Teacher Pay Award
Bridget Phillipson Excerpts(3 months, 3 weeks ago)
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The Secretary of State for Education (Bridget Phillipson)
This Government are committed to delivering the best life chances for all children and young people, but we can only achieve our goal by working in partnership with our wonderful teachers. They have guided learners through turbulent times, and I value their expertise, dedication and experience. I am pleased to be able to share an update about teachers and leaders in our schools.
I am today announcing that we are accepting in full the independent School Teachers’ Review Body’s recommendations for 2024-25, implementing a substantial pay award for school teachers and leaders of 5.5% from September. This award will apply to maintained schools across all pay points and allowances, and in practice will also be implemented in many academies at their discretion. I thank the STRB members for their careful consideration of the evidence presented to them.
I am also pleased to confirm that this award will be fully funded at a national level. We are providing schools with almost £1.1 billion in additional funding in financial year 2024-25 to support them with overall costs. This matches what we have calculated is needed to fully fund, at a national level, the teacher pay award and the support staff pay offer in financial year 2024-25, over and above the available headroom in schools’ existing budgets. We recognise that the picture will be different for individual schools. We are also providing an additional £97 million forschools delivering post-16 education (£63 million) and early years provision (£34 million). Taken together, this is an increase of almost £1.2 billion. The wider fiscal context means that this was not an easy decision, but it is the right one, and will be another important step in resetting the relationship between the Government and teaching profession.
We will deliver the almost £1.1 billion for schools through the new core schools budget grant, providing £945 million for mainstream schools, £140 million for high needs, and £11 million for centrally employed teachers. This means that the core schools budget, which includes the core revenue funding for schools and high needs, will total over £61.8 billion in 2024-25.
To help schools understand how much funding they can expect through the CSBG, we have published mainstream and high needs rates. We have also provided a calculator tool at the core schools budget grant pages on gov.uk so that mainstream schools can estimate their grant funding.
We are aware that the full impact of the teacher pay award hits across financial years 2024-25 and 2025-26. The CSBG for 2024-25, announced today, covers the financial year 2024-25 portion of the award. We want to reassure schools that we will take into account the impact of the full year’s costs of the teacher pay award on schools when considering 2025-26 budgets.
We are also taking some early steps to improve the experience of being a teacher in our schools. In addition to the pay award, we will be making some changes to school teachers’ terms and conditions to address some immediate issues, as part of our broader ambition to make work pay and ensure a more productive workforce. This includes removing the requirement for schools to use performance-related pay to reduce the workload burdens that this can have on some schools. We will be publishing updated guidance on appraisals, capability and pay today to support those schools that choose not to use performance-related pay to inform their pay progression decisions. We will also clarify the position on planning, preparation and assessment time, so schools are clear that teachers can use this time at home to provide greater flexibility for teachers.
Following delays caused by the general election, we have moved swiftly to respond to the STRB’s recommendation and give schools the clarity they need, including over their budgets, which we have done by fully funding the pay award for teachers and support staff at a national level, despite the challenging state of public finances. We understand the timings of the pay round have caused significant issues for schools in recent years. We will prioritise ensuring that the pay round works better for schools under our Government—working across Government, the STRB, unions and the wider sector, including establishing the new School Support Staff Negotiating Body.
Looking forward, this Government will work with the sector to deliver our pledge to recruit 6,500 additional teachers across schools and colleges to raise standards for children and young people, and to deliver our mission to break down the barriers to opportunity at every stage.
Unions, employers, and teachers have made clear in my first weeks in office the importance of a fair and fully funded award for school teachers, leaders and support staff. I hope that this year’s pay award, funding position and accompanying announcements will start to build that positive and productive partnership, resetting the relationship between Government and the teaching profession.
We should not take for granted the substantial financial challenges that this Government have faced to be able to find this new funding. As the Chancellor has said, the fiscal context means that this has been a tough process, but this decision will help schools facing recruitment and retention challenges. However, this pay award is the right thing to do to improve competitiveness of teacher pay, including against the private sector. This is the start of the process of reform and renewal of our public services.
STRB Process
The 34th report of the School Teachers’ Review Body is being published today. Its recommendations cover the remit issued in December 2023 by the Conservative Government regarding the pay award for teachers for the next academic year that is due to be implemented from September 2024. The report will be presented to Parliament and published on gov.uk. I will place a copy of this report in the Libraries of both Houses.
