Environment and Climate Change

Debate between Lord Field of Birkenhead and Michael Gove

Wednesday 1st May 2019 Commons Chamber

[Michael Gove]

In fairness, I must give way to the right hon. Member for Birkenhead (Frank Field), who has been seeking to intervene from the start.

[Frank Field (Birkenhead) (Ind)]

I am grateful to the Secretary of State. Ten years ago, I helped to form Cool Earth, which is brilliantly run by Matthew Owen. We are a tiny non-governmental organisation that protects more rainforests than any other NGO, whatever its size. When we go to the Department for International Development, we are told that we cannot have any money because we ask for too little. Will the Secretary of State put a rocket up DFID?

[Michael Gove]

A rocket might require too much fossil fuel to have the desired effect. The right hon. Gentleman makes a serious point, however. We work collectively across the Government. On the morning of 7 May, I will be meeting the Secretaries of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and for International Development and the Foreign Secretary to raise that issue.

UK’s Withdrawal from the European Union

Debate between Lord Field of Birkenhead and Michael Gove

Wednesday 13th March 2019 Commons Chamber

[Michael Gove]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. Let me also take this opportunity to pay tribute to his consistent championing of the rights of EU citizens in this country: we admire his commitment to principle. The Vote Leave campaign did indeed make clear that it was seeking a mandate to leave the European Union, and to conclude a free trade deal with the EU. That was the explicit aim of the campaign, and it is the policy of this Government.

[Frank Field (Birkenhead) (Ind)]

Might I suggest that if we do want an orderly Brexit involving the Prime Minister’s deal, one way of securing it would be to invite the Secretary of State and his colleagues to vote for the amendment tabled by the right hon. Member for Meriden (Dame Caroline Spelman)? It would take crashing out of the European Union off the table, which might convince some of the Secretary of State’s friends that that is no longer an option, and that if we are to deliver on our promise, the only way in which we can do so is the Prime Minister’s deal. Might the Secretary of State also consider when we can have an opportunity—when we are not going to crash out—to vote on the Prime Minister’s deal again?

[Michael Gove]

Like me, the right hon. Gentleman argued that we should leave the European Union, and I take seriously the case that he makes. I shall go on to say a little about the amendment tabled by my right hon. Friend the Member for Meriden (Dame Caroline Spelman), but we should all be clear about one thing: the only way in which to ensure that we take no deal off the table is either to revoke article 50, which would dishonour the mandate, or to deliver a deal. As the right hon. Gentleman knows, the deal that the Prime Minister put before the House last night, which sadly did not command a majority, allows us to leave the European Union in an orderly fashion, and in a way that honours our democratic mandate while also preserving our economic advantages. It is much to the regret of people outside the House that we were not able to command a consensus for it then.

Leaving the EU: Fisheries Management

Debate between Lord Field of Birkenhead and Michael Gove

Tuesday 20th March 2018 Commons Chamber

[Michael Gove]

As ever, my right hon. Friend sums up my thoughts with more pith and elegance than I can ever aspire to.

[Frank Field (Birkenhead) (Lab)]

The Minister is sometimes so able that he beguiles the House and we are unsure of what he believes. Following the example that he has just given, will he offer two yesses to these questions? First, when we leave, will we totally control our fishing waters? Secondly, will he please offer every fishing port free port status?

[Michael Gove]

I can say yes to the first question, but the second question is above my pay grade. As for knowing what I believe, the best guide has always been the right hon. Gentleman’s capacity to get to the heart of the matter, as he does so effectively on this issue.

Exam Reform

Debate between Lord Field of Birkenhead and Michael Gove

Monday 17th September 2012 Commons Chamber

[Michael Gove]

I was talking this morning to the head teacher of Burlington Danes academy, Sally Coates—[Interruption.] She is embracing these reforms, as most enlightened head teachers are, and I suggest that the hon. Member for Liverpool, West Derby (Stephen Twigg) have a word with her before it is too late and his position leaves him even more exposed in the educational world. The point she made to me is that, contrary to my hon. Friend’s suggestion, coursework and controlled assessment often work to the benefit of middle-class students, whose parents can better support them, and actually the form of examinations we are putting forward is better designed to support students from poorer backgrounds to show what they can do, rather than simply to show what their parents have achieved.

