Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Michael Gove and Alun Cairns

Monday 16th October 2023 Commons Chamber

[Michael Gove]

I am grateful to the hon. Lady for the way in which she couched her question. I take this opportunity to thank the First Minister of Scotland who, in his visit to a synagogue in Edinburgh last week, I think spoke for all of Scotland in expressing his solidarity with the pain being felt by Scotland’s Jewish community. I look forward to working together on a cross-party basis if we can.

[Alun Cairns (Vale of Glamorgan) (Con)]

T9. The new Levelling Up Minister has got off to a flying start by awarding £20 million to Barry in the Vale of Glamorgan. Barry is Wales’s largest town and has been ignored by the Welsh Government for decades. What reassurance can my hon. Friend give me that local priorities will determine how that money should be spent?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Michael Gove and Alun Cairns

Monday 16th May 2022 Commons Chamber

[Michael Gove]

The local councillor the hon. Lady mentions sounds like an absolutely brilliant champion for her local community. I would love to know more, particularly about what we can do to help in practical terms, and I look forward to working with her.

[Alun Cairns (Vale of Glamorgan) (Con)]

Energy performance improvements to domestic dwellings are an important part of the Government’s agenda in respect of climate change obligations, as well as in respect of the cost of living. May I draw the attention of my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State to private-rented off-grid properties, for which it is much more difficult and expensive to achieve energy performance improvements than for normal domestic dwellings?

Levelling Up

Debate between Michael Gove and Alun Cairns

Wednesday 2nd February 2022 Commons Chamber

[Michael Gove]

That is a very fair point and I will look into it.

[Alun Cairns (Vale of Glamorgan) (Con)]

I congratulate my right hon. Friend on taking back control and on his strategic approach to levelling up across the whole of the United Kingdom. This contrasts so favourably with the billions of pounds of European aid that the Labour party wasted in Wales over the past 20 years. May I ask him to pay particular attention to those areas in Wales that did not qualify for European aid, so that we can be levelled up at last?

[Michael Gove]

My right hon. Friend is absolutely right. We need to make sure that the additional funding available through the UK shared prosperity fund goes to all the communities in Wales that deserve it.

Building Safety

Debate between Michael Gove and Alun Cairns

Monday 10th January 2022 Commons Chamber

[Michael Gove]

The hon. Lady makes two very important points. We have already changed regulation with regard to flooding, but more could be done. I will ensure that either I or the relevant Minister sees her before the end of February, if that is okay.

[Alun Cairns (Vale of Glamorgan) (Con)]

I warmly welcome my right hon. Friend’s statement, which will yield significant benefits directly for leaseholders in England. As he has acknowledged, this policy area is devolved and therefore responsibility in Wales falls to the Welsh Government. However, the UK Government, through their initiatives, may well raise significant sums of money for this purpose. What conclusion has he drawn on whether that funding should be ring-fenced for that specific purpose in Wales, rather than diverted to other purposes?

[Michael Gove]

My right hon. Friend makes a very important point. We of course respect the devolution settlement, but he is absolutely right that money generated for building safety should be devoted, as far as possible, to building safety. I will work with him and others to ensure that the focus is maintained in the way he outlines.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Michael Gove and Alun Cairns

Thursday 8th July 2021 Commons Chamber

[Alun Cairns (Vale of Glamorgan) (Con)]

What recent discussions his Department has had with the Welsh Government on matters within his ministerial responsibility.

[The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office (Michael Gove)]

Cabinet Office Ministers regularly engage with the Welsh Government and all the devolved Administrations as part of the Government’s continued collaborative working arrangements. I have had recent discussions with Welsh Government Ministers on subjects such as covid-19, the G7 summit and, of course, elections. Since 2021, all ministerial engagements between the Governments of the United Kingdom are published in quarterly reports.

[Alun Cairns [V]]

The Welsh Government recently proposed the most radical constitutional change for the whole of the United Kingdom, seeking to change our Union of four nations to a federal structure. Can my right hon. Friend tell me whether he was part of those discussions in any way, in view of the impact they would have for every part of the United Kingdom? Does he share my dismay that the Welsh Government are focusing on constitutional change during a covid pandemic when our focus must be on recovering healthcare, improving education standards and creating jobs? Does he agree that our Union of four nations and constitutional stability offer the best prospect of delivering those outcomes?

[Michael Gove]

Yes, my right hon. Friend is absolutely right. I have the highest regard for the First Minister of Wales, Mark Drakeford, and I enjoy working with him. I do not doubt his commitment to public service, but we do disagree on this question. I think my right hon. Friend is absolutely right that the Welsh Government’s focus, as the UK Government’s focus is, should be wholly on the covid crisis and on economic recovery at this time.

