Apprenticeships

Philip Hollobone Excerpts

Thursday 14th March 2013 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

Order. May I explain to the House that a very large number of right hon. and hon. Members will be seeking to catch my eye in the debate on NHS accountability, and I am keen to accommodate that Back Bench-inspired debate? We have business questions before that so I am not inclined to run this statement at length.

[Mr Philip Hollobone (Kettering) (Con)]

Flexibility is key for any work-related apprenticeship policy. Does the Minister agree that apprenticeships should not just be for school leavers? They need to be for the mum going back to work after having looked after her children, and for the man in middle age seeking a new career. Will the Government address this issue?

[Matthew Hancock]

Yes, I agree strongly. For instance, soldiers leaving the armed forces often go through apprenticeships to retrain for civvy street. That is another important element.

Oral Answers to Questions

Philip Hollobone Excerpts

Monday 4th March 2013 Commons Chamber

[Mr Laws]

The hon. Lady will know that when the Government came to power we inherited from the previous Government a complete mess, through the Building Schools for the Future programme. It was over-extended, inefficient and unaffordable. We have now put in place an affordable school building project that is consistent with the finances this nation can afford.

[Mr Philip Hollobone (Kettering) (Con)]

One of the best ways of improving schools is by getting former armed forces personnel into teaching roles. What progress are Her Majesty’s Government making in turning troops into teachers?

[Mr Laws]

My hon. Friend is quite right that we are pioneering that initiative. We believe that many people who were previously in the armed forces can make a major contribution to learning and we will continue to take forward that project.

Oral Answers to Questions

Philip Hollobone Excerpts

Thursday 7th February 2013 Commons Chamber

[Michael Fallon]

Only the ideologues on the Labour Benches could possibly want to continue to block the access of this company to the private capital markets. Let us be clear: Parliament gave Ofcom a clear statutory duty to secure the provision of the universal service six days a week, and we expect it to carry that out. Ofcom’s consultation on delivery competition has now closed, and it will issue its guidance in the spring, subject to that duty to safeguard the universal service.

[Mr Philip Hollobone (Kettering) (Con)]

8. What the tobacco industry exports which created 2% of Egypt’s sovereign debt owed to UK Export Finance were used for; when those exports were made; and whether they were to the Government of Egypt or to private companies.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Skills (Matthew Hancock)]

The 2% of Egypt’s sovereign debts relating to tobacco industry exports arose following defaults by the Government of Egypt, who purchased tobacco-processing equipment from UK exporters in the 1980s. The debts were rescheduled in 1987 and 1991 through the Paris Club. The 1991 rescheduling included 50% multilateral debt forgiveness, resulting in the UK forgiving £260 million of debt.

[Mr Hollobone]

Does my hon. Friend share my concern and that of my constituent, Rev. David Milner, and the Jubilee Debt Campaign that Government-backed UK loans and credits to developing countries should be for worthwhile projects based on responsible lending criteria, should have affordable repayment terms, and should not imperil sustainable economic growth in the countries concerned?

[Matthew Hancock]

Of course UK Export Finance should support growth that is sustainable. It has recently published on its website the sovereign debts owed to it by overseas Governments in order to become yet more transparent.

Oral Answers to Questions

Philip Hollobone Excerpts

Monday 21st January 2013 Commons Chamber

The Secretary of State was asked—

[Mr Philip Hollobone (Kettering) (Con)]

1. What proportion of secondary school pupils are taught in academies in (a) the borough of Kettering, (b) Northamptonshire and (c) England.

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

On behalf of the whole House, may I take this opportunity to congratulate you, Mr Speaker, on your 50th birthday on Saturday? On behalf of the whole House, I hope that it was a festive weekend in the Speaker’s household.

There are 2,619 academies in England. Over half of state-funded secondary schools are now open as academies or have applied for academy status. In Kettering, 85% of secondary school-age pupils are taught in academies; in Northamptonshire overall the figure is 75%; and in England it is 52%.

