What plans does his Department have to assess teachers, to prevent them from reaching that critical stage in the first place? Does he agree that failure in schools is often one of leadership and management, and is not necessarily the fault of the individual teachers?

[Michael Gove]

My hon. Friend makes a characteristically acute point. The sharper Ofsted framework, with its greater emphasis on teaching, leadership and, critically, performance management, should ensure that, although these procedures will take less time to execute, they need not be used in many circumstances because heads will have done exactly as he suggests, in that they will have moved quickly to deal with underperformance.

Department for Education Offices (Runcorn)

Lord Evans of Rainow Excerpts

Wednesday 17th April 2013 Westminster Hall

[Graham Evans (Weaver Vale) (Con)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Gray. I congratulate the hon. Member for Halton (Derek Twigg) oninitiating this important debate, which has far-reaching implications for both my constituency and his own. I thank my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Education and his Department for engaging with all concerned parties, including the hon. Gentleman and me, alongside the council and representatives of the PCS union.

I should like to make two key points. First, I shall address the need for savings across the Department—to position the real impact that the closure could have on the Department’s balance books. Secondly, I shall address the human and economic cost that it would have on an area that has the potential to thrive, at a time when we should be addressing unemployment issues, not adding to them.

I do not dispute the need to look for economies, and the Department for Education is no less bloated than other Departments that have ballooned in size to unsustainable proportions. However, those efficiencies need to be just that—the business case must be sound to justify the action. I am convinced that these proposals are not sound. Significantly, there are gaps in both the long and the short-term expectations of savings.

Castle View house has been portrayed as a low-quality building in need of significant redevelopment. That is simply not the case. I have visited the building on numerous occasions, and compared with the wildly varying conditions of other public sector buildings, it is in very good condition, with excellent facilities. Even if a full refurbishment were required, the cost, as set out by Halton council’s response, would be one tenth of the £500,000 suggested by the Department’s review. In reality, the building has the second-lowest overheads of all the Department’s offices and the cost per square metre is just over one quarter of that for the Manchester Piccadilly site.

It is clear that a withdrawal from the area would have a negative impact and make it less easy to re-let or sell in the near future. That is clear from a consideration of other nearby Government buildings that have previously been closed. The overhead costs of Castle View as an unused building are a staggering £382,000 a year. That would swiftly impact on the balance sheets that the Department so desperately wants to correct.

The long-term impact of the decision has also not been considered sufficiently. The High Speed 2 route, which will connect up the country, will have a major terminus in the centre of Manchester, in the location of the Department for Education’s building. Although the line will not reach the city for some time, it is obvious that the building work for such a significant station will take years and result in the vacation of the offices sooner rather than later. That will be hugely costly and would, were the Castle View staff to relocate there, cause significant instability and uncertainty once more. Closing one office in Runcorn, sending staff to Manchester Piccadilly and then moving them again makes no sense whatever. It is clear that the scrutiny that we expect from a detailed analysis is lacking, and I urge the Department to have more foresight.

I should like to draw attention to the impact that the proposal will have on Halton Lea. Although some steps have been taken to produce an action plan for relocating staff to the Manchester branch, it is clear that such a move will leave many behind. Half of Halton Lea falls within the most deprived 5% of the country; the other half is within the bottom 15% and unemployment has risen to 9.4% in the past year. When we talk about closure, we are not talking just about comfortable civil servants having a longer commute—an issue that I am sure that my hon. Friend the Minister will address—but about those at the bottom of the employment scale falling out of work entirely. Service workers at the site cannot relocate, and as I have said previously, the chances of an instant re-let of the building are remote. That is not to mention that the shops and services around the area do not just benefit from but rely heavily on trade from these offices. Footfall at Halton Lea’s retail centre could drop by 20%—a drop that I am sure hon. Members will agree is too significant to ignore.

To summarise, Castle View house is the second least expensive building of the 12 Department for Education sites identified. It has excellent public transport and road links and free car parking on site. Halton Lea’s Castle View house would be difficult to re-let or sell in the short to medium term. Halton Lea is one of the most deprived wards in one of the most deprived communities in the country. Some 85% of the work force are local and it is therefore the most sustainable solution. Most of the people employed there live in the borough. Closure will only add to the borough’s socio-economic challenges. The Manchester Piccadilly site has staff from the whole of Greater Manchester.

When a proposal will change not how a Department is run but how a town will survive, we must look harder and think more clearly. I therefore respectfully urge the Secretary of State to review the plans in the same way as the former Secretaries of State did—namely, the right hon. Members for Sheffield, Brightside and Hillsborough (Mr Blunkett) and for Morley and Outwood (Ed Balls) and the former Member for Norwich South. What is it that they saw in Castle View house that my right hon. Friend, at the moment, does not?

--- Later in debate ---

[Graham Evans]

Is my hon. Friend aware that Halton borough council has suggested several alternatives to the existing building, based on the consultation? I do not agree with this, but it says that the proposal it is not economic; it is the most expensive option. There are various alternative locations in my constituency that have been put on the table—Rutland house, Vale house, Howard house, Clifton house—so there is no shortage of public sector properties available in Halton. It does not have to be shifted out of the community of Halton Lea to Manchester Piccadilly in Greater Manchester; it could be kept within the community, as there is no shortage of alternative buildings.

[Mr James Gray (in the Chair)]

Before the Minister replies, it might be helpful for hon. Members to know that we expect a Division in the main Chamber, possibly at 7.15 pm or earlier, so we might tailor our remarks to suit that probability.

Oral Answers to Questions

Lord Evans of Rainow Excerpts

Thursday 21st March 2013 Commons Chamber

[Vince Cable]

It was a very productive session at Gaydon and we were able to see successful British car manufacturing—Jaguar Land Rover and Aston Martin were just across the road. It was the largest summit we have had so far, and a celebration, as well as a serious business discussion, of the progress we are making on apprenticeships, innovation and other support for manufacturing.

[Graham Evans (Weaver Vale) (Con)]

9. What steps he is taking to promote advance manufacturing.

[The Minister for Universities and Science (Mr David Willetts)]

Advanced manufacturing is crucial to economic growth. That is why the Chancellor announced a further £1.1 billion for our industrial strategy in his Budget. That follows an additional £600 million investment in the autumn statement for eight great technologies.

[Graham Evans]

Will my right hon. Friend commend the vital contribution to the national economy made by advanced manufacturing industries, such as APPH in Runcorn, which manufactures vital parts for the Saab Gripen fighter? The company has recruited four new engineering apprentices from Manchester, Liverpool and Salford universities. Does he agree that it is vital to encourage more young people to take up engineering as a career?

[Mr Willetts]

I agree with my hon. Friend. The aerospace announcement in the Budget, to which my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has just referred, is crucial in supporting those industries. My hon. Friend can be proud of a constituency that has, in Daresbury, an important high-tech centre.