[Mr Frank Field (Birkenhead) (Lab)]

Would parents be correct in drawing from the Secretary of State’s statement that he will ensure that the weakest students are helped so that they enter a single exam and that he will not tolerate a second-tier exam for those weaker students? Although parents will be relieved that students are not asked any more to complete coursework, does he not accept that some coursework does enable students to manage their time better and to improve their skills? Should that not be reflected in his new system?

[Michael Gove]

The right hon. Gentleman makes two very important points. On the first, we are perfectly clear that we are moving towards a single-tier system and away from a split, two-tier system. One of the points that the Opposition Front-Bench team have refused to engage with or acknowledge is that we have a two-tier system now, with foundation and higher-tier examinations at GCSE which force students who enter the foundation tier to accept a cap on aspiration. It is a disgraceful situation, which was never addressed when they were in office.

On the second point, which the right hon. Gentleman rightly makes, about the importance of coursework and controlled assessment, I would say, as I said in response to the hon. Member for North Cornwall (Dan Rogerson), that there are specific subjects outside the existing English baccalaureate, such as art and design or design and technology, in which students can demonstrate practical skills effectively through work that is not examined during a time-limited examination period. However, there are real problems with coursework and controlled assessment in core academic subjects.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Lord Field of Birkenhead and Michael Gove

Monday 3rd September 2012 Commons Chamber

[Michael Gove]

This is a first—I do not think that until now I have ever disagreed with any word that the hon. Gentleman has said in Education questions. Thanks to the fantastic work of the Under-Secretary of State for Defence, my right hon. Friend the Member for South Leicestershire (Mr Robathan), and his team, and the UK Reserve Forces Association, great steps forward are being taken to ensure that more schools have cadet forces. I was overjoyed a couple of months ago to read an op-ed article penned by the hon. Member for Liverpool, West Derby (Stephen Twigg) and the right hon. Member for East Renfrewshire (Mr Murphy), which said that there should be more, not less, military involvement in all our schools. I am pleased to see that there is a pact of steel across the Front Benches on this issue.

[Mr Frank Field (Birkenhead) (Lab)]

The regulator has said that if the marking for this summer’s English exams had been the same as the marking in January, it would have made a 10% difference to results. Given that fact, might not the Secretary of State have a word with the regulator to encourage the re-marking of borderline cases in grade D, with that 10% being added to the score?

[Michael Gove]

I am sure the regulator will have heard the right hon. Gentleman’s case, but it is vital that we maintain its independence. If we were to subject it to ministerial inference, that would undermine the point of having an independent regulator in the first place.

Secondary Education (GCSEs)

Debate between Lord Field of Birkenhead and Michael Gove

Tuesday 26th June 2012 Commons Chamber

[Michael Gove]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend, who is absolutely correct that we need to have higher aspirations for all students. That is why, in our forthcoming consultation on how we can improve GCSEs and get world-class qualifications, we will suggest that we end the tiering of papers and ensure that this barrier—this cap on aspiration—is removed. That is genuine radicalism that embodies greater aspiration for all students. After 13 years of Labour when there was a cap on aspiration, under this coalition Government social mobility is at last advanced.

[Mr Frank Field (Birkenhead) (Lab)]

Given that practically all the studies show that the differences between children when they are first sent to school at the age of five are not changed by schools of any nature or under any exam system, why does the Secretary of State think that the introduction of his proposed reforms will change the life chances of the poorest children?

[Michael Gove]

I think that their life chances can change. I usually agree with the right hon. Gentleman on almost every issue, but in this area I differ with him. I do not believe that birth or even the early years determine a child’s fate. I have seen children from very similar backgrounds, often from troubled and chaotic homes, go into primary schools and then on to secondary schools with very different qualities of teaching and, as a result, have their outcomes transformed. The right hon. Gentleman has been a fantastic advocate for the growth of the academies programme, including in his own constituency. His actions suggest to me that while he is, of course, as determined as I am to improve the early years, he recognises that we can intervene at every stage to help children and young people to succeed.

[Mr Field]

Of course we need to intervene at every stage as effectively as possible. While all of us, thank goodness, have seen examples of children escaping their circumstances such as those the right hon. Gentleman cites, the truth is that if we look at students as classes we do not free whole groups of pupils.

[Michael Gove]

It is absolutely right that we make sure that we recognise that children are individuals and that teaching should, as far as possible, be personalised towards them. Children will not only have different abilities in different subjects but will mature at different stages.

