Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Nick Gibb and Jo Platt

Monday 4th February 2019 Commons Chamber

[The Minister for School Standards (Nick Gibb)]

I am delighted to warmly congratulate the teachers in my hon. Friend’s constituency of Nuneaton on the significant improvement in key stage 2 results. Of course, we need to do more to raise standards further, which is why we are investing £76 million to raise the standard of maths education through the 35 maths hubs referred to earlier by my hon. Friend the Minister for Universities, Science, Research and Innovation. We are also spending £26 million on developing 32 schools across England into English hubs, which will take a leading role in supporting schools to improve their teaching of early language and reading.

[Jo Platt (Leigh) (Lab/Co-op)]

T2. During a Westminster Hall debate on social mobility last month, the Under-Secretary of State for Education, the hon. Member for Stratford-on-Avon (Nadhim Zahawi), boasted of the Government’s early-years pilots. He even visited the local pilot in Wigan. However, Leigh—part of the Wigan borough—has recently been ranked 533rd out of 533 for early-years provision in the country. When will the Minister and this Government wake up? Their sticking-plaster schemes are not working. If we want to improve social mobility, we first have to address child poverty.

School and Early Years Finance (England) Regulations 2018

Debate between Nick Gibb and Jo Platt

Wednesday 21st March 2018 General Committees

[Nick Gibb]

We have to marshal our resources. A lot of the statistics cited on Sure Start are to do with buildings and not the provision of services in those buildings. Schools in Rotherham would attract 4.5% more funding if the national funding formula were implemented in full, based on the 2017-18 data, coming to £2.9 million. Under the national funding formula, schools in Rotherham will be funded at £4,982 per pupil, compared with the national average of £4,655.

[Jo Platt]

Does the Minister agree that losing investment in early intervention and prevention is having a huge knock-on effect on school readiness for children, and therefore on attainment? Should the NAO figures on the closure of Sure Start centres not be taken seriously, and should we look again at investing in early intervention and prevention?

[Nick Gibb]

We take those issues seriously and the hon. Lady raises an important point. However, the attainment gap between those from disadvantaged backgrounds and their more fortunate peers in primary schools has closed by 10%, and there has been a huge increase in children’s ability to read. We are moving from joint 10th place to joint eighth place in the international reading surveys of nine-year-olds, and there has been a huge increase in the proportion of six-year-olds who pass the phonics check—in 2012, 58% passed, but 81% passed in 2017.

[Jo Platt]

Look at the social mobility figures. Why are a record number of people unable to get on when they leave if attainment is good in our schools?

[Nick Gibb]

We have some of the lowest levels of young people not in education, employment or training —lower, certainly, than under the previous Labour Government. We have very low levels of youth unemployment compared with other countries in the European Union, and we have the lowest level of unemployment in this country for 42 years. That is the consequence of proper stewardship of our public finances and our economy. That is how we provide opportunities and social mobility, ensuring that more people have the opportunity to earn a pay packet, and pay their rent, mortgage and bills. I will give way to the hon. Member for Rotherham.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Nick Gibb and Jo Platt

Thursday 11th January 2018 Commons Chamber

[The Minister for School Standards (Nick Gibb)]

The disability commissioner role was an operational matter for the EHRC itself. The Secretary of State has no powers to appoint or reinstate a disability commissioner.

[Jo Platt (Leigh) (Lab/Co-op)]

T6. Over the weekend, I was sent a screenshot from a Facebook page directed at the female chief executive officer of Wigan Council that read,“horrible bitch should hang wish i held the rope”.Unfortunately, this was not deemed to violate Facebook’s standards. This is not an isolated case. There is a stream of incessant posts aimed at bullying and intimidating female representatives of the borough. What further action will the Government take to ensure that women in public office feel safe?