[Mr Hollobone]

My constituents are delighted that five of our six secondary schools have now become academies. Will my right hon. Friend kindly agree to visit Kettering to see for himself how the lives of young people are being transformed and their educational development is being enhanced by this exciting Government initiative?

[Michael Gove]

It would be a pleasure to visit Kettering. I am delighted at the progress that has been made in Northamptonshire. A wide range of academy sponsors have helped to ensure that children—not just in my hon. Friend’s constituency but across the county—are at last enjoying the education they deserve.

Oral Answers to Questions

Philip Hollobone Excerpts

Thursday 20th December 2012 Commons Chamber

[Vince Cable]

Certainly, the construction industry has had a torrid time ever since the collapse of the bubble in residential and commercial property. I know that there is a lot of distress in the sector, but there is some indication of orders improving. As the hon. Gentleman knows, the Government have taken action in the past few months. In September, we launched the programme of guarantees for social housing bodies to proceed with construction and raise capital for that purpose, and the autumn statement announced £5.5 billion-worth of new commitments, mainly through guarantees, for infrastructure projects.

[Mr Philip Hollobone (Kettering) (Con)]

The Government themselves procure construction projects. A local business in my Kettering constituency is the sub-contractor on a major Ministry of Defence contract, yet its payment terms from the principal contractor have gone up from 60 days to 90 days to 120 days. Will the Secretary of State work with other Government Departments to make sure that sub-contractors are paid on time?

GCSE English (Marking)

Philip Hollobone Excerpts

Tuesday 18th September 2012 Westminster Hall

[Elizabeth Truss]

It is relevant, because the modular English exam was introduced by and the system was set up under the previous Government. The former Secretary of State was clear when he established Ofqual that it was an independent regulator of standards. It is not right, therefore, for Ministers or the Secretary of State to interfere with the marking process. Ofqual must conduct that investigation and the proper process is for schools and individuals, with the encouragement of MPs who feel that the treatment has not been fair in their constituencies, to apply directly to Ofqual. I have made that point clear, but there is no doubt that the long-term problems in our system have created incentives for schools and exam boards to behave in particular ways, and those issues need to be sorted out. That is the point behind the introduction of the English baccalaureate certificates. The race to the bottom between exam boards needs to end, so that we have a system that accurately reflects standards. At the moment, it does not.

I am extremely sympathetic to students who did not get the results that they expected. However, the proper course of action is through Ofqual, which is conducting the investigation, and the proper role of politicians is to reform the exam system so that we deal with issues such as modularisation, which caused these problems.

[Mr Philip Hollobone (in the Chair)]

We now move to the next debate. I would be obliged if the Parliamentary Private Secretary would remain in his seat so that we can carry on with the debate in the Minister’s absence.

Oral Answers to Questions

Philip Hollobone Excerpts

Thursday 24th May 2012 Commons Chamber

[Mr Willetts]

It is very important to maintain confidence in the British economy, and people can take confidence from the fact that employment is up, and that inflation is down so their living standards are protected. They can take confidence from the fact that exports are up, and they can take confidence from the fact that public borrowing is down so interest rates are down. Those are the reasons why we are confident in the British economy.

[Mr Philip Hollobone (Kettering) (Con)]

May I tell the Minister that the chief executive of Northamptonshire chamber of commerce has said that

“the news the economy was in recession paints an “unduly pessimistic picture”

as far as Northamptonshire is concerned? Mr Griffiths says the news is contrary to what he is hearing from his members, and his local quarterly economic survey shows a far “more positive picture”. He believes that that gives a

“more accurate indication of the underlying trends in the economy.”

[Mr Willetts]

There are great examples of business success across Britain, in both small and large companies. The coalition is committed to ensuring that we deliver growth and prosperity in the future.

Oral Answers to Questions

Philip Hollobone Excerpts

Monday 16th April 2012 Commons Chamber

[Tim Loughton]

The hon. Lady is right; she also has great personal experience in this area. It is important that we ensure that more children for whom adoption is a likely destination are considered for it. Equally, though, we have to ensure that parents who come forward as prospective adopters are given proper training and support before, during and after the adoption process. I am particularly keen to encourage adoption agencies to work on adoption support services—we are looking at social impact bonds with a specific focus on that—to ensure that that help is there and that the adoption is permanent.

