Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Theresa Villiers and Gillian Keegan

Monday 11th December 2023 Commons Chamber

[Theresa Villiers (Chipping Barnet) (Con)]

T9. England has shot up the international rankings in education, but schools in Wales have not. Does that not show that Conservative education reforms are helping kids to thrive in schools in England?

[Gillian Keegan]

Yes. We have to compare and contrast that with Wales, which has the lowest educational standards in the UK. The simple answer to why that is, is that it is run by Labour. Under Labour, our education standards plummeted from eighth to 27th in maths, from seventh to 25th in reading and from fourth to 16th in science. Thanks to the hard work of our teachers and pupils, and the reforms under this Conservative Government, we have rocketed back up the tables to 11th for maths and 13th for reading and science. Every time Labour gets power, education standards fall. The Conservatives are the only ones taking the long-term decisions to deliver a better education for our children.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Theresa Villiers and Gillian Keegan

Monday 12th June 2023 Commons Chamber

[Theresa Villiers (Chipping Barnet) (Con)]

1. What steps she is taking to resolve the industrial dispute with education trade unions.

[The Secretary of State for Education (Gillian Keegan)]

After an intense negotiation with all four trade unions, we made a fair and reasonable offer, which would have been fully funded through £620 million of additional funding, on top of the additional £2 billion already announced for both this year and next—a cash injection that means that by next year we will be funding our schools at the highest level in history, totalling £58.8 billion. Unfortunately, the trade unions rejected our offer. We are in the process of reviewing the independent School Teachers’ Review Body’s recommendation on teacher pay for 2023-24, and we will publish our response in the usual way.

[Theresa Villiers]

I thank the Secretary of State for her answer. One issue in the dispute is recruitment and retention. Recent stats show a record number of teachers—nearly 48,000—entering the profession. That means that in Barnet there are 227 more teachers than in 2010. Does she agree that those encouraging figures are another good reason to call off the dispute and end the disruption to children’s education?

[Gillian Keegan]

I, too, am encouraged by the record numbers entering the teaching profession. We are doing a lot to attract the top talent into teaching through financial incentives totalling £181 million, including bursaries, scholarships and a levelling-up premium in priority areas. We are also delivering on our commitment to raise starting salaries to at least £30,000. We know that there is more to do, but the data shows that the steps we are taking are benefiting children and teachers, in Chipping Barnet and across the country.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Theresa Villiers and Gillian Keegan

Monday 16th January 2023 Commons Chamber

[Gillian Keegan]

I assure the hon. Lady that the Minister for Children, Families and Wellbeing—the Under-Secretary of State, my hon. Friend the Member for East Surrey (Claire Coutinho)—is working actively on the matter. The response will be published soon, and I am sure that my hon. Friend will be happy to discuss further how we will roll that out and implement it.

[Theresa Villiers (Chipping Barnet) (Con)]

8. What steps she is taking to support maintained nursery schools.

Mahsa Amini

Debate between Theresa Villiers and Gillian Keegan

Tuesday 11th October 2022 Commons Chamber

[Theresa Villiers (Chipping Barnet) (Con)]

(Urgent Question): To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs if he will make a statement on what representations he has made to the Iranian authorities about ongoing protests regarding the death of Mahsa Amini.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs (Gillian Keegan)]

The death of Mahsa Amini in Iran was a shocking reminder of the repression faced by women in Iran. The protests across the country that have followed show us that the Iranian people are not satisfied with the path that their Government have taken.

I commend the bravery of ordinary Iranians seeking to exercise their right to peaceful assembly and freedom of expression in the face of appalling police violence. We condemn the Iranian authorities’ crackdown on protesters, journalists and internet freedom: the use of violence in response to the expression of fundamental rights by women or any other members of Iranian society is wholly unjustifiable.

Yesterday, on 10 October, we announced sanctions on senior security and political figures in Iran and the so-called morality police. We have sanctioned the morality police in their entirety, as well as their chief, Mohammed Rostami Cheshmeh Gachi, and the head of the Tehran division, Haj Ahmed Mirzaei. For decades, the morality police have used the threat of detention and violence to control what Iranian women wear and how they behave in public.