The STRB was asked to make recommendations that assessed the adjustments that should be made to the salaries and allowances of classroom teachers, unqualified teachers and school leaders in 2024-25. The previous Government asked the STRB to consider the exceptional nature of previous pay awards, the restrained fiscal context, and the concept of targeted remuneration.
The Department for Education will now write to all statutory consultees of the STRB to invite them to contribute to a consultation on the Government’s response to these recommendations and on a revised school teachers’ pay and conditions document and pay order. The consultation will last for 10 weeks, and the pay award will be backdated to September.
Recommendations and Response
For 2024-25, the STRB recommended increases to teachers’ pay of 5.5% at all grades, and a 5.5% increase to all allowance ranges. The Government have announced that they are accepting these recommendations in full.
The STRB also gave its observations on broader structural issues relating to teachers’ pay and conditions. Department for Education officials will now consider these observations in due course.
Scope
This pay award applies to all teachers and leaders in maintained schools.Non-maintained schools, including free schools and academies, as usual, have the freedom to set their own pay policies. Such schools are therefore not obliged to follow the statutory arrangements set out in the school teachers’ pay and conditions document although they may still choose to do so if they wish.
[HCWS35]
Higher Education Regulation
Bridget Phillipson Excerpts(3 months, 4 weeks ago)
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The Secretary of State for Education (Bridget Phillipson)
The Government are committed to ensuring this country develops the skills we need to deliver sustained economic growth and improved prosperity and living standards for working people. Our world-leading higher education sector is a key engine at the heart of these growth plans and today I am announcing some of the first steps we are taking to ensure a stable future for higher education, with strong regulation that means students can thrive.
First, today will see the publication of the report for the independent review of the Office for Students, “Fit for the Future: Higher Education Regulation towards 2035”, which will be made available on gov.uk.
The review found that the case for bold regulation of higher education is clear but that the OfS should more sharply focus on key priorities, which include monitoring financial sustainability, ensuring quality, protecting public money and regulating in the interests of students.
I would like to thank the lead reviewer, Sir David Behan, for conducting a rigorous and thoughtful review, and all those in the higher education sector who supported and contributed to the review process.
The Government accept the core analysis of the review and, as set out in our manifesto, we recognise that strong regulation is a crucial element of a stable, world-leading higher education sector that delivers for students and the economy.
I will deposit a copy of the report in the Libraries of both Houses.
Following the resignation of Lord Wharton as chair of the OfS earlier this month, I also wish to announce that Sir David has been appointed as interim chair of the OfS. His role will primarily be to work with the current executive to implement the recommendations of the independent review. The process to appoint a permanent chair has started and will conclude next year.
Lastly, I have written to colleagues separately about my decision to stop further commencement of the Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Act 2023, in order to consider options, including its repeal. I am aware of concerns that the Act would be burdensome on providers and on the OfS, and I will confirm my long-term plans as soon as possible. To enable students to thrive in higher education, I welcome the OfS’s plans to introduce strengthened protections for students facing harassment and sexual misconduct, including relating to the use of non-disclosure agreements in such cases by universities and colleges.
[HCWS26]
Technical Qualifications Reform
Bridget Phillipson Excerpts(3 months, 4 weeks ago)
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The Secretary of State for Education (Bridget Phillipson)
I am today announcing a short review of post-16 qualification reforms at level 3 and below, alongside the re-contracting of T-level qualifications to ensure these high-quality qualifications continue to be available to learners.
This Government believe all young people and adults should have access to high-quality training that meets their needs and provides them with opportunities to thrive. We know that the current post-16 skills system in England is confusing for young people, adults and employers. The qualifications system remains complex, and there are many overlapping qualifications, including those that overlap with T-levels. Too many young people leave education without the qualifications they need to get into high-quality apprenticeships, higher level education and good jobs. This is not good for our young people or our nation’s prosperity.
Our qualifications must deliver on our two central missions for this Government of enhancing and spreading opportunity for everyone and growing our economy. Young people and adults should have a choice of a simpler suite of high-quality qualifications that provide them with the skills they need, and which deliver on our missions.