That is one of the reasons why we wanted to ensure that we developed qualifications that are not only without the tiers that set a cap on aspiration but can be taken at different points in a child’s career. At the moment, far too many children fail to secure a GCSE pass in English and maths at the age of 16 and never manage to secure a meaningful qualification in maths or English thereafter. We want to learn from Singapore, where students at the age of 16, then 17, and then 18, secure those passes. We must not give up on children simply because they have not reached an appropriate level at the age of 16. That is why we are reforming post-16 education and why we are placing a requirement on students who have not secured those qualifications at the age of 16 to secure them at 17 or 18. The generation that had been written off under Labour is at last, under the coalition Government, receiving support.

Secondary Education

Debate between Lord Field of Birkenhead and Michael Gove

Thursday 21st June 2012 Commons Chamber

[Mr Frank Field (Birkenhead) (Lab)]

Given that the Secretary of State is rightly concerned to ensure that no children fail, why is he so obsessed with schools? All the evidence points to the idea that perhaps at three years old, but certainly by the time they enter school, their life chances are determined. Might one invite him to be equally obsessive about the foundation years as he is about schools?

[Michael Gove]

I am very grateful to the right hon. Gentleman for the point that he makes. Absolutely: we believe in intervening as early as possible, which is why we have extended the number of hours of pre-school learning that we offer, particularly to disadvantaged children. More can be done, however, and we are reforming the early years foundation stage. The Minister of State, Department for Education, my hon. Friend the Member for Brent Central (Sarah Teather), who has responsibility for children and families, is doing fantastic work in that area, and I look forward to working with the right hon. Gentleman to do more.

New Schools

Debate between Lord Field of Birkenhead and Michael Gove

Monday 10th October 2011 Commons Chamber

[Michael Gove]

My hon. Friend makes a very good point, which is that we need to think hard about the paths that those from the age of 14 will follow. One of the things that I believe we can do is ensure that high quality further education colleges make available their resources, whether through sponsoring underperforming schools or allowing lecturers or others from FE colleges to operate in schools. Following on from the Wolf report, we have already changed the law to allow that to happen. But there is more that can be done to integrate the great work that FE colleges and schools do.

[Mr Frank Field (Birkenhead) (Lab)]

May I challenge the slight complacency that I noticed in the Secretary of State’s speech when he referred to UTCs? Is it not true that if we are going to do anything about the competitive position of this country and if we are going to win new markets and offer rising living standards in this country, we do not want a Secretary of State coming to the House offering 13 UTCs? We want a Secretary of State coming and offering 113 such bodies. When does he expect to announce the next round of UTCs? When he does, I hope he will include Birkenhead in the list.

[Michael Gove]

There are few parts of the country that need schools of quality more than the areas around Merseyside. In Birkenhead, the young people who want a better future are lucky to have such a great champion. We will be bringing forward more UTC proposals, but sadly our capacity to invest in schools of that quality is constrained inevitably by the poisoned economic legacy that we were left.

Sure Start Children’s Centres

Debate between Lord Field of Birkenhead and Michael Gove

Wednesday 27th April 2011 Commons Chamber

[Michael Gove]

My hon. Friend is absolutely correct that the interest we are paying on our debt is 39 times the Sure Start budget under the previous Government. If we really cared about our children’s future, would we have saddled them with a debt at that level? Clearly not. I am afraid, however, that the right hon. Gentleman and his colleagues in the last Labour Cabinet were happy to spend, spend, spend without any thought to whether future generations would be saddled with an enormous debt. It is to the great credit of the Prime Minister and the Deputy Prime Minister that they were prepared to ensure that a coalition Government took the responsible steps necessary to deal with the dire economic mess, and it is to the discredit, I am afraid, of the current shadow Cabinet that not a single constructive suggestion has come forward for how to deal with the deficit. In just a few days’ time, when people think about how to cast their vote, I hope that they will reflect on which parties are acting responsibly in dealing with the national crisis, and which parties prefer posturing, irresponsibility and the emptiness of eternal opposition.

[Mr Frank Field (Birkenhead) (Lab)]

rose—

[Michael Gove]

I would like to exempt one person from that stricture, however, and it is the right hon. Member for Birkenhead (Mr Field), to whom I am happy to give way.

[Mr Field]

The whole House welcomes the re-announcement by the Secretary of State that the number of poor two-year-olds who will receive nursery education will rise from 30,000 to 130,000. To ensure that it occurs, will the Government ring-fence the money?