Oral Answers to Questions

Iain Stewart Excerpts

Monday 3rd December 2012 Commons Chamber

[Michael Gove]

My hon. Friend is quite right to hold my feet to the fire on that. The headcount for religious education teachers at key stage 4 has increased over the lifetime of the Government from 10,400 to 10,700 and there are two applicants for every available post for a religious education teacher, so there is no evidence of a decline in numbers or quality.

[Iain Stewart (Milton Keynes South) (Con)]

7. How he plans to deliver more rigorous vocational education in schools.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Skills (Matthew Hancock)]

School performance tables are being used to incentivise the teaching of the highest-value vocational qualifications. From September 2012, the vocational qualifications taught to 14 to 16-year-olds have had to meet rigorous new standards. From next year, we will identify the highest-value vocational qualifications for 16 to 18-year-olds, thereby removing thousands of weak and poor quality qualifications.

[Iain Stewart]

Will my hon. Friend ensure that employers have a greater role in designing the vocational qualifications that are taught in schools?

[Matthew Hancock]

Yes, I absolutely will. I believe passionately that it is only when all vocational qualifications are high quality that all vocational qualifications are seen to be high quality. Employers have a critical role in making that happen.