Birmingham Schools

Crispin Blunt Excerpts

Monday 9th June 2014 Commons Chamber

[Michael Gove]

I am grateful to the hon. Lady for raising that issue. If she will share that correspondence with me, I will share it with the permanent secretary and write back to her.

[Crispin Blunt (Reigate) (Con)]

The Secretary of State has reported Ofsted’s concern that governors are trying to impose a narrow faith-based ideology on what are non-faith schools, but that is also not in the public interest in faith-based schools, and surely it is part of the purpose of faith schools to deliver a faith-based ideology. Since we have had three decades of unhappy experience of violent division in Northern Ireland being reinforced by state-funded, faith-based education, is it not now about time that we asked people, if they want to exercise the freedom to have a faith-based education for their children, not to expect the rest of us to pay for it because it is not in the public interest?

[Michael Gove]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for his point. In the light of what has been revealed, it is important to have a debate about the proper place of faith in education, but I have to say that I respectfully disagree with him. I think that the role of a number of faith institutions from a variety of faiths in education has been all to the good.