We will undertake a focused review of the post-16 qualification reforms at level 3 and below to assess how best to improve the quality of the overall qualifications landscape, support the growth of T-levels, and ensure that all young people and adults have high-quality options that meet their needs. This review will begin immediately and will examine the current planned reforms and look at how we can ensure leading technical qualifications like T-levels are open to as many people as possible, while ensuring high-quality alternatives.
T-levels are high-quality qualifications which provide young people with a firm foundation for their future. This coming year will see further developments, including rolling out new T-levels in animal care and management, media, broadcast and production, and craft and design in September 2024, and marketing in September 2025, to ensure that young people continue to benefit from these respected qualifications which include direct experience of the workplace. To ensure T-levels continue to be available in the years ahead, we will proceed with re-contracting T-levels where contracts are due to expire.
To allow space for a short review of the current planned reforms, we will place a pause on the planned removal, on 31 July 2024, of 16 to 19 funding from qualifications in construction and the built environment, digital, education and early years, and health and science. This will mean that, subject to any commercial decisions made by awarding organisations on these qualifications, they can be funded for 16 to 19-year-old new students in the 2024-25 academic year.
We understand that the sector needs certainty so that it can plan its future delivery. We will conclude and communicate the outcomes of this review into qualification reforms at level 3 and below before the turn of the year. Defunding decisions will be taken after the short review, and the curriculum and assessment review will reflect these decisions. The expert-led curriculum and assessment review will be chaired by Professor Becky Francis CBE, announced on 19 July 2024. This review will consider the existing national curriculum and statutory assessment system, and pathways for learners in 16 to 19 education and recommend changes where necessary.
We will also publish, as soon as possible, a list of reformed level 2 qualifications in construction and the built environment, education and early years, engineering and manufacturing, and health and science that will be funded from August 2025. These qualifications, alongside those already announced at level 3, will provide the next step to ensuring we deliver the skilled training needed to support key areas of our economy.
[HCWS22]
Education and Opportunity
Bridget Phillipson Excerpts(4 months ago)
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The Secretary of State for Education (Bridget Phillipson)
I beg to move,
That this House has considered education and opportunity.
It is a pleasure to see you in the Chair, Madam Deputy Speaker, and I congratulate you on your election.
I am grateful for the opportunity to speak about the Labour Government’s mission to break down the barriers to opportunity. We are bringing change to this nation. However, I know that any change we deliver will be brought about in partnership with our wonderful workforces, so let me take this opportunity, at the end of the academic year, to thank them for all that they do for our children, our young people and our country.
Let me begin by saying two things. First, I welcome my new opposite number, the right hon. Member for East Hampshire (Damian Hinds), to his place. In the previous Government he stood out for his commitment to his brief, his passion and dedication, and the collegiate and effective way in which he worked with colleagues in all parts of the House. We have disagreed on many things, and I am sure that we will go on to disagree on many things, but I hope that whenever we can, we will work together to build a country where children come first.
Secondly, I want to make an announcement, here and now, because our mission is urgent. I am pleased to announce that the Department will undertake a short pause and review of post-16 qualification reform at level 3 and below, concluding before the end of the year. This means that the defunding scheduled for next week will be paused. The coming year will see further developments in the roll-out of new T-levels, which will ensure that young people continue to benefit from high-quality technical qualifications that help them to thrive. I will update the House with more detail tomorrow.
Mr Jonathan Brash (Hartlepool) (Lab)
I welcome the Secretary of State’s announcement; I know it will also be welcomed by colleges throughout the country. Teachers in my constituency, like teachers everywhere else, do an extraordinary job in supporting our young people, but it is vital for them to be paid properly for it. Can the Secretary of State update us on the work of the independent pay body and the Government’s response to it?
Bridget Phillipson
We take the work of the pay review body extremely seriously, but the previous Government did not act responsibly in that regard. They sat on the report, and then they called an election. I understand the frustrations that school leaders and teachers are experiencing, but as my hon. Friend knows, we are moving as quickly as we can on this important issue, and the Chancellor will set out our position before the end of the month. We understand the importance of getting this right. Let me reiterate, once more, our thanks to our brilliant teachers and support staff for their work during this academic year.
