Advisory Committee on Business Appointments/Ministerial Code

Debate between Wes Streeting and John Bercow

Monday 20th March 2017 Commons Chamber

[Wes Streeting (Ilford North) (Lab)]

At the risk of upsetting the new editor of my city’s newspaper, may I point out that there is an air of complete unreality around some of this afternoon’s exchanges. The public’s trust in both politicians and the media has never been so low, so what does it do to that trust if there is the idea that politicians can have a number of roles, including editing a newspaper? In an era of fake news, what does it do for the reputation of the media to have someone editing a newspaper who has no qualifications to do so? My hon. Friend the Member for Kingston upon Hull North (Diana Johnson) asked about apprenticeship funding during Question Time. As a London MP, I want apprenticeship funding in London, as would the editor of my local newspaper, but what would the right hon. Member for Tatton (Mr Osborne) think?

[Mr Speaker]

Order. We cannot ask Ministers to speculate about what individual hon. or right hon. Members might think.

[Wes Streeting]

That is the conflict right there.

Higher Education and Research Bill

Debate between Wes Streeting and John Bercow

3rd reading: House of Commons & Legislative Grand Committee: House of Commons & Report stage: House of Commons
Monday 21st November 2016 Commons Chamber

[Wes Streeting]

I beg to move, That the clause be read a Second time.

[Mr Speaker]

With this it will be convenient to discuss the following:

New clause 3—Student loans: regulation—

“(1) Any loan granted under section 22(1) of the Teaching and Higher Education Act 1998, (“student loans”) irrespective of the date on which the loan was granted, shall be regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.

(2) Any person responsible for arranging, administering or managing, or offering or agreeing to manage, student loans shall be regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.”

New clause 5—Revocation of the Education (Student Support) (Amendment) Regulations 2015—

“The Education (Student Support) (Amendment) Regulations 2015 (Statutory Instrument No. 1951/ 2015) are revoked.”

This new clause would revoke the Education (Student Support) (Amendment) Regulations 2015, which moved support for students from a system of maintenance grants to loans.

New clause 6—Higher Education loans: restrictions on modification of repayment conditions—

“(1) A loan made by the Secretary of State to eligible students in connection with their undertaking a higher education course or further education course under the Teaching and Higher Education Act 1998 shall—

(a) not be subject to changes in repayment conditions retroactively without agreement from both Houses of Parliament;

(b) not be subject to changes in repayment conditions in the event of the loan being sold to private concerns, unless these changes are made to all loans, in the manner prescribed above;

(c) be subject to beneficial changes, principally to the repayment threshold, in line with average earnings.

(2) In section 8 of the Sale of Student Loans Act 2008, for subsection (1) substitute—

‘(1) Loans made in accordance with regulations under section 22 of the Teaching and Higher Education Act 1998 (c. 30) are to be regulated by the Consumer Credit Act 1974 (c. 39).’”

This new clause would ensure no retroactive changes could be made to student loan repayment conditions without agreement from both Houses of Parliament.

New clause 8—Access to support for students recognised as needing protection—

“(1) Within six months from the day on which this Act comes into force, the Secretary of State must, by regulations made under the Higher Education Act 2004 and the Teaching and Higher Education Act 1998,make provision for financial support for higher education courses offered to students with certain immigration statuses.

(2) The regulations specified in sub-section (1) must include, but shall not be restricted to—

(a) provision for persons who have been brought to the UK under the Syrian Vulnerable Persons Relocation Scheme, or any equivalent scheme, and their family members to access student loans on the same basis as refugees recognised in-country, and

(b) provision for persons who have claimed asylum and been granted a form of leave to remain in the UK to be eligible for—

(i) home fees for a higher education course if they have been ordinarily resident in the United Kingdom and Islands since being granted leave, and

(ii) student loans for a higher education course, if—

(a) they have been ordinarily resident in the United Kingdom and Islands since being granted leave, and

(b) are ordinarily resident in the United Kingdom and Islands on the first day of the first academic term of that course.

(3) In this section—

‘home fees’ means fees for a higher education course charged to persons considered as ‘qualifying persons’ under regulations made under the Higher Education Act 2004;

‘student loans’ means loans made to students in connection with their undertaking of a higher education course under the Teaching and Higher Education Act 1998.”

This new clause would allow all refugees resettled to the UK, as well as people seeking asylum granted forms of leave other than refugee status, to access student finance and home fees.

New clause 10—Student support: requirement to assess repayment terms—

“(1) The Teaching and Higher Education Act 1998 is amended as follows.

(2) In Section 22 (new arrangements for giving financial support to students)—

(a) in subsection (3)(b), after “and” insert “subject to subsection (3A)”

(b) after subsection (3) insert—

‘(3A) Regulations under subsection (3)(b) must include a level of earnings below which a person shall not be required to make repayments of such a loan.’

(3) After Section 22 insert—

‘(22A) Duty to assess consumer prices in determining terms for loan repayments

(1) In relation to regulations made under section 22(3A) the Secretary of State must, for each tax year, review UK consumer price inflation for the period since the last review under this sub-section.

(2) If the review concludes that consumer prices for the previous tax year have increased, the Secretary of State shall, by order, amend the level of earnings specified in regulations made under sub-section 22(3A) by the same percentage increase as consumer price inflation determined under sub-section (1).

(3) If the Secretary of State is not required to make an order under this section, the Secretary of State shall lay before each House of Parliament a report explaining the reasons for arriving at that determination.

