Oral Answers to Questions

Esther McVey Excerpts

Monday 21st July 2025 Commons Chamber

[Bridget Phillipson]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend; I know he cares deeply about outcomes for children in Chatham and Aylesford, and that he brings real experience to this House. He is right to demonstrate the important role of the specialist sector. He mentions Bradfields academy, which has already secured a place on the schools rebuilding programme; with the approval of the trust, I would be delighted to arrange for me or one of my colleagues to visit and see the brilliant work they are doing.

[Esther McVey (Tatton) (Con)]

This Government are hampering schools’ recruitment of new teachers. First they hiked up the cost through the increase in employer national insurance contributions; then the money promised to state schools from charging VAT on private school fees was spent on housing instead. Can the Secretary of State tell the House how much the increase in employer national insurance contributions will cost schools in total over this Parliament?

[Bridget Phillipson]

We are investing record sums in our state schools. The Conservative party, however, wants to take money out of our state schools to give tax breaks back to private schools. That tells us everything we need to know about their priorities.