Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Mark Garnier and Kerry McCarthy

Monday 23rd October 2023 Commons Chamber

[Mark Garnier (Wyre Forest) (Con)]

1. What progress her Department has made on ensuring equality of school funding through the national funding formula.

[Kerry McCarthy (Bristol East) (Lab)]

13. What assessment she has made of the adequacy of core school funding for the 2023-24 academic year.

[The Secretary of State for Education (Gillian Keegan)]

The Government introduced fairness into school funding. Under Labour, we got disproportionately inflated school budgets in places such as London, while constituencies such as mine were underfunded for over a decade. It was the Conservatives who introduced the national funding formula, which funds schools fairly, objectively and, most importantly, based on the needs of pupils, not political ideology. Not only that: this year, school budgets are up by over £3.9 billion, and next year schools will be funded at their highest level in history, at £59.6 billion.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Mark Garnier and Kerry McCarthy

Thursday 23rd November 2017 Commons Chamber

[Mark Garnier]

I will have to get back to the hon. Gentleman on the exact figures, but he is absolutely right to highlight the fact that we need to do more to promote this opportunity for SMEs to get this high street financing through UK Export Finance. To that end, in the Budget, we have allocated an advertising budget in order to be able to promote UK Export Finance.

[Kerry McCarthy (Bristol East) (Lab)]

Some 99% of UK Export Finance spending on energy goes on the most polluting fuels. Does the Minister consider that his Department is exempt from the Government’s commitments under the Paris climate change treaty?

[Mark Garnier]

It is perfectly reasonable that the whole Government adhere to the objectives of all the agreements we have undertaken, so no Department would go against any of that. However, I would also point out that we are undertaking financing for offshore wind farms, so we are actually helping to build more carbon-neutral capacity.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Mark Garnier and Kerry McCarthy

Thursday 8th September 2016 Commons Chamber

[Mark Garnier]

I congratulate my hon. Friend on his important work for the all-party group on Singapore. The opportunities in ASEAN and Singapore are absolutely enormous. In the next 15 years, the members of ASEAN will make up the fourth biggest economy on the planet. We are in constant discussions, we have trade envoys going out to the region and we are very keen to open negotiations to promote trade between our countries.

[Kerry McCarthy (Bristol East) (Lab)]

It is almost exactly three years since the Government launched their action plan for business and human rights. When the Minister goes to countries such as Burma and Thailand, are human rights on the agenda during those trade talks as well as business?

[Mark Garnier]

The Government are never neglectful of their duty to ensure human rights around the world. There are two clear elements involved. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office is key on human rights and we will support it where we can by raising the issue when we are talking about trade.