Oral Answers to Questions Debate

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Department: HM Treasury

Oral Answers to Questions

Wera Hobhouse Excerpts
Tuesday 11th February 2020

(4 years, 9 months ago)

Commons Chamber
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Sajid Javid Portrait Sajid Javid
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I understand my hon. Friend’s concerns and he is right to raise this. He will be pleased that Highways England is conducting a supplementary consultation on the lower Thames crossing to make sure that any benefits are maximised. The consultation will close on 25 March, and I will then look at it carefully. I would encourage him to have his say.

Wera Hobhouse Portrait Wera Hobhouse (Bath) (LD)
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As a former teacher, I know that a good education is a key driver to economic opportunities for young people, but sixth forms have been heavily damaged by years of under-investment. Will the Chancellor commit to implementing the recent recommendation from the Education Committee and Ofsted to raise the rate of funding per pupil to at least £4,760 in next month’s Budget?

Rishi Sunak Portrait Rishi Sunak
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Post-16 education and skills are a priority for the Chancellor and the Government. I am pleased to say that the recent spending round delivers a £400 million increase in funding for post-16 education, which makes it the fastest rise in a decade and means that the per pupil base rate that the hon. Lady mentions will go up faster than the schools total.