Industrial Dispute Resolution Theresa Villiers (Chipping Barnet)
(Con) 1. What steps she is taking to resolve the industrial dispute
with education trade unions. (905300) 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
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Industrial Dispute Resolution
(Chipping Barnet)
(Con)
1. What steps she is taking to resolve the industrial dispute
with education trade unions. (905300)
The Secretary of State for Education ()
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.
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?
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.
(Kingston upon Hull West and
Hessle) (Lab)
It is six weeks until the end of the summer term and headteachers
are desperately trying to budget. They need the STRB proposals on
pay now, as well as information on how they will be funded. The
release of that information could prevent all the strikes, which
we know will damage the education of so many. When will
headteachers have the information they desperately need,
including to help to retain some of the excellent teachers we
keep losing?
This is the same process we follow every year. We take the
independent pay review body’s recommendations seriously, are
considering the report and will publish in due course, just as we
do every year.
(Stoke-on-Trent North)
(Con)
I met some National Education
Union reps in my office for an hour and a half last week,
and they were shocked to hear that I was going to say this to the
House today. If the STRB has recommended that teachers should get
a 6.5% pay rise—it was meant to report in May, something I signed
off when I was in the Department—they should be given that pay
rise. The Minister will rightly ask where that money is going to
come from. I say we take it out of the foreign aid budget, year
in, year out.
Following the union’s rejection of the Government’s fair,
reasonable and funded offer, the report has been submitted by the
independent STRB. I will not comment on speculation or leaks, or
indeed on funding, but we will consider the recommendations and
publish our response in due course.
(Glenrothes) (SNP)
The Scottish Government did not stonewall the unions and have not
claimed that the unions are responsible for all our social ills.
The Scottish Government engaged constructively with unions, in
education and elsewhere in the public sector, and have agreed a
pay deal that means that Scottish teacher salaries will increase
by 14.6%—I will say that again: 14.6%—by January next year. In
this tale of two Governments, which Government can teachers trust
to look after their interests?
Pay awards for this year needed to strike a careful balance
between recognising the vital importance of teachers and the work
they do, and being affordable and not exacerbating inflation. We
have taken that very seriously. We also take standards seriously,
and I am delighted that the standards in England are continuing
to rise. The question with teachers’ pay rises is always: are
they funded? I am aware that the Scottish Government have had to
take the funding from other places, including skills and higher
education.
Mr Speaker
I call the shadow Secretary of State.
(Houghton and Sunderland
South) (Lab)
We were all reminded today that the Secretary of State is already
keen to move on, yet parents know that it is her ongoing failure
to resolve the disputes that is damaging our children’s
education. She told us to wait for the independent pay review
body’s recommendations. Those have been made and now she refuses
to publish them. Will she come clean, allow headteachers to plan
for September and publish the recommendations today?
I assure the hon. Lady that I have no intention of moving on—I am
sure she will be delighted to hear that. This is the same process
that we go through every year. I take the independent teachers
review body very seriously. That is why, on my very first day in
this job, when I had a letter from all the teaching unions asking
for an additional £2 billion to fund the increase for last year
that the STRB had recommended, which was much higher than the 3%
that schools had budgeted, I took it seriously and got that extra
funding. That takes time. I have just received the report. We are
considering the recommendations and we will definitely publish it
within the same sort of timeframes that we usually publish
it.
Financial Support for Students
(Motherwell and Wishaw)
(SNP)
2. Whether she has had recent discussions with her counterparts
in the devolved Administrations on financial support for (a)
school and (b) higher education students in the context of
increases in the cost of living. (905302)
The Secretary of State for Education ()
This is a timely question, as just last Thursday I met
representatives from across the UK to discuss that very topic. In
England, we have put in place significant support to help
students and families alike with the cost of living. This year
alone, the Government will spend around £37 billion on cost of
living support. We provide free school meals to more than one
third of children in education and we have boosted our student
premium this year, spending £276 million.
Expanding free school meals to all children in universal credit
households is not controversial. New data from the Food
Foundation shows that 80% of the English general public support
it. The Scottish Government have already committed to providing
universal free school meals for all primary children. Why is the
Secretary of State’s Department fuelling the poverty cycle and
failing to give deprived children the very best start in
life?