We are putting education back where it belongs, at the heart of change. After years at the margins under the Conservatives, after years of ministerial merry-go-rounds, after years of opportunity for our children being treated as an afterthought, education is back at the forefront of national life. I know the power of education to transform lives, because I lived it. Standards were my story, and now I want standards to be the story for every child in the country, not just in some of our schools but in all our schools. I want high and rising standards for each and every child, but for 14 long years that has not been the story in our education system.
I think often of children born in the months after the Labour party last won an election, some 19 years ago. They entered school in September 2010, in the first autumn in which Conservative Members served as Ministers. By then the damage had already begun. Labour’s ambitious Building Schools for the Future programme had already been cancelled, and that was storing up problems for the decades ahead. As the years went by, those children saw opportunity stripped away. They saw not just resources drained from their childhood, but also hope. They saw the children’s centres they had attended being closed by the hundred. They saw falling investment in the school buildings in which they learned, and in the staff who taught and supported them. They saw a change in the support for children with special educational needs—a situation that, in a moment of unusual candour, my predecessor, the former MP for Chichester, described as “lose-lose-lose”, though she did almost nothing about it. A generation of children in social care were falling further and further out of sight.
Debbie Abrahams (Oldham East and Saddleworth) (Lab)
My right hon. Friend has mentioned the inequalities experienced by children with special educational needs and disabilities. What is she able to say about what we will do, and the difference that we will make to their lives?
Bridget Phillipson
I recognise the concern expressed by my hon. Friend, and by Members throughout the House, about that important issue. I will say more about it later in my speech, but let me say now that not for a second do I underestimate the challenge that we face. I give my hon. Friend this commitment: I want to ensure that we deliver a better system for children, families and schools—one that is a long way from the broken and adversarial system that too many people experience at the moment.
Young people in unregistered schools were missing out on not just the education but the childhood that they should have had, and as that generation grew older, the Government response to a once-in-a-lifetime pandemic made it clear to them that they were, quite simply, an afterthought. Pubs were reopening to punters before schools welcomed back children. Examination grading was first a farce and then a fiasco. We had a Government who forgot almost altogether about further education, and saw apprenticeship starts tumble year after year.
Earlier this month, the people of this country turned the page on that Government and that era. They turned to Labour, and to the hope, which drives us and so many who work in education, that tomorrow can be better than today, and that our best days lie not behind us but ahead of us. They turned to Labour in the belief—today a distinctively Labour belief—that the role of Government is not merely to administer, but to transform, and to deliver for all our children the freedom to achieve, thrive, succeed and flourish, which has been withheld from so many of them for so long.
Stephen Gethins (Arbroath and Broughty Ferry) (SNP)
The Secretary of State has talked about turning a page, and about opportunity. She will be aware that young people today have fewer opportunities than our generation enjoyed, owing to disastrous Tory policies that removed their freedom of movement as well as Erasmus, which included apprenticeships. Will she turn the page on that disastrous Tory policy?
Bridget Phillipson
I can tell the hon. Gentleman that I welcomed the opportunity to meet my opposite number in Scotland recently, and I want to find areas on which we can reach agreement constructively and collaboratively. As for his specific question, I am afraid I cannot give him that commitment, but I want to ensure that all young people have the chance to travel, learn and study.
The hope that I want for our young people comes from the opportunity that this Government will deliver. As Members know, opportunity is a journey that lasts a lifetime, and the first steps are in early years education, because the barriers to opportunity appear early in a child’s life. We will bring about a sea change in our early years system, beginning right now.
I am fully committed to rolling out the childcare entitlements promised to parents, but I need to be frank with the House: the challenges are considerable, and the last Government did not have a proper plan. The irresponsibility that we inherited was shocking. I acted immediately to get to grips with the task at hand, but I must be honest: the disparities across the country are severe, which means that some parents will, sadly, miss out on their first-choice place. They and their children deserve better, and I am determined to get this right. We will create 3,000 nurseries in primary schools to better connect early years with our wider education system. By the time we are done, we will have thriving children, strong families, and parents who are able to work the hours they want.
