Universities: Funding and Employment

Alice Macdonald Excerpts

Wednesday 2nd April 2025 Westminster Hall

[Alice Macdonald (Norwich North) (Lab/Co-op)]

It is an honour to serve under your chairship, Mr Vickers. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Bedford (Mohammad Yasin) for securing the debate.

As we have heard, there is a crisis in higher education in this country. The crisis is writ large in an academic institution in my area, the University of East Anglia, which is why I am attending the debate. The University of East Anglia really matters for our city, our county and the country. It is a vital hub that delivers cutting-edge research, educates thousands of students and provides thousands of jobs. It is more than just an education facility; it is on a campus that is home to five research campuses funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council, 40 businesses, four independent research institutes and a teaching hospital. That university, which has produced renowned novelists, filmmakers, scientists and cardiologists, is now in a precarious position, as are so many other institutions.

The proposals advanced by the University of East Anglia could see up to 190 staff members—163 full-time equivalents—losing their jobs, and it comes after losing more than 400 staff members a year and a half ago. It will have a direct impact not only on many people’s lives but on our economy. Last week, about 700 university staff members held a strike day to fight against the job cuts. I understand the pressure that chancellors and vice-chancellors are under, but the loss of knowledge and expertise when staff go lasts for not just years but generations.

I want to be clear that the jobs, and the education of students, must be protected at UEA. I am sure that the Minister agrees that higher education institutions such as UEA are central to our local and national economy. As we move towards more devolution in Norfolk and Suffolk, it is deeply worrying that the largest HE provider in our region is in such a difficult position.

I have recently spoken with the UCU branch at UEA, as well as with the vice-chancellor and members of the team. I know that work is being done to try to find a solution, but it is clear that stress levels are high and morale is low. Of course, for staff who go, the impact is huge, but it is also huge for the staff left behind as workloads increase and their colleagues leave. As we have heard, each institution will have particular issues, but there are systemic issues that need to be addressed. I think we all recognise that it is complex, with many factors at play, but also that it has been going on for too long and it has to be gripped. I do think this Government will get to grips with it. We have heard about some of the measures that we could be considering, such as how student loans, payments and tuition fees are structured, and about some of the shorter-term measures. We heard about considering caps on student numbers, and the impact of visa changes.

I also want to make a point about the importance of transparency and accountability for those who lead UK higher education institutions. I am talking broadly, not specifically about UEA. From listening to people at UCU, it sometimes feels that staff are not necessarily as fully involved as they should be in some of the decision-making processes. We need robust systems of accountability.

When we talk about higher education funding, we also need to talk about further education funding. We have very good colleges in Norfolk, but I heard from City College Norwich that under the previous Government, it felt invisible. I urge the Minister, as we look at all the funding conversations holistically, to also look at the role of colleges in addressing issues such as pay parity.

I would also like to take the opportunity to draw the Minister’s attention to the proposal for an undergraduate dental school at the University of East Anglia. That touches on funding and jobs. It has cross-party support and has been in the pipeline for a long time, but in order for courses to start this autumn, we urgently need an allocation of places from the Office for Students. I know that a lot depends on the spending review, but I want to highlight that important investment that we need in our area.

Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund

Alice Macdonald Excerpts

Tuesday 1st April 2025 Commons Chamber

[Alice Macdonald (Norwich North) (Lab/Co-op)]

Like many colleagues, I wrote to the Minister recently regarding the fund, so I welcome today’s news. The adoption and special guardianship fund was described to me as a lifeline. I know that the Minister has touched on the timelines for funding allocations, but will she confirm that it will be up to county councils to apply for the funding, and will she give any indication of when the extra funding will reach councils and, therefore, families and children?

[Janet Daby]

I have sort of already answered my hon. Friend’s question. We will ensure that we look at the matter straightaway and that the roll-out takes place straightaway.

SEND Education Support

Alice Macdonald Excerpts

Tuesday 25th February 2025 Westminster Hall

[Alice Macdonald (Norwich North) (Lab/Co-op)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your leadership, Mr Twigg. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Suffolk Coastal (Jenny Riddell-Carpenter) for securing this important debate. My area of Norfolk has unique challenges as well as the common challenges we have heard about from many Members. Between 2019 and 2024, we saw a 74.5% increase in the number of EHC plans issued, and it is rising faster than the national average.

I want to touch on a few of the systemic problems I see in my area. Hon. Members have mentioned health. In Norfolk there are more than 10,000 children on waiting lists for an autism or ADHD assessment, and the average waiting time is seven years. That is totally unacceptable. Can the Minister tell us what is being done with the Department of Health and Social Care to expedite that process?

When members of the public contact me, whether because they are being told that, since the specialist provision is within 3 miles, they must walk there and transport will not be funded, or whether it is to tell me about the thousands of pounds being poured into tribunal processes by Norfolk county council, my feeling is overwhelmingly that the system is failing them. We have an adversarial system in which parents and children are not being listened to. We also have a real challenge in Norfolk with the expense of transport, which costs the local authority a huge amount but forces children to travel miles.

There is a school sitting empty in Norwich North that could be turned into a special school. I have been campaigning for that with local councillors for almost four years, but bureaucracy seems to be getting in the way. I do not understand why the simple transfer of a lease is impeding the provision of an extra specialist school for our children. We really need to look at how we can expedite the use of facilities that could be repurposed.

