EBacc: Expressive Arts Subjects

Debate between Fiona Mactaggart and Kerry McCarthy

Monday 4th July 2016 Westminster Hall

[Fiona Mactaggart]

My point is not that young people should study these creative subjects instead of the EBacc, but that they should be part of the mandatory experience of young people, which is the case at Eton. Eton has brilliant drama, music and art education. The facilities are extraordinarily wonderful.

[Kerry McCarthy (Bristol East) (Lab)]

Is it not likely that the sort of people who go to Eton and other public schools have the sort of cultural background whereby they get taken to the theatre, they have books at home and they are exposed to classical music? That is precisely the point; that is why it is so much more important to teach these subjects in the sort of schools that I have in my constituency, where people do not have that advantage.

[Fiona Mactaggart]

Absolutely. Actually, the previous theatre teacher at Eton said:

“For me the importance the work has here in the boys’ lives is the reason they do such good work afterwards. That importance arises from many things. One is that we don’t do drama just for its educational value. We do a play as a work of art, to be explored at its fullest.”

It is rare for children to have that experience of creating, of making a work of art. They can do it if they learn these expressive subjects. The problem is that this Government view them as an optional add-on. When I asked the Prime Minister about this issue and referred to his experience at Eton, he said:

“It is essential that we get more children learning the basic subjects and getting the basic qualifications. It is then more possible to put in place the arts, the dance and the drama that I want my children to enjoy when they go to their schools.”—[Official Report, 4 November 2015; Vol. 601, c. 962.]

I do not see it as a question of the basics and then these frilly add-ons. In my judgment, these subjects are as basic as every other subject in the EBacc. That is why so many people have signed this petition. It is not saying, “Get rid of the EBacc.” It is saying, “Include expressive subjects in every child’s education, because if you fail to do that, you are letting them down.”

Immigration Rules: Sponsors

Debate between Fiona Mactaggart and Kerry McCarthy

Thursday 14th March 2013 Commons Chamber

[Kerry McCarthy]

My hon. Friend makes a very good point, as she always does. If I understand the Government’s ideological position on this issue, they want to support families and very much approve of carers taking on responsibility for elderly parents or others within their family network. The rule that we are talking about operates to prevent that from happening.

The second case features Mr Z and Ms Z who came to see me in my constituency surgery a few weeks ago. They were married in the UK in March 2011. She is a British citizen and her husband, who had been living and working in the UK for six years under a valid work permit, is South African. He was in highly paid professional work in the UK, but soon after they married, he was made redundant. Although he could probably have secured another job at a similarly high salary in the UK, they decided to take a chance and move to Cape Town for a couple of years.

After two years in South Africa, however, they have decided that they want to return to the UK, but the rules changed while they were away. He will not be allowed to join his wife in the UK unless she earns more than £18,600—despite the fact that he is a highly skilled computer programmer who could expect to earn perhaps £60,000 a year in the UK. Before they left for Cape Town, my woman constituent was earning £26,000 a year as a pub manager. As she has been out of work for two years in Cape Town, however, there is a gap in her CV, so she is unlikely to be able to walk straight back into a manager’s position, although she aspires to do so in a couple of years’ time. Wages in the pub trade are not particularly high, so it is likely she will start on a salary below £18,600. As I said, they would have a joint income as a family of about £75,000 because her husband could get a well-paid job, but under the new rules it is based on her income, so he would not be able to join her.

[Fiona Mactaggart (Slough) (Lab)]

My hon. Friend cites a number of cases. I think this whole process is unfair because it is quite clear that families who can afford to maintain themselves without making any demands on public funds are being kept apart. My hon. Friend has cases of people returning to the UK, and just this week I have had two constituents contact me about similar issues. One case was a man returning here from India who has £82,000 in a UK bank. Clearly, he and his wife could properly maintain themselves. However, savings do not count. The man is self-employed, but will not have the long record of employment needed to meet the £26,000-plus requirement, so he is unable to have his wife here with him. The other person—

--- Later in debate ---

[Kerry McCarthy]

I think that the Government are trying to avoid circumstances in which spouses or fiancées, for instance, are used as a form of chain migration. I have seen that happen, and I accept that the system is open to abuse and should not be abused in that way. I have come across instances in which people first apply for permission for a spouse to join them in this country, and then extend the application to elderly parents, or perhaps younger brothers and sisters. I accept that we have to manage migration to this country, and that we ought to control such situations. However, none of the cases I have cited involves anything like that.

People are increasingly working and studying abroad. People are going off to university in other countries, meeting their partners there, and then not being able to return to the United Kingdom with their partners until they have established themselves on the career ladder. It is not uncommon now for graduates to start work—if they can start work; they may be on unpaid or paid internships or low-paid jobs for the first couple of years after graduating—but to be unable to bring their partners into this country. I recognise the need to ensure that new migrants to the UK do not increase the burden on the British taxpayer, but many couples survive on less than the average income without being a burden on the taxpayer.

[Fiona Mactaggart]

The earning capacity of the spouse from overseas cannot be taken into account. I received a tragic e-mail today from a man who wrote “I cannot get the money. I fell in love with my wife. What can I do? I am really scared.” His wife speaks fluent English, and is a qualified science teacher in Algeria. She would have been able to contribute to science education in my constituency, but she is not going to be able to come here.