Oral Answers to Questions

Steve Brine Excerpts

Monday 27th October 2014 Commons Chamber

[Nicky Morgan]

I am always very unhappy to hear about good, highly qualified teachers who decide that teaching is no longer the profession for them. There are, of course, myriad reasons why people decide to leave any particular profession, but over the last four months I have been going around the country meeting teachers, and it is clear to me that the issues of work load and inspections, and some of the expectations of the Ofsted regime, are affecting teachers. That is why, last week, the Government launched the work load challenge for teachers and published the “mythbuster” with Ofsted.

[Steve Brine (Winchester) (Con)]

During the current Parliament, Hampshire county council has invested just over £10 million in new primary school places in my constituency. They include places at The Westgate school, which is Hampshire’s first all-through school, and at the Winchester primary academy which is to be established by the University of Winchester Academy Trust on the new Barton Farm development. Will the Secretary of State hop on the train to Winchester with me and see for herself what a positive campaign for new primary places can do? I may even make her a cup of coffee in the office, which is just around the corner.

[Nicky Morgan]

How could I refuse an invitation like that—a cup of coffee made by my hon. Friend’s own fair hands? I should of course be delighted to visit Winchester as soon as my diary allows it.

Oral Answers to Questions

Steve Brine Excerpts

Monday 16th June 2014 Commons Chamber

[Mr Laws]

I know that this is a real issue in constituencies such as that of my hon. Friend. Indeed, last year about a third of all children in Cornwall’s primary schools missed school for a term-time holiday, a figure higher than the national figure for primary schools, which is about 20%. That is clearly not acceptable. I would say two things to my hon. Friend. First, head teachers retain the discretion to grant leave in exceptional circumstances. Secondly, and more significantly as regards the cases she raises, we are deregulating so that all schools control their own term dates from 2015. That might give schools in her area greater flexibility to make a judgment about when to have their holidays and about what the right time might be for them.

[Steve Brine (Winchester) (Con)]

17. What steps his Department has taken to increase the number of primary school places in a) Winchester constituency and b) England.

[The Minister for Schools (Mr David Laws)]

During this Parliament, the Department has allocated more than £5 billion in basic need funding to help local authorities in England create the additional places that will be needed.

[Steve Brine]

I have campaigned throughout this Parliament to secure new primary places for my constituents. We now have a combination of additional places at existing schools and brand-new provision at the excellent new Westgate all-through school, which is the first in Hampshire. The Government should be very proud of it. Does the Minister acknowledge that Hampshire, like so many other areas, is using the additional funding he mentioned not to fund an ideological whim but to do the basics and secure new primary school places for families who need them?

[Mr Laws]

I agree with my hon. Friend, who will be interested to know that the allocation of money to Hampshire for basic need has almost quadrupled between the time of the previous Labour Government and the present coalition Government. We have allocated £88.9 million to basic need in Hampshire between 2011 and 2015; that compares with just £23 million over a comparable four-year period in the previous Parliament.

PISA Results

Steve Brine Excerpts

Tuesday 3rd December 2013 Commons Chamber

[Michael Gove]

No. The perfect description of our reform programme is that it is based on social justice and recognises that the strongest systems combine autonomy with stricter accountability. We have introduced stricter accountability through changes both to Ofsted and to league tables. Unfortunately, those on the Labour Front Bench have not endorsed those changes to help drive up standards. They should be listening to outstanding head teachers who have the right idea, such as Dame Yasmin Bevan in the hon. Gentleman’s constituency. The sooner he introduces her to his Front-Bench colleagues, the better for all of us.

[Steve Brine (Winchester) (Con)]

Does the Secretary of State agree that it is important that our primary school children are taught by men as well as women, and will he confirm that the number of men training to be primary school teachers is on the rise?

Autism

Steve Brine Excerpts

Tuesday 20th November 2012 Commons Chamber

[Mr Buckland]

My local experience, which I am sure is shared by many hon. Members, is that the rate of diagnosis is increasing. Some years ago, when my daughter was diagnosed, I was startled to learn that, in certain parts of the country, there were no diagnoses of girls with autism. That was not because there were no girls with autism, but because the specialisations needed to make the diagnosis were not there. I am afraid that that patchiness applies today. We are at the early stages of fully identifying the range of needs. I accept that, at times, diagnoses are made in the wrong category and that children with other conditions are diagnosed as autistic, but that is inevitable when the system seeks to ensure that the needs of children are addressed in an increasingly sophisticated way.

I mentioned the need for parliamentarians and society to start viewing people with autism as people with huge potential. In a few years’ time, I want to stand here in the Chamber—or anywhere—and say that, in this country, we have cracked the code and ensured genuine opportunity for all people with autism and autism spectrum conditions.

