Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Michael Gove and Charlotte Leslie

Monday 6th January 2014 Commons Chamber

[Michael Gove]

I absolutely will. It is vital that we reassure students and teachers in Northern Ireland that the qualifications they sit will be valued, and that access to universities in the rest of the United Kingdom will be upheld. I am proud that our kingdom is united, and that there are students in Northern Ireland who see themselves as part of a family of nations and a community of learning across these islands. I will uphold their right to equal access to institutions of higher and further education in these islands as long as I hold this office.

[Charlotte Leslie (Bristol North West) (Con)]

Proposals and actions for a royal college of teaching continue apace. Although I am sure the Secretary of State would agree that it is not for politicians but for teachers to drive that potential body, can he provide assurance that the Government will give all appropriate support and as fair a wind as possible to the proposal, which could be a game changer for teaching and, of course, ultimately for our children?

[Michael Gove]

The more that teachers take control of their own destiny, and the more the profession is in charge of improving education, the better. I think the best thing about a college of teaching is that the Government stand well back and wish it well.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Michael Gove and Charlotte Leslie

Monday 16th January 2012 Commons Chamber

[Michael Gove]

I am grateful for your advice, Mr Speaker, but I always try to answer the questions that I am asked by the hon. Gentleman—I know that that is sometimes a novel approach, but I believe it to be right.

It is also right to remind the hon. Gentleman, as he reminded the readers of The Observer on Sunday, that the last Labour Government wasted money on Building Schools for the Future. As a result of eliminating that waste, we have made £500 million available this year, and £600 million next year, for primary school places for which they never provided. They failed to look ahead and navigate a way through hard times, and now that there is a captain at the helm who knows in which direction to take this ship, I am afraid that we need less rumbling from the ratings who want to mutiny below deck.

[Charlotte Leslie (Bristol North West) (Con)]

5. What recent progress his Department has made in implementing the proposals in the special needs Green Paper; and if he will make a statement.

School Funding Reform

Debate between Michael Gove and Charlotte Leslie

Tuesday 19th July 2011 Commons Chamber

[Michael Gove]

That is a very fair point. I have sought in the consultation—and we will seek in the decisions that we make—to be absolutely fair and balanced. It is no secret to anyone in the House that I am a great champion of school autonomy and I am critical of local authorities that have not done their job well. However, local authorities have a vital role to play in future, which is why the huge increase in basic need funding will go directly to local authorities, which are best placed to make those decisions. That balanced approach, encouraging autonomy while respecting local authorities’ critical role, is the right way forward.

[Charlotte Leslie (Bristol North West) (Con)]

Does the Secretary of State agree that it is deeply insulting to parents who have wanted a community secondary school for their area for more than 20 years to hear the right hon. Member for Leigh (Andy Burnham) criticise Bristol free school, particularly when many of those parents are frantic about the shortage of primary school places in Bristol? That ticking time bomb should not have been a surprise, given the baby boom four years ago, and the certainty that children grow up.

[Michael Gove]

My hon. Friend makes a fair point. It is incumbent on all of us to recognise that the provision of schools in Bristol has not been good enough for far too long, although recent changes have brought about real improvement. Some of those changes have been driven by councillors who have shown imagination, but they have also been driven by organisations that have helped to establish new schools and to extend the academies programme. Bristol free school should be seen in that light. It is an effort to drive up attainment in an area that has underperformed for far too long.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Michael Gove and Charlotte Leslie

Monday 12th July 2010 Commons Chamber

[Michael Gove]

I am grateful for that “two for the price of one” question from the shadow Minister. The letter from the permanent secretary actually did correct the errors of the right hon. Member for Morley and Outwood. On the question of lists, as I said in my earlier answer, there were 1,836 expressions of interest. As the hon. Gentleman should know, being a former teacher, it is vitally important for people to listen in class before they put their hands up.

[Charlotte Leslie (Bristol North West) (Con)]

10. What assessment he has made of the effectiveness of local education partnerships; and if he will make a statement.

[The Secretary of State for Education (Michael Gove)]

As I set out in my statement to the House last week, local education partnerships are part of an over-bureaucratic and inefficient procurement model. The capital review that I announced last week will consider alternatives to ensure that, at last, capital spending achieves value for money, raises standards, and actually helps the most disadvantaged.

[Charlotte Leslie]

I have raised concerns about the local education partnership in my constituency in relation to the project with Elmlea school. Essentially, money has been snatched from children and schools to line the pockets of contractors and consultants. I am sure that Opposition Members will share my concern about that. Will my right hon. Friend promise to stop this terrible reverse Robin Hood approach to public spending?

[Michael Gove]

I could not agree more with my hon. Friend. There is a dividing line between this side of the House and that one. As far as the Opposition are concerned, a Building Schools for the Future programme that enriches consultants and ensures that one man can earn £1.35 million is defensible, whereas we believe that that money should be going to the front line to ensure that the most dilapidated schools are repaired as quickly as possible. It is the contrast between a Government who wasted money like there was no tomorrow and a Government here at last who are building a better tomorrow for all our children.

Education Funding

Debate between Michael Gove and Charlotte Leslie

Monday 5th July 2010 Commons Chamber

[Michael Gove]

I am grateful for the hon. Gentleman’s contribution when he was a schools Minister. He will appreciate, as I do, that the most important thing in improving attainment for the poorest is making sure that we improve the quality of teaching.

[Charlotte Leslie (Bristol North West) (Con)]

Ever since I was a candidate, I have watched local education partnerships—mentioned only briefly—soak up endless time and money. Academy sponsors have come to me in despair because of the amount of money that those bureaucratic layers have soaked up—money that should be going to the poorest. I believe that Labour Members have a concern for bridging the gap between the rich and poor, and I know that my right hon. Friend does. Does he agree that it is a tragedy to see every penny soaked up by local education partnerships, by the papers on his table and by bureaucratic layers, rather than going to those children who most need it?

[Michael Gove]

My hon. Friend makes a very good point. In every local authority that has entered Building Schools for the Future so far, the average amount spent on local education partnerships is between £9 million and £10 million. That money should have gone to the front line, into bricks and mortar and into improving education, not into the pockets of bureaucrats.

Free Schools Policy

Debate between Michael Gove and Charlotte Leslie

Monday 21st June 2010 Commons Chamber

[Michael Gove]

I hope that the schools will be set up in a variety of new buildings—[Interruption]—and in some old buildings as well. If we examine what has happened in Sweden, for example, we see that many new schools have opened in libraries, disused university buildings and observatories. They are model buildings, but I am sure we all agree that the most important thing about education is the quality of teaching and learning. That is why the enthusiasm of the teaching profession for the changes that we are making is so hot.

[Charlotte Leslie (Bristol North West) (Con)]

Could my right hon. Friend tell me what measures he will take to prevent the loss of land usable for education and schools, which we have seen over the past decade, so that free schools can be set up on the land of schools that have closed down?

[Michael Gove]

My hon. Friend makes a very good point. We are taking steps to ensure that D1 land, on which schools are built, remains there for school buildings and is not used for commercial reasons.