Business of the House

Andrew Jones Excerpts

Thursday 16th January 2014 Commons Chamber

[Mr Lansley]

I assure the hon. Gentleman that this Government are as focused as any Government in recent history on increasing the supply of housing, from the woefully low levels occurring in the years before the last general election. Included in that is the achievement of additional affordable housing; we have 170,000 more affordable houses, following the lamentable decline of more than 400,000 in the number of social houses available under the previous Government.

[Andrew Jones (Harrogate and Knaresborough) (Con)]

At the north of England education conference this week, Ofsted chief Sir Michael Wilshaw said that the quality of teaching was improving. He also said:

“We have never had a more motivated, more qualified, more enthused generation of young teachers than we have now”.

That is a very encouraging quote. Please may we have a debate on what is being done to bring the brightest and best into our teaching profession, and to retain them, because that is vital to ensuring that our educational standards keep improving?

[Mr Lansley]

I agree with my hon. Friend. Not only Sir Michael Wilshaw, but The Times Educational Supplement has made it clear that there has probably never been a better time to be a teacher and to join the teaching profession, and the quality of teachers in our schools is at one of the highest levels it has ever been. That is partly because of the reform of initial teacher training, and 74% of graduates entering initial teacher training now have a 2:1 degree or higher—that proportion is the highest on record.