[Steve Brine (Winchester) (Con)]

I congratulate my hon. Friend on securing this debate—he does such good work in this field. He has spoken very eloquently of his experiences as a parent. I have lost count of the number of parents who come to my surgery with an enormous folder after working so hard on behalf of their child. They are the ones with the sharp elbows, the time and the wherewithal to do all the reading and understanding, and to battle their child through the system. This debate is about the millions of children in this country who do not have such parental support, such as children in care, getting the same access to services as children whose parents can drive their way through the system.

[Mr Buckland]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend. I am reminded of the famous quotation from F. E. Smith about the world offering glittering prizes to those with stout hearts and sharp swords—I think “sharp elbows” was the phrase my hon. Friend used. He is absolutely right. We need to move to a system where parents do not need to shout at the top of their voice to obtain provision for their child, or bang on the nearest door as loudly as possible or kick out at the authorities to get what they believe is in the best interests of their child. He is absolutely right about that.

Higher and Further Education

Steve Brine Excerpts

Tuesday 11th September 2012 Commons Chamber

[Shabana Mahmood]

I will make a little progress before giving way again.

The biggest impact has been on the number of applicants. Although applications for the coming term are still open, we already know that there are around 50,000 fewer applications to higher education for the coming year and that one in 20 18-year-olds who would have been expected to apply in previous years have not applied this time around, which represents a decline of around 15,000. I am told by the sector that total accepted applications are down by about 30,000 on last year. That is equivalent to shutting down two mid-sized universities—for example Imperial college and the university of Lincoln.

[Steve Brine (Winchester) (Con)]

Will the hon. Lady give way?

[Shabana Mahmood]

Not at the moment.

That is set against a backdrop of a worsening economic outlook as a result of the Government’s failed economic policies. The economy is in a double-dip recession made in Downing street. We know that there is a strong link between periods of recession and interest in higher education, as people seek to enhance their employability and competitiveness in difficult economic circumstances, but this year that is not the case. There is a massive drop that, combined with cuts in the number of places, will result in tens of thousands fewer students entering higher education in 2012. It indicates straight away the impact of the Government’s trebling of tuition fees. Students are being put off and are basing decisions not on whether a university education is right for them, but on whether they can afford it. That is a tragedy for both the person making the decision and the country as a whole, because if they miss out on higher education, we miss out by failing to capture their full potential.

--- Later in debate ---

[Nadhim Zahawi]

rose—

[Steve Brine]

Will the hon. Lady give way?

[Shabana Mahmood]

Not at the moment.

Reading the Government’s amendment, one would think that there were no problems with their policy whatsoever and that it has had hardly any impact—further proof, if any were needed, that they are complacent and out of touch.

[Nadhim Zahawi]

rose—

[Steve Brine]

rose—

[Shabana Mahmood]

I am not going to take any more interventions at the moment; I will do so later.

The Government try to explain away the impact of their choices by saying that the drops in applications are due to the decline in the population of 18-year-olds. However, that does not get them off the hook because, as the Independent Commission on Fees pointed out in its recent report, in the rest of the UK, where the fees regime has remained the same, there has not been the same drop in applications.

--- Later in debate ---

[Nadhim Zahawi]

rose—

[Steve Brine]

rose—

[Shabana Mahmood]

I have taken an intervention from the hon. Member for Stratford-on-Avon (Nadhim Zahawi), so I give way to the hon. Member for Winchester (Steve Brine).

--- Later in debate ---

[Steve Brine]

They say that persistence always pays off. I thank the hon. Lady for giving way; she is being very generous with her time. She keeps saying that applications are down. At the university of Winchester, fees have increased from just over £3,000 a year to just on £8,000, and applications are up on last year. The main reason is that the graduate employment outcomes of students at the university of Winchester, with teacher training being one of the biggest parts of its business, are 97%. Does she accept that the key point is that it is up to higher education institutions to make the case for students to come and spend their money with them so that they will get the benefit from it?

[Shabana Mahmood]

I am glad that I gave another hon. Gentleman an opportunity to make a mini-speech. If only the experience of the whole of the higher education sector was the same as that in Winchester.

--- Later in debate ---

[Mr Willetts]

My right hon. Friend is absolutely right, and that leads me to my next point.

Another feature of our reforms is that we have done everything to encourage students from the widest possible range of backgrounds to continue to apply for university. I remind the House of the figures, which the Opposition spokesman carefully ignored in her lengthy speech. The percentage of applications to university by young people has indeed fallen—I accept that—to 31.6% from 32.6% last year. Last year’s rate was the highest on record, and this year’s is the second-highest on record. It is a higher rate of university applications than in any year when the Labour party was in government. I believe that that is because we have successfully communicated to young people that they will not have to pay up front to go to university. Of course, we are also increasing maintenance support for students at university this year. The maintenance grant and support for bursaries are going up. That is why we still have record rates of application to university, and we should celebrate and remember that fact.

[Steve Brine]

Given that the Minister inherited a commitment to cutting £600 million from the budget, what would the outcome have been if he had not taken the decision to base university financing on a system of student fees and loans? Presumably it would have been a dramatic drop in numbers and my having to say to thousands of my constituents, “Sorry, university’s not for you.”