EU Exit: End of Transition Period

Debate between Michael Gove and Alun Cairns

Wednesday 23rd September 2020 Commons Chamber

[Michael Gove]

No. The hon. Gentleman, by emphasising that figure, is helping, because what we want is to avert that scenario. As I pointed out, it is not a prediction, but it is a warning. He is right that there is a responsibility on Government, which is why we have invested in the sites in Ebbsfleet and North Weald, Ashford, Warrington and the west midlands. Should we need to deal with specific areas of traffic management in Kent, steps have been taken with the Kent resilience forum to do just that. The reason for publishing the scenario today is to avert that happening. I hope he will work with businesses in his constituency to make sure they let Government know what more they need to be ready.

[Alun Cairns (Vale of Glamorgan) (Con)]

The most senior Labour politician in office in the UK is the Welsh First Minister, and he has called for the transition period to be extended beyond the end of the year. Some people see that as a way of avoiding or delaying Brexit. I can advise my right hon. Friend that the Welsh people voted in greater numbers than the average across the UK to leave the European Union. Can he reassure me that the end of the year will be the end of the transition period?

[Michael Gove]

My right hon. Friend makes an important point. The result across the United Kingdom—we voted as one United Kingdom—was clear, but it is true that support for leaving the European Union was very strong across Wales. I have great respect for the First Minister of Wales and we have worked well together in dealing with the covid pandemic, but I do think that my right hon. Friend is absolutely right. It would be sensible now for all politicians, rather than saying that the transition period should end later and creating that illusory prospect, to work together to prepare for 31 December.

Birmingham Schools

Debate between Michael Gove and Alun Cairns

Monday 9th June 2014 Commons Chamber

[Michael Gove]

The hon. Gentleman makes a very important point. We are seeing a level of collaboration between schools—through teaching school alliances, academy chains and informal partnerships—that is a very powerful driver of improved standards. It ensures that individual teachers, who may have concerns about what is happening in their own school, have access to a wider network of professionals who can help them to deal with the challenges they face.

[Alun Cairns (Vale of Glamorgan) (Con)]

Extremism in schools has, sadly, been going on for more than a decade. Will the Secretary of State reassure the House that Peter Clarke will have unfettered access to all paperwork going back over that period?

[Michael Gove]

I will do everything in my power—I hope every agency will—to help Peter Clarke in his job.

Free Schools (Funding)

Debate between Michael Gove and Alun Cairns

Monday 12th May 2014 Commons Chamber

[Michael Gove]

I absolutely shall. The first thing to bear in mind is that, as the hon. Lady rightly points out, Darlington is an exceptionally high-performing local authority. One of the reasons for that is that many of its schools have converted to academy status with the support of the local authority, and Darlington shines out as an enlightened Labour local authority. I will share the exact figures with the hon. Lady, but I should stress that many of the independent schools that have changed to become free schools are now open to all and an excellent standard of education is available to children on a comprehensive basis. Many of those arguing for independent schools to become free schools are Labour MPs such as the hon. Member for Barrow and Furness (John Woodcock) and the right hon. Member for Blackburn (Mr Straw), and I am delighted to have been able to work with two more Labour MPs supporting our free schools programme.

[Alun Cairns (Vale of Glamorgan) (Con)]

How many new places have been created by the free schools policy, and how does the demand compare with that for local authority schools?

[Michael Gove]

So far, some 83,000 places have been created, and as I pointed out earlier, these schools are overwhelmingly over-subscribed.

PISA Results

Debate between Michael Gove and Alun Cairns

Tuesday 3rd December 2013 Commons Chamber

[Michael Gove]

Poland does not spend more than us; indeed, Vietnam, which outperforms us in mathematics, spends significantly less than us. What they do have is a commitment to higher standards that are rigorously policed. Poland’s curriculum is modelled on, or is similar to, our English baccalaureate. Both Vietnam and Poland have a determination to place standards on a higher plane than those on the Opposition Front Bench would contemplate.

[Alun Cairns (Vale of Glamorgan) (Con)]

Does the Secretary of State agree that the outcomes in Wales are nothing short of a scandal and that they are the ultimate demonstration of Labour’s education policy in action? There are parents across Wales, and even some in this House, who are genuinely worried about the future of their children’s education. Will the Secretary of State encourage the Welsh Government to follow his robust reforms?

[Michael Gove]

Wales acts almost as a controlled sample. Welsh children are as intelligent and motivated as children in England, but unfortunately in Wales there are no academies, no free schools, no league tables, no chief inspector such as Sir Michael Wilshaw and no determination to reform like this coalition Government. It is an object lesson in what happens when people abandon reform and succumb to the NUT orthodoxy, which I am afraid has suffocated aspiration for far too many children in the Principality.

GCSEs

Debate between Michael Gove and Alun Cairns

Tuesday 11th June 2013 Commons Chamber

[Michael Gove]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. When we put forward draft programmes of study for different curriculum areas, some of them attracted more controversy than others. It is fair to say that design and technology was one of the most controversial. We have listened to some of the critics, and a new draft will be forthcoming in a few weeks’ time.

