Oral Answers to Questions

Charlie Elphicke Excerpts

Monday 11th July 2011 Commons Chamber

[Michael Gove]

That is an interesting ideological take, but I am afraid that the hon. Lady is wrong. If she wants to talk about setting schools up for failure, she should look at the at east 200 underperforming primary schools that we were discussing earlier. Free schools will introduce innovation and higher standards to some of the areas that are desperately in need of new schools. They will also ensure that the growth in pupil population at primary, for which the previous Government failed to prepare adequately, is at last addressed with innovative new schools in the places that count.

[Charlie Elphicke (Dover) (Con)]

T7. How can parents of children with special needs be more involved in the education of their children? I recently met parents at Ripplevale school in my constituency who say that they must not only battle the difficulties and challenges that are obvious to all but battle the education authority, time and again, to get a fair, decent and proper education for their children.

[The Minister of State, Department for Education (Sarah Teather)]

We finished our consultation on the Green Paper on 30 June and received 2,300 responses along similar lines to those my hon. Friend has outlined. I feel very passionately about the need to involve parents better, particularly if their child has special educational needs. That is one of the reasons we are rolling out Achievement for All—a programme that does exactly that.

Academies (Funding)

Charlie Elphicke Excerpts

Thursday 16th June 2011 Commons Chamber

[Mr Gibb]

These issues are faced by all Governments and all Departments—[Hon. Members: “How much?”] I do not have those figures to hand, but if I am able to get them, I will write to the hon. Gentleman.

[Charlie Elphicke (Dover) (Con)]

Three of the 704 new academies are in my constituency. We are seeing an education revolution, so why are we not discussing that and the success of our schools, rather than accounting errors that are a car crash left by the previous Government?

[Mr Speaker]

Order. The simple answer to the hon. Gentleman’s inquiry is that we are discussing this matter because an urgent question application was submitted to me and granted by me. No further discussion of that point is required.

Building Schools for the Future

Charlie Elphicke Excerpts

Monday 14th February 2011 Commons Chamber

[Michael Gove]

The hon. Gentleman makes a good case. I am well aware of the problems that affect Luton’s schools. I shall, of course, look closely at the case that he, other Luton Members and Luton’s local authority have made.

[Charlie Elphicke (Dover) (Con)]

In Dover and Shepway, £2.9 million was spent on consultants. One Kent bidder spent £5 million on a bid only to lose. The scheme was a bureaucratic nightmare and a complete fiasco. Does the Minister agree that it was a fiasco? Who was responsible for this fiasco, and are they in the Chamber today?

[Michael Gove]

My hon. Friend asks a series of questions, but I must resist the temptation that he extends to me. We all know that the scheme had to be reformed. Those who embarked on Building Schools for the Future did so for the best and most idealistic of reasons. Those who made promises immediately before the last election, which no Government could honour, must look to their own consciences.

School Sports Funding

Charlie Elphicke Excerpts

Tuesday 30th November 2010 Commons Chamber

[Andy Burnham]

I would go a little further than my hon. Friend. As I shall explain, I believe that the Government are abusing the statistics, and I say that having thought carefully about it. In my view, the Secretary Of State is abusing the statistics, and I will come back to that claim later.

[Charlie Elphicke (Dover) (Con)]

I represent a former coal mining constituency as well, and I have spent time with partnership development co-ordinators. Is not the heart of the right hon. Gentleman’s argument that he does not fundamentally trust head teachers to take forward school sports?

[Andy Burnham]

May I politely refer the hon. Gentleman to the letter that head teachers sent to The Observer at the weekend? I know that the Secretary of State has been inundated with letters from head teachers who say that the whole infrastructure saves them money and time, because they do not have to organise expert coaching and competition themselves. I think that the hon. Gentleman will find that head teachers strongly support the present system.

--- Later in debate ---

[Michael Gove]

I should like to make a little progress. I know that the right hon. Member for Barking (Margaret Hodge) and the hon. Member for Eltham (Clive Efford) are keen to intervene, but a number of my colleagues on the Government Benches have not had a chance yet, so it would be only fair and sporting if I were to give them a chance as well.

[Charlie Elphicke]

Does my right hon. Friend agree that the key issue is not whether we have one organisation or another, but to raise the number of hours a week of sport played by children in their schools? Will he consider encouraging that more through the national curriculum?

[Michael Gove]

My hon. Friend makes a good point. For me, the most important thing is outputs, not inputs.

--- Later in debate ---

[Nic Dakin (Scunthorpe) (Lab)]

Will the hon. Lady give way?

[Charlie Elphicke]

Will my hon. Friend give way?

[Annette Brooke]

I want to leave time for other speakers.

Oral Answers to Questions

Charlie Elphicke Excerpts

Thursday 18th November 2010 Commons Chamber

[Mr Davey]

I am not sure whether the hon. Gentleman has read our Post Office policy statement. I would have thought that he welcomed the fact that the measures we are taking are encouraging banks such as RBS to make their accounts available through the post office network in the towns and villages that he represents. I think that there is a much more positive future than under the previous Government and that is implicit in his question.