[Mr Willetts]

We inherited from the previous Government a simple line in the 2009 autumn statement announcing £600 million of cuts in higher education, science and research. Absolutely no work had been done about where the cuts should be and how they should be delivered, but they would have meant either falling student numbers or less support for science and research. We have been able to offer cash protection in a ring-fenced science budget, and as I showed the House earlier this evening, there has been an increase in the total funding available for teaching in our universities. To achieve that when we are facing the severe financial problems that we inherited from the previous Government is evidence of our commitment to opportunities for young people and to universities and research.

That is exactly what the outside experts say. For example, I remind the Opposition spokesman of the assessment by the Institute for Fiscal Studies. It stated in June:

“The HE funding regime to be introduced in England in September 2012 will be substantially more progressive than the current system. Roughly the poorest 30% of graduates, in terms of lifetime earnings, will be better off…than under the current system…Universities will also be better off, on average, and the taxpayer will save around £2,500 per graduate.”

Only yesterday I met the head of the education division of the OECD, who was here to launch “Education at a Glance”, its annual publication. He described our system of repaying loans as

“the most advanced system in the OECD”,

and added that

“probably no system does it better.”

That was what the impartial head of the OECD’s education division said yesterday.

Oral Answers to Questions

Steve Brine Excerpts

Thursday 6th September 2012 Commons Chamber

[Mr Willetts]

Immediately after these questions my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State is going to Swindon to join Honda in this very welcome announcement. The Department absolutely understands the importance of the supply chains behind these large companies. Of course, the commitment to the supply chain is one of the many reasons why Britain is moving up the competitiveness league table.

[Steve Brine (Winchester) (Con)]

7. What recent assessment he has made of the employment outcomes of graduates.

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

University remains a great route to a rewarding career: 90% of full-time, first degree leavers are in work or further study six months after graduating, and graduates earn on average £100,000 more over their working lives. We recognise the need to do all we can to help universities and businesses to prepare students for the labour market.

[Steve Brine]

The Minister might be interested to know that in 2010-11 the university of Winchester recorded that 96% of its full-time teacher training graduates had gone into teaching jobs, but is he satisfied that higher education institutions are doing enough to focus prospective students on the employment prospects they can expect if they choose to study and spend significant sums of money at their institutions?

[Mr Willetts]

I congratulate the university of Winchester on that excellent achievement. That is why this month we are introducing, for the first time, a requirement that universities release the information on the percentage of their leavers who are in work after six months, course by course, so that prospective students can assess their performance on that crucial measure.

New Schools

Steve Brine Excerpts

Monday 10th October 2011 Commons Chamber

[Michael Gove]

I am delighted to underline my debt to both Lord Baker of Dorking and my hon. Friend, who was one of the early advocates of free schools and the pupil premium. I am absolutely delighted that this ministerial team is able to take forward proposals that he championed when we were in opposition.

[Mr Steve Brine (Winchester) (Con)]

This morning, I visited Harestock primary school in my constituency, where nearly 20% of pupils have a family member serving our country in the armed forces. The Secretary of State knows how warmly I welcome the new school places that the Government have created, but many of the service parents whom I met this morning are greatly concerned about the availability of school places in the system, as families return from Germany over the next few years. Will the Secretary of State work with his colleagues at the Ministry of Defence to see that those families can come home with some confidence in the next two or three years, instead of feeling fear, as they do currently?

[Michael Gove]

I absolutely will. Of course, it is for the best of reasons that 14,000 service personnel are returning from Germany; thanks to the inspirational leadership of Baroness Thatcher and Ronald Reagan, we won the cold war and are able now to welcome back the servicemen of the British Army on the Rhine.

We need to make sure that those who have worn the Queen’s uniform enjoy the best possible education. The service premium and the additional changes that we are making to the admissions code are part of that. Of course, we have to work with the Ministry of Defence to do so, and I will be delighted to work—for many years to come, I hope—with my right hon. Friend the Member for North Somerset (Dr Fox), who is doing such a great job in championing service families and defending the armed forces covenant.

School Funding Reform

Steve Brine Excerpts

Tuesday 19th July 2011 Commons Chamber

[Michael Gove]

I very much enjoyed my visit to Gloucester and Stroud on Friday, and the first thing I did when I arrived at the Department on Monday was to instruct my officials to co-operate with Gloucester city council and the Young People’s Learning Agency to ensure that we deal with this issue.

[Mr Steve Brine (Winchester) (Con)]

I warmly welcome the Secretary of State’s announcement. Parents in the city of Winchester will have heard his statement loud and clear, despite various other noises going on in the media today. What guidance has his Department issued to local authorities in recent years about the need to keep spare capacity in the primary system?

[Michael Gove]

That is a typically shrewd point from my hon. Friend. One of the problems we inherited is that under the system that prevailed under the previous Government, guidance was given in 2007 to reduce surplus places, particularly in the primary sector, and we now have a basic need problem. It is good that the Opposition now recognise that we should prioritise meeting basic need.