(4) For the purpose of this section—

‘consumer prices’ means the Consumer Price Index;

‘consumer price inflation’ refers to the annual assessment made by the Office for National Statistics in the UK consumer price inflation Statistical bulletin.’”

Government amendments 14 to 16 and 20.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Wes Streeting and John Bercow

Wednesday 15th June 2016 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

The Minister is offering serious thoughts in a cerebral manner on a very important topic, the National Citizen Service. I think he deserves a more attentive audience.

[Wes Streeting (Ilford North) (Lab)]

Given the surge in voter registration, how can the Minister possibly justify using such woefully inaccurate figures to redraw the electoral map of the United Kingdom?

Schools White Paper

Debate between Wes Streeting and John Bercow

Wednesday 13th April 2016 Commons Chamber

[Wes Streeting (Ilford North) (Lab)]

I declare an interest as a councillor in the London borough of Redbridge, a borough that has a high level of retention of schools as part of the local authority family, and also an excellent and constructive relationship with the free schools, academies, grammar schools and independent schools that make up the rich diversity of education in our borough.

This Government have got their priorities on education very badly wrong. When they should be focusing on school standards, they are focusing on structures, without any focus whatsoever on evidence. It has been striking that so few Government Members have stood up in support of the Government’s proposals. We have heard many excellent speeches against those proposals and against the outrageous attack on parent choice and voice. I will not single them out, because being called a red Tory is a cross that no one should have to bear.

The Secretary of State should have been at the Dispatch Box today talking about the first real-terms cut in school budgets since the 1990s. She should have been talking about how she is going to deal with the crisis in teacher recruitment and retention that is seeing many excellent teachers leave the profession because of the stress of their workload and also because of the offence caused by people in this place and in Whitehall continuing to tell professionals how to do their job.

Our job is to make sure that every child gets the best start in life, and to ensure that the accountability mechanisms are in place to assure ourselves that that is the case, and, if it is not, to intervene. What justification can there be for the fact that the majority of schools that will be affected by the policy are primary schools, more than 80% of which are already good or outstanding? Why are we focusing on excellence when we should be focusing on underperformance?

Why is the Secretary of State not taking advice from her own chief inspector of schools who, after an inspection of seven multi-academy trusts, highlighted serious weaknesses, sometimes the same as in the worst performing local authorities and often accompanied by the same excuses? Conversion to academies and placing schools in the hands of multi-academy trusts is not a panacea or a magic wand. We should follow the evidence when setting education policy.

That is my fundamental problem with the White Paper—it does not follow the evidence. There is no evidence that making a school an academy will somehow make it better. Yes, we need more freedom for schools and more trust in professionals. We need to follow the example that we saw under the Labour Government. Contrary to what the hon. Member for Fareham (Suella Fernandes) said, I am proud of what the Labour Government delivered on education. I am a product of it. I went to school in London when London schools were left to sink. Instead, we had the London Challenge, Excellence in Cities and a raft of measures that came through funding and also through focus on outstanding teaching and outstanding leadership. That is what the Secretary of State should be talking about today. Instead, she has a dogmatic, ridiculous White Paper that will not deliver what she says it will.

[Mr Speaker]

I call Rachael Maskell to speak until 6.44.

Business of the House

Debate between Wes Streeting and John Bercow

Thursday 5th November 2015 Commons Chamber

[Wes Streeting]

On a point of order, Mr Speaker.

[Mr Speaker]

Points of order normally come after statements, but I think the hon. Gentleman wants to make a point of order that relates specifically to something that was said during business questions, so I will exercise my discretion on this occasion.

[Wes Streeting]

I want to make my point of order before the Leader of the House scurries away. In response to my perfectly reasonable question about the “Sikh Lives Matter” protest, he seemed to make an unrelated remark about the incitement of racial hatred. I wonder if it would be possible for him to clarify whether he was referring to me in relation to such incitement, to my constituent, or to the people who attended the protest, because his response seemed to me—and, I think, to others—completely unrelated to my question.

[Mr Speaker]

The hon. Gentleman has put his point on the record. Fair enough.

Redcar Coke Ovens

Debate between Wes Streeting and John Bercow

Tuesday 13th October 2015 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

Order. The hon. Member for Blyth Valley (Mr Campbell) must calm himself. I am sure he wishes to hear his colleague, Mr Wes Streeting.

[Wes Streeting (Ilford North) (Lab)]

The fate of the Redcar steel industry and the effect on communities on Teesside demonstrate the consequences of a hands-off economic policy and the lack of an industrial strategy. May I press the Minister on the consequences for people on Teesside? She has been asked again and again by colleagues about the statutory redundancy payments they will receive. The hand-to-mouth existence of the plant she describes is nothing next to the hands-to-mouth existence that those people now face. Will she give an assurance that she will consider what more the Government can do to make sure that people receive more than the statutory redundancy package?

Child Poverty

Debate between Wes Streeting and John Bercow

Thursday 25th June 2015 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

Order. I am going to try to accommodate the remaining interested colleagues, but they need to be extremely brief. I know that the Secretary of State will follow suit.

[Wes Streeting (Ilford North) (Lab)]

The Secretary of State will find support on the Labour Benches if he champions a higher minimum wage and asks employers to pay the living wage. Is it not the case, however, that getting every employer to pay the living wage will take considerable time, whereas his Government are looking to cut tax credits for people who are in work and on poverty pay overnight?