Childcare Bill [Lords]

Debate between Sam Gyimah and Lindsay Hoyle

Wednesday 25th November 2015 Commons Chamber

[Mr Gyimah]

Mr Deputy Speaker, this is a novel—

[Mr Deputy Speaker (Mr Lindsay Hoyle)]

Order. I am sorry. You are winding up the debate, so you will have a chance to come back to the hon. Lady, but I am sure that she will give way, as she has been very generous so far. At this moment though she has given way to Helen Goodman.

Compulsory Emergency First Aid Education (State-funded Secondary Schools) Bill

Debate between Sam Gyimah and Lindsay Hoyle

Friday 20th November 2015 Commons Chamber

[Mr Gyimah]

I do want to make some progress. We want the new national curriculum to last, rather than having to be updated every few years. The new national curriculum is based on a body of essential knowledge that children should be expected to acquire in key subjects during the course of their school career. It embodies for all children their cultural and scientific inheritance, enhances their understanding of the world around them, and exposes them to the best that has been thought and written. That essential knowledge should not change significantly over time.

It has somehow been routine for Education Ministers to come to this place to make the case against the inclusion of a particular new requirement in the national curriculum. Such proposals, like the one in this Bill, are often supported by a persuasive argument, but their sheer number means that I start from a position of caution. I have to read out some of the topics that have been suggested for inclusion in order to make Members aware of the sheer burdens that people wish to be imposed on the national curriculum. The topics include: understanding the causes and issues around homelessness; teaching children about their rights in the context of forced marriage; teaching against violence; understanding transgender issues; knowledge about the health dangers of tobacco; understanding animal welfare; anti-bullying, including online bullying; the risks and dangers of gambling; promoting gender equality; knowledge about cancer and how to cope when cancer affects your life; knowledge of the symptoms of brain tumours in young people; fire and road safety, as was mentioned by my hon. Friend the Member for Colchester (Will Quince); positive body image; the UN declaration on the rights of the child; the dangers of carbon monoxide; gardening; knife crime—

[Mr Deputy Speaker (Mr Lindsay Hoyle)]

Order. I must say to the Minister that he cannot read out a telephone book of examples. He needs to try to get to the point we are dealing with.

[Wes Streeting]

Why is he talking out the Bill?

[Mr Gyimah]

I am not talking out the Bill, as the hon. Gentleman suggests from a sedentary position. I think it is insulting to this House, which is a bastion of free speech and the cradle of democracy, that people should not be able to develop their arguments fully.

[Mr Deputy Speaker]

Order. I hope you are not suggesting that I am trying to stop a democratic speech.

[Mr Gyimah]

Not you, Mr Deputy Speaker. I am talking about the hon. Gentleman. As I was saying, mindfulness; parenting; the theory of knowledge; fertility; map reading skills; encouraging children—

--- Later in debate ---

[Mr Deputy Speaker]

Order. I think we have all got the examples—I don’t need the rest of the telephone book to be read out! Please, let’s get back to the debate. You have got plenty of pages with you there, just pick a different one.

[Mr Gyimah]

I am glad that you have grasped the point so quickly, Mr Deputy Speaker. Some of those proposals are niche, to say the least, but when made they all have a strong and persuasive argument behind them, with support from a strong campaign. If we were to include each of them in the national curriculum, we would have to ask what they displace, how we account for the time and how things develop. If the Government were to tell schools that they should teach about the dangers of tobacco, about gardening and about road safety along with every one of the issues that I listed earlier, we would be prescribing a very long list of specific content that should be covered, which would be unproductive. It could lead to a tick-box approach, as my hon. Friend the Member for Newark (Robert Jenrick) mentioned, that does not properly address the most important issues.

Electoral Registration

Debate between Sam Gyimah and Lindsay Hoyle

Wednesday 4th February 2015 Commons Chamber

[Mr Kevan Jones]

On a point of order, Mr Deputy Speaker. I am listening carefully to the rubbish the Minister is talking. It is quite embarrassing. We are discussing electoral registration, not the Government’s economic record, so could we get the Minister back on to the subject?

[Mr Deputy Speaker (Mr Lindsay Hoyle)]

That is not a point of order.

[Mr Gyimah]

I am making the point that the Opposition are scaremongering, rather—[Interruption.]

[Mr Deputy Speaker]

Order.

[Mr Deputy Speaker]

Just a second. The Minister was giving way to me, not you, Mr Twigg. I say to hon. Members that we have very little time, and shouting down the Minister does not help anybody trying to listen to the debate. Let us listen and show some courtesy to all Members.

[Mr Gyimah]

The Opposition said that our plan to ensure universities were properly funded would lead to fewer students going to university, particularly from disadvantaged backgrounds. We now have record numbers of students, including from disadvantaged backgrounds, attending university. With this record, it is no surprise that the Opposition are seeking to create fear and uncertainty where there should be none.

[Mr Gyimah]

In practice, you either believe in IER, or you do not. Your motion talks about block registration—[Interruption.]—which is a deviation from the principle of IER—

[Mr Deputy Speaker]

Order. I am not responsible for the motion. I have let one or two “yous” go, but now I feel I am being brought into this debate. I also say to Members that the Minister is giving examples as he sees fit. It might not suit certain Members, but it is up to the Minister to make his speech as he wishes, and he is completely in order.

[Mr Gyimah]

Let me give the facts on the electoral register. The Electoral Commission’s research shows that, in 2000, 3 million people were missing from the register. In 2011, that figure had risen to an estimated 7.5 million. This is against a backdrop of an increasing population. Since 2011, the drop in registration figures has stabilised. For the 13 years Labour was in power, the state of the register deteriorated, and very little was done about it.

Repeal of the Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011

Debate between Sam Gyimah and Lindsay Hoyle

Thursday 23rd October 2014 Commons Chamber

[Mr Gyimah]

I thank my right hon. Friend for that point, which comes as no surprise to me. He would agree that when we got into government we had to fix an almighty mess and rectify a big mistake—the last Labour Government—hence the legislation that we have had to pass in this Parliament.

[Mr Deputy Speaker (Mr Lindsay Hoyle)]

For up to two minutes, I call Sir Edward Leigh.