The foundations for a love of learning are laid early, in primary school, but child poverty puts up barriers at every turn. It is a scar on our society. The need to eradicate child poverty is why I came into politics, and it is why the Prime Minister has appointed me and the Work and Pensions Secretary to jointly lead the new child poverty taskforce. Together, we will set out an ambitious child poverty strategy, and I will introduce free breakfast clubs in every primary school. They are about more than just breakfast; they are important for driving up standards, improving behaviour, increasing attendance and boosting achievement.
What children are taught once they are in the classroom matters, too. We must start early with maths, and inspire a love of numbers in our youngest learners, and this Government are committed to fully evidence-based early language interventions in primary schools, so that all children can find their voice.
I want high and rising standards across all our schools and for all our children, but I mean that in the broadest and most ambitious of terms. We should be growing a love of learning, and encouraging children to explore the world around them, to be bold, to dream and to discover their power. Our curriculum must reflect that. That is why I have announced the Government’s expert-led review of the curriculum and assessment at all key stages, in order to support our children and young people, so that they succeed tomorrow and thrive today. By working with teachers, parents and employers, we will deliver a framework for learning that is innovative, inclusive, supportive and challenging, that drives up standards in our schools, and ensures that every child has access to a broad and rich curriculum.
However, any curriculum is only as strong as the teachers who teach it. Today, those teachers are leaving the classroom, not in dribs and drabs but in their droves—and too often, opportunity follows them out the door. I am working tirelessly to turn that around. We will back our teachers and support staff, and we will partner with the profession to ensure that workloads are manageable. We have already begun recruiting 6,500 more expert teachers. Together, we will restore teaching as the career of choice for our very best graduates, and we will invest in our schools and services by ending the tax breaks that private schools enjoy.
Accountability is vital and non-negotiable, but Ofsted must change, and change it will. Our reform will start with ending one-word judgments. We will bring in a new report card system. That is part of our plan to support schools and challenge them when needed in order to deliver high and rising standards for every child.
I have spoken to colleagues from across the House about their concerns about how the system is failing learners with special educational needs and disabilities. I share those concerns; the system is broken. I am delighted to see on the Government Benches my hon. Friend the Member for Dulwich and West Norwood (Helen Hayes), with whom I worked so closely on this issue in opposition, and who shares entirely my focus and concern. All families want the best for their children, but parents of children with special educational needs often face a slow struggle to get the right support. They are bogged down by bureaucracy and an adversarial system, and entangled by complexity. It is not good enough, and we will work relentlessly to put that right. We are committed to taking a community-wide approach in which we improve inclusivity and expertise in mainstream schools, as well as ensure that special schools cater to those with the most complex needs. I have already restructured my Department to start delivering on this commitment. There can be no goal more important and more urgent than extending opportunities to our most vulnerable children, which also means reforming children’s social care.
Young people and adults deserve high-quality routes to building the skills that they need to seize opportunity, and businesses need staff with the skills to help them grow. Those are two sides of the same coin, and the key to our future prosperity and growth. We need a skills system fit for the future, but we have a fragmented system that frustrates businesses, lets down learners and grinds growth into the ground. It is time for a comprehensive strategy, and for our country to take skills seriously, so this week, alongside the Prime Minister, I announced Skills England, a new body that will unify the fractured landscape. It will bring together central Government, combined authorities, businesses, training providers, unions and experts. Businesses have told us that they need more flexibility to deliver the training that works for them, so we will introduce a new growth and skills levy to replace the failing apprenticeship levy.
Post-16 education is all about giving learners the power to make choices that are right for them. For many, that choice will be university, and I am immensely proud of our world-leading universities. They are shining lights of learning, but their future has been left in darkness for too long. This must and will change. There will be no more talking down our country’s strongest exports. Under this Government, universities will be valued as a public good, not treated as a political battleground. We will move decisively to establish certainty and sustainability, securing our universities as engines of growth, excellence and opportunity.
This Government will break the link between background and success. We will create opportunities for children and learners to succeed. We will give them the freedom to chase their ambitions, and the freedom to hope. This Labour Government are returning hope to our country after 14 long years, and there can be no greater work than building a country where background is no barrier to opportunity. That work of change has already begun.
Skills Reform
Bridget Phillipson Excerpts(4 months ago)
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The Secretary of State for Education (Bridget Phillipson)
I am today announcing the creation of Skills England in shadow form, before it is established as an arm’s length body within the next twelve months.
