Oral Answers to Questions Debate

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Department: Department for Education

Oral Answers to Questions

Lord Walney Excerpts
Monday 26th October 2015

(8 years, 8 months ago)

Commons Chamber
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John Bercow Portrait Mr Speaker
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Perhaps the Minister could face the Chamber as we would all be the beneficiaries of that.

Lord Walney Portrait John Woodcock (Barrow and Furness) (Lab/ Co-op)
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T6. Further to the questions asked earlier, the Minister will be aware of the merger discussions announced between Barrow sixth-form college and Furness college today, and the fact that it is prompted by the dire situation the sixth-form college finds itself in. Will he agree to meet me and education representatives from the area to discuss the unusual situation Furness finds itself in, where it cannot put courses on with the same number of people and therefore does not have the same efficiency as it does in other areas?

Nick Boles Portrait Nick Boles
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Of course I would be delighted to meet the hon. Gentleman. My understanding is that this is a proposal that has been brought forward by the sixth-form college, anticipating the problems it has and trying to get ahead of them, and that is an approach we entirely welcome, but I will be happy to meet him and representatives of both colleges to understand the situation better.