Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Tim Loughton and Michael Fallon

Thursday 16th January 2014 Commons Chamber

[Michael Fallon]

As I said earlier in response to my hon. Friend the Member for Truro and Falmouth (Sarah Newton), we published the final strike prices for both tidal and wave in December. We continue to take an interest in that particular project, which, of course, has to be commercially sustainable. I am sure that those behind the project are aware of what they have to do to bring it to the market.

[Tim Loughton (East Worthing and Shoreham) (Con)]

Last week a constituent came to my surgery complaining of being bombarded with Government literature urging him to apply for the warm home discount and quoting the Secretary of State assuring the Select Committee that it was available to all pensioners, but, because my constituent is in sheltered accommodation and pays his energy bills via his housing association, he has been told that he does not qualify. Is the Secretary of State aware of this anomaly and is anything being done about it?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Tim Loughton and Michael Fallon

Monday 17th October 2011 Commons Chamber

[Michael Fallon (Sevenoaks) (Con)]

17. Whether academies are able to move in-service training days to dates outside term time.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Education (Tim Loughton)]

Academies are able to allocate time for teachers’ learning and development, including training days, at the most suitable time for the academy and its staff, including outside an academy’s published term time.

[Michael Fallon]

Given the inconvenience to some parents when in-service training days are simply tacked on to the half-term holiday, does my hon. Friend agree that the evolution of academies and free schools provides an opportunity to see how we can better match the training needs of teachers to the school year?

[Tim Loughton]

My hon. Friend makes a very good point. Of course, one advantage of academies is the flexibility that they can offer in training their teaching staff. Of course, that is also an advantage for the pupils and their parents, who may have to make arrangements for child care when training days are taken during term time. That flexibility is available to academies, and I hope that it will benefit everybody.