[Charlie Elphicke (Dover) (Con)]

3. What recent discussions he has had on the future of local enterprise partnerships; and if he will make a statement.

[Christopher Pincher (Tamworth) (Con)]

12. What recent discussions he has had on the future of local enterprise partnerships; and if he will make a statement.

[The Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (Mr Mark Prisk)]

On 28 October the Government announced that 24 of the proposed local enterprise partnerships were cleared to progress, and they are currently preparing their governance arrangements. We continue to engage with other proposed partnerships, and we will report back to the House in due course.

[Charlie Elphicke]

The local enterprise partnership for Kent covers the varying concerns of the Thames Gateway as well as disgracefully neglected coastal towns such as Dover. Will the Minister take on board the idea of more localisation in the governance of LEPs, to ensure that they focus on particular concerns?

[Mr Prisk]

My hon. Friend is a great champion of local businesses, and he knows, and is right to say, that the great benefit of such partnerships is that they are local and can deal with local economic priorities, rather than with the national priorities of Ministers. That is the benefit of such partnerships; that is why we are progressing with them.

--- Later in debate ---

[Mr Prisk]

The whole point of making sure that the increase does not come during the Christmas period is that that is the most difficult period for most businesses. The increase is being made at the end of that period so that businesses can make the adjustment. Unlike what happened with the VAT change under the previous Government, we have given businesses a full six months and more to prepare. If there are particular cases to discuss, I am happy to talk to the hon. Gentleman.

[Charlie Elphicke (Dover) (Con)]

T9. It is not too early to say that the ability of further education colleges to innovate has been strangled by targets and the dead hand of bureaucracy. Does the Minister plan to free colleges and make them more responsive to student and employer demands?

[Mr Hayes]

I have already mentioned our schools strategy, and we will free colleges for the first time from the hoop-jumping, bean-counting, form-filling, byzantine regime that the previous Government imposed upon them. They will be free to serve their learners, free to do their best and free to be their best.

Oral Answers to Questions

Charlie Elphicke Excerpts

Thursday 8th July 2010 Commons Chamber

[Mr Willetts]

I have here the forecast from the OBR, and it is an endorsement of the measures that the Government took in the Budget. It makes it absolutely clear that it expects total employment in the economy to rise from 28.89 million now to 30.23 million in five years’ time, as a result of the decisions that the Government are taking. Of course, times are tough for students, but going to university and getting a degree remains a very good investment in people’s long-term prospects for well-paid employment, and we will encourage universities to focus on maximising the employability prospects of their students.

[Charlie Elphicke (Dover) (Con)]

10. How many further education colleges will receive capital funding from his Department in 2010-11.

[The Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (Mr John Hayes)]

One hundred and sixty colleges, including 28 sixth-form colleges, will receive further education capital support totalling £407 million in 2010. In addition, a further £50 million will be invested to support those colleges that have yet to benefit significantly from the capital programme. We expect that extra resource to increase significantly the number of colleges that receive capital grant support, with potentially 293 colleges receiving capital support in 2010-11.

[Charlie Elphicke]

Will funding be available for Hadlow college’s plans for Betteshanger business park, near Deal? The business park was created by the regional development agency, £18 million was spent, and it has been left empty. It would be great to bring it into use.

[Mr Hayes]

It is essential that my hon. Friend and the House understand that that resource is on top of the existing investment programme, which is supporting a large number of current projects. That resource will enable real investment, bringing genuine benefits to learners and enabling colleges to plan for the future. I do not want to be unkind to Opposition Members, but it is important to recognise the disappointment that colleges felt under the previous Government. The Foster report said that that was due to inadequate management information, poor monitoring, a poor long-term financial strategy, meetings that led nowhere and monitoring that was focused on the wrong things. Now, I do not want to be unkind, but that is not good enough.

Education Funding

Charlie Elphicke Excerpts

Monday 5th July 2010 Commons Chamber

[Michael Gove]

If Sutton Centre has either signed a funding agreement or has academy status in the pipeline, it will be one of the projects that is reviewed. I hope to talk to the hon. Lady to ensure that its progress towards academy status is encouraged if it is proceeding properly, but I do not know the specifics of that particular school’s case.

[Charlie Elphicke (Dover) (Con)]

Will the Secretary of State consider fast-tracking academy status for outstanding schools that were hoping to benefit from the BSF programme? I particularly mention the case of Castle community college in Deal, which, seeing the writing on the wall, is now seeking to be an academy. It is an outstanding school, and I hope that the Secretary of State will give it full consideration.

[Michael Gove]

I welcome that application from what I know is an outstanding school, and I will do everything possible to ensure that if the headmaster and governing body want to take advantage of academy freedoms, they can do so. With that, there is no additional preferential or other capital spending commitment that I can make. I can, however, reassure my hon. Friend that the Duke of York’s royal military school in his constituency, which is moving towards academy status—in fact, I think it enjoys that status now—and which required extra accommodation for the children of service people, is one of the academy projects that I am most anxious to see go forward.