Oral Answers to Questions Debate

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Department: Department for Education

Oral Answers to Questions

Karen Buck Excerpts
Monday 16th June 2014

(10 years, 6 months ago)

Commons Chamber
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Elizabeth Truss Portrait The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Education (Elizabeth Truss)
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Last year’s results from the progress in international reading literacy study—PIRLS—showed that the number of children in this country who are reading for enjoyment is going up; it has resumed considerably over the past few years. We have fantastic schemes to encourage students to read, such as the summer reading challenge. This year’s challenge is the mythical maze, which will challenge children to find their way around a labyrinth and introduce them to fantastical creatures from the world of legend and mythology.

Karen Buck Portrait Ms Karen Buck (Westminster North) (Lab)
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T4. Further to his somewhat unilluminating response to the question from my hon. Friend the Member for Cardiff West (Kevin Brennan), will the Secretary of State tell the House—and if necessary write to me—on how many occasions his former special adviser Dominic Cummings has visited the Department for Education since he left the Secretary of State’s employment, and whom he met on each occasion?

Michael Gove Portrait Michael Gove
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I will consider carefully, as ever, the hon. Lady’s question, but it is instructive that with many educational challenges in her constituency, she chooses once again to disappear down the rabbit hole of Whitehall process, rather than seeking to stand up for her constituents.