Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Elizabeth Truss and Bridget Phillipson

Tuesday 1st November 2016 Commons Chamber

[Bridget Phillipson (Houghton and Sunderland South) (Lab)]

Plans to rebuild Sunderland’s courts complex have been on hold since 2010. Despite raising this issue on numerous occasions with the Courts and Justice Minister’s predecessors, we still have not had a decision. Will the current Minister meet me and my hon. Friend the Member for Sunderland Central (Julie Elliott) as a matter of priority to see whether we can make any progress?

[Elizabeth Truss]

My right hon. and learned Friend will be extremely happy to meet the hon. Lady.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Elizabeth Truss and Bridget Phillipson

Tuesday 6th September 2016 Commons Chamber

[Bridget Phillipson (Houghton and Sunderland South) (Lab)]

3. What recent assessment she has made of safety in prisons.

[The Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice (Elizabeth Truss)]

In the last year, assaults have risen by 31% and those on prison staff have risen by 40%. That is totally unacceptable and I am determined to tackle it. Reforming prisons will be possible only if they are made safer places for staff and offenders alike.

[Bridget Phillipson]

As the Secretary of State’s response makes clear, prison safety continues to deteriorate. That significant problem puts both prisoners and staff at risk, but a major issue that must be tackled is the retention of staff. Will she set out exactly what she will do to make that a priority and how she will succeed where her predecessors have failed?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Elizabeth Truss and Bridget Phillipson

Monday 4th March 2013 Commons Chamber

[Bridget Phillipson (Houghton and Sunderland South) (Lab)]

T10. The Daycare Trust has warned that it will be children from low-income families in particular who will lose out as a result of Government changes to child care ratios. Will the Minister listen to the concerns of parents, child care staff and experts, and think again on the proposals?

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Education (Elizabeth Truss)]

Child care ratios will be flexible only where providers are of high quality and hiring high-quality staff. This proposal is designed to drive up quality in the child care sector, is supported by Sir Michael Wilshaw of Ofsted and Andreas Schleicher of the OECD, and is best practice in most European countries. Ratios for two-year-olds are higher in virtually every other country in Europe, including Scotland and Ireland. I advise the hon. Lady to look at what goes on abroad and see high-quality child care with well-paid staff.

A-level Reform

Debate between Elizabeth Truss and Bridget Phillipson

Wednesday 23rd January 2013 Commons Chamber

[Elizabeth Truss]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. It also indicates increasing competition. We are competing not just with other institutions in this country, but in the global marketplace with organisations and institutions that are developing new ideas and new qualifications all the time. There is also the online world, through which many of those things are going to become available. We need to make sure that our qualifications are keeping up at the highest level. My real fear is that if independent and other schools move towards the pre-U and our A-levels do not keep up, we really will damage social mobility.

[Bridget Phillipson (Houghton and Sunderland South) (Lab)]

The Minister is proposing a leading role for the Russell Group, but what about all those excellent universities that are not members of it? Why should they receive second-class treatment from this Government in an increasingly two-tier system?

[Elizabeth Truss]

The Russell Group of universities and others to which I have spoken are all keen to participate in this process. It is a question of organisation. There will be members from all universities right across the university sector on each of the subject panels, making sure that there is a broad base from which to develop these qualifications.