Oral Answers to Questions

Stephen Morgan Excerpts

Monday 4th November 2024 Commons Chamber

[Afzal Khan (Manchester Rusholme) (Lab)]

2. What steps she is taking to provide preventive education for schoolchildren about knife crime.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Education (Stephen Morgan)]

What schools teach can play an important part, alongside wider activity, in the Government’s safer streets mission and tackling knife crime. Relationships, sex and health education includes content on situations that lead to young people carrying knives, including criminal exploitation, county lines operations and grooming relationships. We are reviewing the content to ensure that it remains relevant and protects children’s wellbeing.

[Afzal Khan]

Greater Manchester continues to experience some of the highest rates of knife violence in the country, with more than 10,000 recorded incidents since 2020. Organisations such as the Greater Manchester violence reduction unit have been doing excellent work in early prevention by engaging children and young people through community-led projects, including theatre productions. Given the importance of early community-based intervention, does the Minister agree that providing support for such initiatives is important in tackling knife violence?

[Stephen Morgan]

I thank my hon. Friend for raising such an important topic and highlighting the good work of the Greater Manchester violence reduction unit. As well as the work on the RSHE curriculum, the Government will create a new young futures programme, intervening early to stop young people being drawn into crime through preventive action and learning from best practice across the country. It is vital that we have a system that can identify and support those young people who need it most, be they victims or potential perpetrators.

[Wera Hobhouse (Bath) (LD)]

Preventive education is critical, and not just when it comes to knife crime. A recent report from the University of Bath highlighted that one in six vapes confiscated in school contains the synthetic drug Spice, a highly addictive drug that condemns young people—in particular, vulnerable young people—to a life of crime and addiction. Will the Secretary of State agree to a special educational programme to address the alarming issue of Spice-spiked vapes in schools?

[Stephen Morgan]

We want to make sure that every school and college across our country is a safe environment for children to learn. I am happy to meet the hon. Member to understand those issues in more detail.

[Ian Lavery (Blyth and Ashington) (Lab)]

3. What steps she plans to take to improve the pay, terms and conditions of teaching assistants and support staff.

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[Jen Craft (Thurrock) (Lab)]

7. What steps she is taking to make childcare more accessible.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Education (Stephen Morgan)]

Ensuring that parents have access to affordable and high-quality childcare is a priority for this Government. We will focus on greater opportunities for every family to access early education, and on greater opportunities for children to thrive and develop. As an initial step, we have announced the bidding round for the first 300 school-based nurseries from next September.

[Jen Craft]

Many early years providers struggle to meet the needs of children with SEND. Lack of funds, lack of training and lack of specialist staff often mean that those that do provide a good or excellent service quickly become over-subscribed. What steps is the Department taking to reassure parents and carers of children with SEND that those children will have access to the childcare or early years provision in their areas that meets their needs?

[Stephen Morgan]

We are helping members of the workforce to develop the skills and confidence that will enable them to work effectively with children with SEND, and reviewing early years funding arrangements to ensure that they meet the needs of those children. I should be happy to meet my hon. Friend or visit her constituency to understand the issues that her local providers are facing.

[Dr Luke Evans (Hinckley and Bosworth) (Con)]

Martin Lewis has long campaigned for changes in childcare, in particular because the way in which it is set up can damage single parents. There is an obvious cliff edge. The last Government proposed a consultation on thresholds for households being taken as one, but this Government seem to have scrapped that in the Budget. Will Ministers be speaking to the Treasury to decide how they will overcome this cliff edge that affects so many single parents?

[Stephen Morgan]

I thank the hon. Member for his question. We have a child-centred Government, and early years is a priority for the Secretary of State. We will focus on reforming the childcare system to ensure that it is fit for purpose for the future and of high quality for all young people. We are taking the sector’s concerns seriously, and we want to ensure there is a sustainable system going forward.

[Sarah Smith (Hyndburn) (Lab)]

8. What recent assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the system for supporting children with special educational needs and disabilities.

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[Mr Speaker]

Order. These are topical questions. I have to get everybody in who has not got in before. You have got in once already, so don’t be greedy.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Education (Stephen Morgan)]

We are committed to improving school buildings, where we want our children to achieve and thrive, but that will not be a quick fix. Bury council has been awarded £1.8 million for the financial year to improve its school buildings, including The Derby high school. Last week, this Government increased next year’s capital allocation for England to £2.1 billion, some £300 million more than last year. I will, of course, be happy to meet with my hon. Friend—

[Mr Speaker]

Order. Obviously, set-up questions have very long answers. We should be able to have shorter questions and answers.

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[Charlie Dewhirst (Bridlington and The Wolds) (Con)]

T6. The teachers and staff at Hornsea school and language college do a fantastic job for their 1,300 pupils, including 90 with SEND, but they do so in crumbling buildings with leaking roofs. With the news in last week’s Budget that this Government will continue the Conservative’s school rebuilding programme, will the Secretary of State prioritise Hornsea school?

[Stephen Morgan]

I note the hon. Member’s point on that specific college. As he will know, the Chancellor committed £1.4 billion at the Budget to drive the delivery of the current school rebuilding programme for next year. Over the coming weeks and months, we will work with trusts and local authorities to identify which schools will be in scope.

[Jayne Kirkham (Truro and Falmouth) (Lab/Co-op)]

T8. My constituency has some brilliant further education colleges and apprenticeship schemes, but some students struggle, retaking GCSE and functional skills maths and English over and over again. Will the Minister consider how the process could be done better, so that those students do not end up feeling like a failure as they retake and retake?

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[Chris Hinchliff (North East Hertfordshire) (Lab)]

T10. Many towns and villages across my constituency have experienced rapid population growth in recent years, but education opportunities have not kept pace, so will the Minister meet me to discuss the specific investment needed to expand school places for my constituency’s growing population?

[Stephen Morgan]

I am very happy to meet my hon. Friend to discuss the matter.

[Mr Speaker]

I call Stuart Andrew.

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[Alicia Kearns (Rutland and Stamford) (Con)]

Helen Blythe from Stamford has campaigned courageously for improvements to allergy safety since her son Benedict died following a severe allergic reaction at school in 2021. Will the Minister commit to meet me to discuss introducing a mandatory requirement for all schools to have a specific allergy and anaphylaxis plan, and for every school to have adrenaline auto-injectors?

[Stephen Morgan]

I met Helen Blythe last week, and I will happily meet the hon. Member to take forward her concerns.

[Tom Rutland (East Worthing and Shoreham) (Lab)]

I thank the Minister for working with Treasury colleagues to secure important additional funding to rebuild schools in last week’s Budget. Will he meet me to discuss the serious repair issues facing St Nicolas and St Mary primary school in my constituency, which are hampering children’s ability to thrive?

[Stephen Morgan]

We are proud of the investment that we are making in school buildings. I would be delighted not only to meet my hon. Friend but to visit his constituency.

[Mr Richard Holden (Basildon and Billericay) (Con)]

Will the Secretary of State acknowledge, as the right hon. Baroness Smith of Basildon has in the other place, that concerns around freedom of speech and academic freedom in our universities are not a botched culture war but a serious matter that needs to be addressed properly?