The first mission of our new Government is to grow the economy, and for that we need a skills system that breaks down barriers to opportunity and delivers for our businesses.
Skills England will build stronger, more coherent connections between skills partners including employers, education and training providers, unions and combined authorities. We need a stronger, more widespread, and more data-driven understanding of the skills needed to deliver regional and national industrial priorities. Where skills gaps are identified, we need the system to support more rapid development and delivery of high-quality training opportunities which employers and learners understand and can access.
Skills England will help ensure we have the highly trained workforce needed to deliver the national, regional and local skills needs of the next decade, aligned with the Government’s forthcoming industrial strategy. This effort will be central to enabling delivery of the Government’s growth mission, filling skills gaps in key industries.
Skills England will convene employers, education and training providers, unions, experts, combined authorities and national Government to:
develop a single picture of national skills needs, working with industry, other Government Departments, the Migration Advisory Committee, unions and the Industrial Strategy Council to build and maintain a comprehensive assessment of current and future skills needs;
identify the priority areas for skills training, including the training for which the new growth and skills levy will be accessible—in doing so, it will ensure that businesses are able to use their skills funding more flexibly and effectively, for which so many have been calling;
play a crucial role in ensuring that the national and regional skills systems are aligned in meeting skills needs, in constituencies the length and breadth of England.
Skills England will support employers across the country to shape skills training, and it will identify levers to encourage them to invest in upskilling their workforces. In doing so, it will build on the contribution that thousands of businesses already make to grow the pool of talent from which they can draw.
The functions which currently sit with the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education will transfer to Skills England, as part of the new organisation’s broader remit. IfATE will continue its important work in the interim as the transition of functions to Skills England is finalised. A permanent board, Chair and CEO will be appointed in due course, to provide Skills England with the best possible leadership.
For us to deliver on the forthcoming industrial strategy and the Government’s missions, we will need to boost skills and unlock economic growth in all parts of the United Kingdom, so Skills England will also engage and work closely with the devolved Administrations.
[HCWS14]
Schools and Teaching
Bridget Phillipson Excerpts(4 months ago)
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The Secretary of State for Education (Bridget Phillipson)
I am today announcing the launch of an independent expert-led curriculum and assessment review. The review will consider the existing national curriculum and statutory assessment system, and pathways for learners in 16-to-19 education, to drive high and rising standards for every young person. The review will be chaired by Professor Becky Francis CBE, an expert in education policy, including curriculum and education inequality.
The review will contribute to the Government’s missions to break down the barriers to opportunity for every child and young person at every stage, and to kick-start economic growth.
The review will build on the Government’s commitment to high standards in the curriculum in England, while ensuring greater attention to breadth and flexibility and that no child or young person is left behind. The review will seek to address the key problems and hard barriers to achievement in the curriculum and assessment system from key stage 1 to key stage 5.
Specifically, the review will seek to deliver:
An excellent foundation in core subjects of reading, writing and maths.
A broader curriculum, so that children and young people do not miss out on subjects such as music, art, sport and drama, as well as vocational subjects.
A curriculum that ensures children and young people leave compulsory education ready for life and ready for work, building the knowledge, skills and attributes young people need to thrive. This includes embedding digital, oracy and life skills in their learning.
A curriculum that reflects the issues and diversities of our society, ensuring all children and young people are represented.
An assessment system that captures the strengths of every child and young person and the breadth of the curriculum, with the right balance of assessment methods, while maintaining the important role of examinations.
The review will be rigorously evidence-driven and will look closely at the barriers which hold children and young people back, particularly those who are from socioeconomically disadvantaged backgrounds, have a special educational need or disability and/or are otherwise vulnerable.
The review will seek evolution not revolution, build on the existing relative strengths of a system with finite resources, and not add unnecessary burdens by seeking to fix things that are not broken.
The review will build on the hard work of teachers and staff across the system, and will be undertaken in close consultation with education professionals and other experts; parents; children and young people; and stakeholders such as employers, colleges, universities and trade unions.
The review will start this autumn with a call for evidence. The call for evidence will set out the areas where the review group would particularly welcome evidence and input from the sector and stakeholders, and will direct the focus of the engagement with the sector over the autumn term. The review group will publish an interim report in the new year setting out its interim findings and confirming the key areas for further work. We plan to publish the final review with recommendations in autumn 2025.
