New Schools

Craig Whittaker Excerpts

Monday 10th October 2011 Commons Chamber

[Michael Gove]

Rather than embarrassing me, Darlington Conservatives have shown that they have exceptionally good judgment by inviting Lord Baker rather than me to address them. I absolutely take the hon. Lady’s point. Sometimes we will look at existing schools to see how we can allow them to develop a specialism that will support high-quality vocational learning.

[Craig Whittaker (Calder Valley) (Con)]

In addition to welcoming the announcements made today, I would also like to welcome the Government’s recent announcement of the £500 million pot for rebuilding the most dilapidated schools in the country, such as Todmorden high and Calder high in Calder valley, which never qualified under BSF because they overachieved and there was no deprivation. Will the Secretary of State look at guidance for those many schools across the country that want to convert to academies but are so dilapidated that the fabric of their buildings is a liability for the people doing it?

[Michael Gove]

Those are two very fair points. I would never want to prevent any school that wanted to become an academy from doing so, nor would I wish to coerce unduly any school that was reluctant to take that step, but it is important that any judgment on capital be made on the basis of need, not on the status or location of any school. That is why schools such as the Duchess’s community high school in Alnwick, a school I visited along with Todmorden high, which were not in the Building Schools for the Future programme, are being judged alongside other schools that were, and they are being done so on a totally equal basis.