Local Government Finance (England)
Debate between Diana Johnson and Annette Brooke(11 years, 9 months ago)
Commons ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text
Diana Johnson (Kingston upon Hull North) (Lab)
I have listened carefully to the debate and I have to say that the Government are out of touch with what is going on in many parts of the country. I want to talk about what is happening in my home city, because the disproportionate nature of the cuts in Hull needs careful examination.
In the past two years, Hull has lost £163.50 per person, compared with a national average of just £74 per head. From the cumulative figures that have been provided by Newcastle city council, it appears that, over the four-year period, the figure for Hull will rise to £228.36 per head. Hull is taking a much larger share of the Government’s council funding cuts than many wealthy areas. When I looked through the figures, I was particularly struck that West Dorset district council was losing only £2.70 per head.
We know that, from April onwards and up to 2015, Hull will lose a further 7.2% in what the Government are now calling “spending power”. As has already been said, the Prime Minister’s West Oxfordshire council will be receiving a rise, even though it is the 316th least deprived local authority area out of 325. Hull is the 10th most deprived area and is taking a much larger cut. That is not fair, and I think that that unfairness forms the basis of the objections of many Labour Members—the lack of fairness in the distribution of the cuts that are taking place.
Annette Brooke
Will the hon. Lady clarify whether she was comparing like with like, given that West Dorset is a district council and Hull, I presume, is a unitary council?
Sex and Relationship Education
Debate between Diana Johnson and Annette Brooke(13 years, 1 month ago)
Westminster HallRead Full debate Read Hansard Text Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
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Diana Johnson
I am pleased to hear that because this whole area needs to be considered carefully. I am disappointed that the Government have so far turned their face away from addressing the important issue of teaching to produce rounded individuals, rather than narrowly focusing on the academic side. Our schools play an important part in educating children in the issues they will face as they become adults. I accept that the hon. Lady is dealing with primary schools in this debate.
Annette Brooke
I concur with the hon. Lady. I supported her in her desire to strengthen our PSHE, and during that time I found it bizarre that the teaching of the mechanics of sex was compulsory in the science curriculum but that the teaching of sex and relationships, which must be taken together, might not happen. Does she share my concern?
Diana Johnson
I pay tribute to the hon. Lady, who has long championed PSHE and children being given the information they need to make safe and good choices.
The hon. Lady is absolutely right: young people are taught the mechanics of sex under the science curriculum, but important issues such as relationships, confidence and saying no are not dealt with. In debates in the previous Parliament, the Minister, who is a decent and honourable man, took a close interest in this area. I hope he will say whether the Government are minded to include this in their review of the national curriculum.
In the good schools I have visited, parents and governors are very much involved in this issue. Parents can look at material and see what goes on in PSHE classes, and we should build on that rather than thinking about an alternative licensing regime.