I also hear from constituents that when they are told there is no place for their child in a specialist resource base, they are not told the reasons why. My constituent Joanne was told that there is no right to appeal, so she has been left with no understanding of why her child cannot have the place she desperately needs. I agree that we need clear guidelines for families. We also need a co-production model, so that parents are not just talking to a system, but being included in the system right from the very start, through delivery for our young people.

I welcome the steps that the Government have taken so far. I know that we will take so many more. Ultimately, speed is of the essence.

School Accountability and Intervention

Alice Macdonald Excerpts

Monday 3rd February 2025 Commons Chamber

[Catherine McKinnell]

I encourage those headteachers to feed back to Ofsted as part of the consultation process. Obviously, it is Ofsted’s consultation process. It determines the mechanisms by which it will undertake the new inspections, and it sets the framework. As the Department for Education, we are responsible for implementing the findings of an Ofsted inspection, but we are interested in making sure that it achieves what we want it to achieve, which is to drive high and rising standards. We are confident that the new framework will do that. The Department for Education also has its consultation document out on how we see the reforms working in practice. If the hon. Gentleman would like to meet and discuss that, I would be happy to do so.

[Alice Macdonald (Norwich North) (Lab/Co-op)]

I welcome what my hon. Friend has said today. I recently visited Mile Cross primary school in Norwich, which is a shining beacon of what a local school can provide to its residents. Will she join me in paying tribute to the staff and pupils at Mile Cross? She touched on this in her statement, but how can we ensure that lessons in good practice are shared from primary schools such as Mile Cross, not just across the county, but across the country?

[Catherine McKinnell]

My hon. Friend is right to celebrate the good work being done by schools in her local area. We recognise that many schools, both in the trust sector and in the maintained sector, are working tirelessly day in, day out to deliver excellent outcomes for their children. Report cards will clearly identify what needs to improve, and it is important that they do so, but they will also encourage schools to work together to identify the exemplary practices that should be spread more widely. She is right to highlight the many examples in her area and to look forward to schools working across the system to drive improvement across the board.

Oral Answers to Questions

Alice Macdonald Excerpts

Monday 9th December 2024 Commons Chamber

[Catherine McKinnell]

I thank the hon. Lady for her recognition of the additional funding. We expect the funding to create thousands of new places, particularly in mainstream schools but also in special schools and other specialist settings. We will confirm the allocations for individual local authorities in the spring, as they know best how to invest in their local area. We are keeping the free schools programme under review and will provide that confirmation in due course.

[Alice Macdonald (Norwich North) (Lab/Co-op)]

7. What steps she is taking to improve support for kinship carers.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Education (Janet Daby)]

Supporting kinship placements is critical to deliver our opportunity mission to ensure that children grow up in safe and loving homes. We have recently announced a £40 million package to trial a kinship allowance. The trial will test whether an allowance can support more children to settle with family and friends.

[Alice Macdonald]

I recently met kinship carers in Norwich, who do an amazing job in very difficult circumstances. One of the biggest challenges they face is financial support. Kinship’s recent “Forgotten” report found that children in kinship care are struggling because of an inaccessible and complicated picture of support. Has the Minister made an assessment of extending relevant financial support, such as pupil premium plus, to all children in kinship care?

[Janet Daby]

This Government acknowledge and appreciate the crucial role that kinship carers play. I am pleased that the virtual school heads scheme has been expanded to support kinship children. I encourage kinship carers and schools to work together to support kinship children and those with identified needs. The Department will continue to review the matter, to ensure that children get the right support.

SEND Provision: East of England

Alice Macdonald Excerpts

Tuesday 8th October 2024 Westminster Hall

[Alice Macdonald (Norwich North) (Lab/Co-op)]

As we have heard, the SEND system is in crisis, and Norfolk is emblematic of that crisis. I know that the Government are determined to do all they can to tackle that crisis and I believe they have the backing of all of us, across the House. We have touched on many of the topline issues affecting SEND provision and I want to focus on the local issues that are affecting people in my constituency and across Norfolk.

First, there is some good news on SEND from Norfolk today. I welcome the announcement of 76 additional places in Norfolk schools. Many of those places will be in schools in my constituency. This is a welcome step, but we need a lot more urgent action. As well as more places in mainstream schools, there is a lack of specialist schools, in Norfolk as in many places. In Norwich North, the Angel Road junior school has sat empty since 2021. We have been campaigning to turn that into a specialist school and we hope that the county council will act urgently to ensure that is the case.

Secondly, as my hon. Friend the Member for Stevenage (Kevin Bonavia) has mentioned, SENCO recruitment and retention is a real issue, which comes up again and again. It would be good to hear what steps will be taken to improve it. Thirdly, there is a feeling, sadly too often borne out, that the system is adversarial. In Norfolk, a huge amount of money has been spent on the tribunal system—£890,000 in one year. Of course it is important that we have legal processes in place, but will the Minister look into how we could address that and minimise the amount of money spent there? As the hon. Member for Waveney Valley (Adrian Ramsay) has mentioned, Norfolk is a rural county and children are spending far too much time on buses when they should be in schools. I hope that we can also take steps to address that.

I want to finish by paying tribute to the amazing staff, parents, support staff, in schools across the county of Norfolk and across the country, who are doing so much to support children and families.