Birmingham Schools

Debate between Michael Gove and Christopher Pincher

Monday 9th June 2014 Commons Chamber

[Michael Gove]

My hon. Friend has made an important point. Some of the most outstanding schools in Birmingham are currently academies and free schools. Indeed, the hon. Member for Stoke-on-Trent Central has previously praised Liam Nolan, the head teacher of Perry Beeches school, who runs an academy chain and has opened free schools. I think that the hon. Gentleman’s attempt to conflate the growth of academies and free schools—and the consequent improvement in school standards—and a risk of extremism constitutes an attempt to jump on an opportunistic bandwagon, which, sadly, is becoming a characteristic of his approach to opposition.

[Christopher Pincher (Tamworth) (Con)]

On 6 June, Labour’s police and crime commissioner for the west midlands, Bob Jones, issued a press release on Trojan horse which many believe ignores the dangers of extremist teaching in schools. Given that, under Mr Jones’s leadership, the West Midlands police have been criticised by Ofsted for consistently failing to attend more than 50% of child protection meetings—indeed, at one stage attendance was down to 9%—does my right hon. Friend agree that that is one example of local oversight and accountability that certainly needs to be improved?

[Michael Gove]

My hon. Friend has made a very good point. I have been disappointed by some of the comments made by the west midlands police and crime commissioner. I hope that today, following the publication of the reports, the commissioner will have an opportunity to reflect, to think again, and to discharge his responsibilities more effectively.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Michael Gove and Christopher Pincher

Monday 18th June 2012 Commons Chamber

[Michael Gove]

There will be a meeting with a Minister.

[Christopher Pincher (Tamworth) (Con)]

T9. Will my right hon. Friend congratulate the head teacher of Wilnecote high school, Stuart Tonks, who is not only entering into a foundation school arrangement with five local primaries but pursuing academy status for his own school? May I meet Ministers as quickly as possible to work out how those two laudable objectives can be conflated?

[Michael Gove]

Absolutely.

School Closures (Thursday)

Debate between Michael Gove and Christopher Pincher

Tuesday 28th June 2011 Commons Chamber

[Michael Gove]

I said that he would never wish to mislead the House and I hope that he will take the opportunity, in this House or elsewhere, to make it clear that our proposals respect the accrued rights of all public sector workers. My concern is that the right hon. Member for Leigh (Andy Burnham), in his understandable anxiety to make a political point, will fail to make entirely clear to every teacher the reality of the position that the coalition Government are proposing.

[Christopher Pincher (Tamworth) (Con)]

Last Friday, I met all the head teachers of primary schools in Tamworth and they told me that many of their staff have no intention of following their highly paid union leaders out on strike because they want to stay in their schools and teach. Will my right hon. Friend commend the attitude of those teachers and of the teacher at Rawlett high school who sent a message to me only this morning saying that the strikes will serve the interests only of the unions and not of children?

[Michael Gove]

The point has been made—and has been made well by the Leader of the Opposition—that no one benefits from this precipitate action. It is entirely right that all the teachers reflect on those points. Of course we respect the decision of any individual to take industrial action, but we all agree that the position of teachers will be stronger and public support for them greater if they do not take such action this Thursday.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Michael Gove and Christopher Pincher

Monday 23rd May 2011 Commons Chamber

[Christopher Pincher (Tamworth) (Con)]

T7. In Tamworth and around the country, A-level students are now preparing for their examinations, and many will have offers of university places based on their predicted results. Is it not time that we ended this unsatisfactory arrangement and timetabled university applications to come after A-level examinations and results, thereby ending the bureaucracy of clearing?

[Michael Gove]

It is an intriguing idea. It is not quite as simple as it seems, but we and colleagues at the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills are looking into it.

Education Maintenance Allowance

Debate between Michael Gove and Christopher Pincher

Wednesday 19th January 2011 Commons Chamber

[Michael Gove]

I am happy to give way to my hon. Friend the Member for—Nuneaton, I believe. [Interruption.] No, I should have said my hon. Friend the Member for Tamworth (Christopher Pincher).

[Christopher Pincher]

Is my right hon. Friend aware that almost 80% of institutions offer tailored support to disadvantaged young people quite separately from EMA, yet only 11% know about it? Is it not more sensible to target help by increasing knowledge about that alternative funding that is available, as it comes from institutions and so will not cost the taxpayer as much?