[Mr Philip Hollobone (Kettering) (Con)]

Adoption services in Northamptonshire were recently branded by Ofsted as inadequate and failing to meet national minimum standards. With only 68% of children being placed within 12 months, Northamptonshire is 110th out of 142 local authorities. Will my hon. Friend ensure that local authorities not doing the job properly are pursued relentlessly until their systems are up to the appropriate national standards?

[Tim Loughton]

The simple answer is absolutely yes. It is frustrating that despite examples of good and best practice in local authorities up and down the country in a matter where speed is of the essence and where people are focused entirely on the best outcomes for children, there are other local authorities—I fear that my hon. Friend’s is among them—where that is not the case. The adoption scorecard will ensure that local authorities that are not pulling their weight or doing the best by children are named and shamed, and ensure that they get their act together and up their game, because it should be in the best interests of the children.

Oral Answers to Questions

Philip Hollobone Excerpts

Monday 27th February 2012 Commons Chamber

[Michael Gove]

It is the judgment of Solomon, is it not? We must ensure that decaying fabric is repaired, but we must also provide high-quality school places. It is not enough simply to invest in existing schools which may or may not be providing high-quality education; it is also critical that we provide a gateway for people who are going to raise the quality of state education through innovative new ways of helping children to do better.

[Mr Philip Hollobone (Kettering) (Con)]

17. What steps he has taken to offer guidance to the parents, pupils, governors and teachers of (a) Wilbarston Church of England primary school in Kettering constituency and (b) other schools in England on becoming an academy.

[The Minister of State, Department for Education (Mr Nick Gibb)]

Although Wilbarston Church of England primary school may be interested in becoming an academy, as of Friday no formal application had been received. If and when such an application is made, the Department will provide the school with a named contact to help it through the process. That applies to all schools in England which apply to become academies.

[Mr Hollobone]

Mrs Andrea Cruse, the head teacher of Wilbarston primary school, and Mr Lawrence Dale, the chair of the governors, have requested me to ask the following supplementary question: “What advantages are there for a small, successful primary school which has always enjoyed a productive and beneficial relationship with the local authority in severing those ties to become an academy?”

[Mr Gibb]

There is no need for the severing of any ties with local authorities, and that school is free to continue its good relationship with its local authority. The key advantage of becoming an academy is the professional autonomy that comes with academy status, which is valued by heads and teachers alike. They are free to innovate, and they have control over the element of their budget that is currently spent on their behalf by the local authority.

Oral Answers to Questions

Philip Hollobone Excerpts

Monday 16th January 2012 Commons Chamber

[Tim Loughton]

As I said, many areas have seen some of their spending for youth services cut, but many areas have actually established new smarter partnerships with the voluntary sector, social enterprise and commercial organisations. The neighbouring constituency to the hon. Gentleman’s is a beneficiary of a myplace, with investment of £4.5 million from the Government. That is a hub for lots of varied activities for young people to take advantage of, helping them with careers, training and many other things.

[Mr Philip Hollobone (Kettering) (Con)]

In 2005, when it was Labour-controlled, Northamptonshire county council directly provided its own youth services and managed to reach only 3,000 young people. Now under Conservative control, the council has commissioned its youth services to the voluntary sector; it regularly gets 20,000 young people involved and is one of the authorities with the best value youth services in the country. Will my hon. Friend congratulate the county council on its foresight and good practice?

[Tim Loughton]

I am very grateful to my hon. Friend for mentioning such an example of good practice. Frankly, I do not care who the provider is; it is the way they provide the service and whether they are providing the services that young people want at the time they want them. It is about the quality of the service. They may not be able to do it in Labour-controlled Middlesbrough, but apparently they can in Northamptonshire and I congratulate them on it.