The UK is also imposing sanctions on five leading political and security officials in Iran for committing serious human rights violations in suppressing fuel protests in Iran in 2019. The UK maintains sanctions designations against a further 78 individuals and one entity under our Iran human rights sanctions regime. In all, there are more than 200 sanctions designations in place against Iran, including in relation to human rights, nuclear proliferation and terrorism.

[Theresa Villiers]

These protests show that there are thousands of women in Iran who are not prepared to put up with violent human rights abuses. Will the UK Government stand with those brave women as they call for justice, for freedom and for democracy? Will Ministers meet opposition groups? Will they ban the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps? Will they rule out sanctions relief under the joint comprehensive plan of action process?

[Gillian Keegan]

As the Foreign Secretary has said, the protests send a clear message that Iranian people are not satisfied with the path that their Government have taken; Iranian leaders must now listen. Of course, we stand by those people: the use of violence in response to the expression of fundamental rights by women or any other members of Iranian society is wholly unjustifiable. We continue to keep everything under review, and the UK has called for a full and transparent investigation into the shocking death of Mahsa Amini.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Theresa Villiers and Gillian Keegan

Tuesday 23rd November 2021 Commons Chamber

[Gillian Keegan]

There is a carer’s allowance in the UK as well, but in most cases financial incentives are not the main driver for those providing unpaid care. However, we may see a shift towards less intensive caring activities or a reduction in the hours spent caring as people become more eligible for state support and we push through some of the reforms. Charging reforms bring an end to the unpredictability of care costs for care users and will do the same for those who provide unpaid care for them, allowing them to make informed choices. We need to do more to support them in providing respite and day services.

[Theresa Villiers (Chipping Barnet) (Con)]

What action have the Government taken to support the charities and community groups that provide help to unpaid carers, because many of these charities found it very hard to operate and raise funding during the covid shutdown?

[Gillian Keegan]

My right hon. Friend is absolutely right: charities are also a vital part of the network of support for our unpaid carers, and some of them did have to close during the pandemic, so we have been encouraging them to open up now that we can all open up. Additional financial support was provided for the charitable sector to make sure that it could continue its vital services during the pandemic when fundraising activities were very difficult.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Theresa Villiers and Gillian Keegan

Thursday 31st October 2019 Commons Chamber

[Theresa Villiers]

It is worrying to hear the reports of the odour from the site. I understand that an odour suppression system has now been installed in the waste tipping bay and that further engineering works are under way to try to tackle the problem. I can assure the hon. Lady that the Environment Agency continues to take this issue very seriously and is working with the community and the local authority. Earlier this year, it took regulatory action preventing the site from accepting waste until remedial work has been undertaken.

[Gillian Keegan (Chichester) (Con)]

T3. May I add my personal words, Mr Speaker? Thank you for your friendship, your support and your guidance to all new Members as you have helped us to navigate our way through what, at times, feels like a very turbulent Parliament. From my family to yours, I look forward to seeing much more of you in your retirement. It has been a pleasure to serve with you for a couple of years.

[Gillian Keegan]

Thank you very much, too, to Oliver and Freddie. I look forward to seeing very much more of you.

Pagham Harbour in my constituency is one of the best places to see wildlife in the UK, covering 600 hectares of salt marshes, mudflats, reed beds and lagoons. It is an important natural store of carbon and it absorbs up to 310 tonnes per hectare. What steps is my right hon. Friend taking to ensure that carbon-rich natural habitats are protected to improve biodiversity and help us to reach net zero by 2050?

[Theresa Villiers]

Protecting nature is a key part of the Environment Bill. It supports the nature recovery network envisaged by our 25-year environment plan. I pay tribute to my hon. Friend for the work that she has done in relation to this wonderful site. She is right to say that nature-based solutions, with natural storage of carbon in such locations, will form a key part of becoming a net-zero economy.