[Alun Cairns (Vale of Glamorgan) (Con)]

I pay tribute to the Secretary of State, who is responding to the demands of employers and higher and further education providers, and to the needs of pupils, by reintroducing rigour to the exam system. Does he share my concern that pupils in Wales, who may want to seek employment opportunities across the UK and beyond, could be disadvantaged if the Welsh Government refuse to follow this reform? Will he agree to make the qualification available, irrespective of the Welsh Government’s judgment, to those schools that want to pursue this new rigorous GCSE?

[Michael Gove]

Absolutely—this qualification should be available to all state schools that have high aspirations for their students. Next Monday, I look forward to meeting Andrew R.T. Davies, the gifted gentleman who leads for the Conservatives in the Welsh Assembly. I will also talk to Welsh Conservative MPs, of whom there are a growing number, to see how we can take this forward effectively.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Michael Gove and Alun Cairns

Monday 21st January 2013 Commons Chamber

[Michael Gove]

May I take this opportunity to pay tribute to the right hon. Lady’s commitment to social mobility and the work she has done in encouraging internships in this House? I shall look as quickly as I can into that case and discuss it with the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.

[Alun Cairns (Vale of Glamorgan) (Con)]

I look forward to the Minister’s proposals for improving outcomes for children with special educational needs. However, for those parents who are still forced to use the tribunal process, the delay before they get to that tribunal is considerable and can lead to additional pressure and for too long leave children without the education they need. Will he agree to discuss the matter with the Department, and seek to improve those outcomes?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Michael Gove and Alun Cairns

Monday 29th October 2012 Commons Chamber

[Michael Gove]

I certainly shall. As we all know, the hon. Gentleman is a teacher with extensive experience of working in some of the toughest schools. I am glad that there has been an improvement in academic results in North Lincolnshire, but yes, there are continuing question marks over the quality of marking at GCSE.

[Alun Cairns (Vale of Glamorgan) (Con)]

Questions raised about GCSEs earlier this year place even greater emphasis on the need for rigour in the exam system. Will my right hon. Friend encourage other parts of the United Kingdom to follow suit, and does he agree that clarity is needed for pupils and students, universities and employers, so that they compare equally?

[Michael Gove]

My hon. Friend has made a very good point, and I look forward to working with the Welsh Assembly to ensure that standards there can be raised to the level enjoyed by students in England.

Exam Reform

Debate between Michael Gove and Alun Cairns

Monday 17th September 2012 Commons Chamber

[Michael Gove]

Thank you, Mr Speaker.

Well designed examinations ensure that people have not just the knowledge but the skill and deep understanding to show that they have been well taught. The best head teachers have argued for that view, and I am happy to embrace it.

[Alun Cairns (Vale of Glamorgan) (Con)]

The statement by the Secretary of State is excellent news for pupils in England. The way in which GCSEs have been discredited over the past decade or more has been completely unacceptable. Pupils in my constituency and across Wales, however, will still be subject to the same failed model of GCSEs. Will he do everything possible to encourage his counterpart in Wales to engage in the process and bring about either the same model as in England or one as close to it as possible, and to stop scoring party political points?

[Michael Gove]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for making his point. As someone married to a Welsh girl, it grieves me that the Welsh education system went backwards under Labour, and it grieves me even more that every objective assessment of what has happened under Labour in Wales shows that education has improved more quickly and effectively in England than in Wales. I hope that the Education and Skills Minister in Wales will embrace the progressive reforms that the coalition Government have put forward. He now has an opportunity to show that he is ready to operate in a constructive fashion.

Education Maintenance Allowance

Debate between Michael Gove and Alun Cairns

Wednesday 19th January 2011 Commons Chamber

[Michael Gove]

The hon. Lady makes a good point. We want to ensure that learners with caring responsibilities are looked after. They are a small but growing number, who face enormous challenges and are living heroically, attempting to balance their responsibilities. In any replacement scheme, we need to ensure better targeting. The truth is that the current scheme does not effectively target those people.

[Alun Cairns (Vale of Glamorgan) (Con)]

The NFER data that the Secretary of State has highlighted are startling, in that they demonstrate the amount of dead-weight and inefficiency in the existing arrangements. Can my right hon. Friend tell us whether he has had any helpful suggestions from the Opposition as to what changes could be made to target support more efficiently, particularly in light of the needs of many students that he has highlighted?

[Michael Gove]

My hon. Friend makes a good point. I have had a couple of helpful suggestions from Opposition Back Benchers—I shall not name them—who recognise that we need to make reductions and believe that support can be better targeted. I have looked at their submissions and they have helped to shape my thinking. In the same way, I have been fortunate in that a number of Liberal Democrat and Conservative colleagues have made points to me about how a replacement scheme should be targeted. Many of the arguments had occurred to me beforehand, but many were made with such force and passion and were backed up with such persuasive facts that they have certainly shaped our policy. The opportunity exists for other Members to make such points, and although I am not sure that the seminar-style atmosphere of an Opposition day debate is necessarily ideal for such submissions, I am always grateful to receive them.