[Michael Gove]

My hon. Friend makes a good point. One point identified by the previous Government’s research commission is that one of the biggest barriers to participation is inadequate advice and guidance.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Michael Gove and Christopher Pincher

Monday 20th December 2010 Commons Chamber

[Michael Gove]

I am very grateful for the hon. Gentleman’s pre-written question, which was so old that it could have been a primary source in a GCSE history paper and so long that one could have used it instead of the Bayeux tapestry. Anyway, I am very happy to say that the money is now there from the budget that we had already allocated for sport. If only he had been paying attention during the Opposition day debate that we had four weeks ago, he would have known that.

[Christopher Pincher (Tamworth) (Con)]

13. What recent progress has been made on his Department's academies programme in (a) Tamworth constituency and (b) England.

Schools White Paper

Debate between Michael Gove and Christopher Pincher

Wednesday 24th November 2010 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

I call Mr Pincher.

[Christopher Pincher (Tamworth) (Con)]

Thank you, Mr Speaker; clearly, I am moving up the batting order in this particular sport.

In welcoming my right hon. Friend’s White Paper, may I ask him to encourage greater vertical integration between primary and secondary schools? One issue that teachers in Tamworth have raised with me is the number of primary school children who do not have the necessary reading and writing skills when they move on to secondary school, and we need to improve that.

[Michael Gove]

My hon. Friend is bang on the button, and one of the reasons we are establishing primary academies and integrating primary schools into academy chains is to deal with precisely that issue. The last Government said the creation of primary academies would send a chill down the spine of every parent, but actually the creation of many new primary academies has meant that parents enjoy smaller class sizes and higher standards and children better prepared for the world of work and further learning. This is a reform that I hope every party represented in the House will now support.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Michael Gove and Christopher Pincher

Monday 12th July 2010 Commons Chamber

[Christopher Pincher (Tamworth) (Con)]

T1. If he will make a statement on his departmental responsibilities.

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

As I pointed out earlier, because of the dysfunctional system we inherited, it has been difficult to establish the absolute truth about the number of schools affected by the rules-based announcement I made last week. Today, an hour and a half before the House met for questions, I distributed to the right hon. Member for Morley and Outwood (Ed Balls) and others the latest updated list of the schools affected. This list has been verified by Building Schools for the Future and by my Department, which has contacted every local authority affected. I am looking forward to hearing from the individual local authorities in due course.

May I also take the opportunity to correct the record on one further matter? In last week’s statement, I referred to six schools built under BSF that had suffered from design or construction flaws. On Thursday evening, I was told that three of the schools I mentioned—Carr Manor, Lawnswood and Primrose high—were, in fact, built under a predecessor private finance initiative scheme that sought to renovate the school estate in Leeds. Some of the renovation was financed through BSF; the schools themselves were not procured through BSF, but instead through that predecessor programme. The other schools I referred to in last week’s statement were procured through BSF.

We have also issued a written ministerial statement today, pointing out that we are going to review the Office of the Children’s Commissioner. As I am sure the whole House will appreciate, this is very much a season for ensuring that we get value for money from our quangos.

[Christopher Pincher]

Will my right hon. Friend confirm that fewer than 100 schools have been rebuilt under Building Schools for the Future, none of which, incidentally, are in Tamworth, where we have been waiting more than three years for this labyrinthine process to happen, but not a brick has been laid? Will he confirm that this is yet another example of the former Government failing to keep their promises?

[Michael Gove]

I sympathise hugely with my hon. Friend. Only 97 schools were built under Building Schools for the Future during the period when the previous Government were in charge. Now we know that under this coalition Government, 706 schools will benefit from BSF and more than half of those will be new builds. Where the previous Government failed, this Government are succeeding.

Education Funding

Debate between Michael Gove and Christopher Pincher

Monday 5th July 2010 Commons Chamber

[Michael Gove]

I have to say that I do not believe that they qualify as sample schools—I will check that information—but they have been stopped.

[Christopher Pincher (Tamworth) (Con)]

I am grateful for the Secretary of State’s statement and for his telling me that both Wilnecote and Belgrave high schools in Tamworth are applying for academy status. Does he agree that we should meet to discuss the former Labour county council’s decision arbitrarily to abolish sixth forms and give them over to one single sixth form? Can we discuss how to unpick that situation?

[Michael Gove]

I know that my hon. Friend is very concerned about the way in which sixth form allocation has been secured in his constituency. He has already made representations on that. My Department will consider and discuss with him further exactly what we can do to help.