Oral Answers to Questions

Luciana Berger Excerpts
Monday 7th June 2010

(14 years, 4 months ago)

Commons Chamber
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Michael Gove Portrait Michael Gove
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I know how committed my hon. Friend is to raising standards in schools. The right hon. Member for Morley and Outwood (Ed Balls) will be aware that Ofqual recently pointed out that some of the changes to the science curriculum had downgraded the importance of rigour, and the right hon. Gentleman and my hon. Friend will be aware that the Royal Society of Chemistry said that recent changes to the science curriculum had been a catastrophe. We will make sure that the finest minds in the country of all parties are invited to join us in reshaping the curriculum.

Luciana Berger Portrait Luciana Berger (Liverpool, Wavertree) (Lab/Co-op)
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T4. The ContactPoint database that was championed by the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children and Barnardo’s is to be scrapped. What assessment has been made of the impact that the removal will have on safeguarding children?

Tim Loughton Portrait The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Education (Tim Loughton)
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I congratulate the hon. Lady on her election. Very soon she will hear further details of the demise of ContactPoint, which was not championed by a great many professionals at the front end, who knew that the bureaucracy added to safeguarding over recent years has contributed to some of the dangers to our children, so we would like to replace it with a much better system. She will hear more details shortly.