Alongside the review, the Department for Education will make legislative changes so that all state schools, including academies, will be required to teach the national curriculum. This will support the Government’s ambition for every child to receive a rich and broad curriculum taught by excellent teachers, wherever they are in the country, to set them up with the knowledge and skills to thrive in the future.
The review marks the Government’s first step towards an education system where background is no barrier and every young person leaves school or college with the best life chances.
[HCWS13]
Humanitarian Situation in Mosul
Bridget Phillipson Excerpts(7 years, 4 months ago)
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Bridget Phillipson (Houghton and Sunderland South) (Lab)
I join the right hon. Lady in paying tribute to our brave servicemen and women. I welcome her announcement about UK humanitarian aid, but what specific funding will be offered to women and girls who have been subject to the most unimaginable sexual violence of Daesh? We must do more to support them.
Priti Patel
I announced today that we will be providing the necessary humanitarian aid, but 46,000 vulnerable and displaced people, many of whom are women and girls who have been subject to such atrocities and violence, will also receive support through that money.
Oral Answers to Questions
Bridget Phillipson Excerpts(9 years, 8 months ago)
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Bridget Phillipson (Houghton and Sunderland South) (Lab)
13. Nearly two years on from the Rana Plaza disaster in which thousands of garment workers were killed or injured when their factory collapsed, will the Minister update the House on the work he is doing with UK brands and retailers to ensure safe working conditions and fair pay?
Oral Answers to Questions
Bridget Phillipson Excerpts(14 years ago)
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The Prime Minister
I absolutely can do that, because we made some difficult choices in the spending review to say that we are going to put more money into early-years education for two-year-olds from deprived families. That was previously not available. We are going to fund extra hours for three and four-year-olds in nursery education. We are going to make sure that there is a pupil premium, never dreamed of by a Labour Government in 13 years in office, that is over and above the per-pupil funding in our schools. Then we are going to carry that through to university so that children on free school meals will get some time at university for free and will not have to pay the student premiums. All those things will make a big difference, and they show that this is a Government who have made some progressive choices in education, even though we inherited a mess that we had to clear up.
Bridget Phillipson (Houghton and Sunderland South) (Lab)
Q12. Does the Prime Minister agree with his Business Secretary that the scrapping of regional development agencies has been “Maoist and chaotic”?
The Prime Minister
Given that my right hon. Friend is implementing the policy, that is not his view. We all take the view that the RDAs wasted a vast amount of money. Many of them were not popular with the businesses in their area, and the local enterprise partnerships will do a much better job. I suggest to the hon. Lady that instead of complaining about it, she works with her local authorities to get a good local enterprise partnership in her area to start backing business, jobs and economic revival.
Oral Answers to Questions
Bridget Phillipson Excerpts(14 years, 5 months ago)
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The Prime Minister
My hon. Friend makes a good point. By having transparency, we are able to see for the first time who is earning what in the public sector. That will create pressure on top people’s pay in the public sector, to keep that pay down. That is the first thing. In the NHS specifically, as he knows, our plans are all about removing the centralised bureaucracy, partly by removing many of the centralised targets that have caused that bureaucracy to grow. Our ambition is to ensure that the priority is the people on the front line—the nurses, the doctors, the people involved in clinical care—instead of the endless increase in management that we have seen in recent years.
Bridget Phillipson (Houghton and Sunderland South) (Lab)
Q8. Many of my constituents are employed by Nissan and in supply chain jobs. Can the Prime Minister confirm that the £20 million grant awarded to Nissan under the previous Government in March will be honoured, in order to develop the next generation of electric cars?
The Prime Minister
Let me welcome the hon. Lady to her place and say that I, too, have visited the Nissan plant near Sunderland. It is an absolute wonder to see the incredible investment that has gone in there and the many jobs that have been created, not just at that plant but in the supply chain. I want to see electric cars being developed, and when I was at Nissan we discussed that specifically. As for the grant, I do not have a specific answer for her—[Hon. Members: “Ah!”] It’s a funny old thing: I’m going to give accurate answers, rather than make them up on the spot. I shall be delighted to let the hon. Lady know via a letter as soon as possible.