I take my role of giving children the very best start in life
incredibly seriously. This Government spend more than £1 billion
annually delivering free school meals to pupils in schools. More
than one third of pupils in schools in England receive a free
meal, which, incidentally, compares with one sixth under Labour
in 2010. We must also ensure that students are supported in
school holidays; that is why we have introduced the holiday
activities and food programme.
(Bexleyheath and Crayford)
(Con)
I welcomed my right hon. Friend’s announcement in January that
tuition fees would be frozen for the sixth year in a row. That is
welcome news for students and the country. Does she agree that
that will deliver better value for students and rightly keep down
the cost of higher education across the United Kingdom?
We are always committed to ensuring that students get good value
for money, that they have a valuable experience at university and
that they get the qualifications they need for the future. In
addition to keeping tuition fees flat, we have introduced and
boosted degree apprenticeships—as my right hon. Friend knows, I
am a huge fan of those—where, if people want to earn and learn,
they can get their degrees paid for by their apprenticeship.
Local Business Needs: Skills Development
(Southport) (Con)
3. What steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to support
the development of skills in communities that meet local business
needs. (905303)
Sir (Rochford and Southend
East) (Con)
12. What steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to support
the development of skills in communities that meet local business
needs. (905314)
The Secretary of State for Education ()
I am delighted that we will be rolling out the local skills
improvement plans from this summer. The LSIPs will put local
employers at the heart of developing skills provision to meet the
needs of their businesses, ensuring that people get the right
skills to get good local jobs. In my own Chichester constituency,
the Sussex LSIP is working to meet the needs of many sectors,
including our horticultural industry, worth £1 billion a year to
the local economy. Other hon. Members in rural seats will
understand the recruitment challenges facing agrifood businesses.
Our skills plan will bring together providers such as colleges to
create more opportunities for people to get the skills businesses
need, and that will be going on across the country.
My Southport constituency has a unique seaside heritage and vital
industry support. Can my right hon. Friend elaborate on how those
steps will specifically support skills in the sectors of
hospitality, tourism and coastal conservation?
I know my hon. Friend is doing a lot to support businesses in our
great seaside towns. We are increasing collaboration with
colleges, employers and the chamber of commerce. The plan has
been informed by hundreds of local businesses such as Lattimer,
Access Point, EFT Construction, Bulldog Products and Stormspell.
The visitor economy has been identified as a priority for the
city region, with actions being taken to establish a working
group to develop basic skills courses and to increase off-season
study and training, management apprenticeships and access to work
placements for students in and around the area.
Sir
The seaside will be grateful for that excellent response. Denise
Rossiter, chief executive officer of Essex chambers of commerce,
is working with local businesses such as Adventure Island to come
together and deliver a local skills improvement plan that will
help my seaside town to deliver a pipeline of talent for all
sectors, including digitech, engineering and manufacturing. That
will drive the local economy. Will the Secretary of State support
the funding bid for that great work and the great city of
Southend, and may I invite her to Adventure Island?
Mr Speaker
I hope that’s in Southend.
That sounds like too good an invitation to miss. I thank my hon.
Friend for being such a champion for skills development in
Rochford and Southend East. I know that many local employers,
including Essex & Suffolk Water, Rose Builders, Ground
Control, DP World London Gateway, Adventure Island and
Constellation Marketing, are working with the Essex chambers of
commerce and South Essex College to steer the LSIP. Many
businesses up and down the country will benefit from our £165
million local skills improvement fund that providers, including
South Essex College, will apply for. I look forward to receiving
the proposal for the Essex, Southend and Thurrock area.
(Denton and Reddish)
(Lab)
The reality is that almost 4 million fewer adults have taken part
in learning since 2010, there are 200,000 fewer apprenticeship
starts over the last decade, and part-time undergraduate student
numbers have fallen by 50%. What is the Secretary of State doing
to reverse the decade of decline in skills and training
opportunities that is making Britain poorer?
What I am doing is ensuring that the quality is better. It is
very easy to chase numbers and targets. The Labour Government did
that a lot—some of the things in which they used to invest for
skills were not of any value at all, either to the individual or
to a single business in this country. We are ensuring that we
work closely with employers. We have worked with them to design
the T-levels qualification. We have worked with 5,000 of them to
build the apprenticeship standards. We have had 5.4 million
apprenticeship starts since 2010, and all of them are of a high
quality that will give people the skills they need to get the
jobs they want.
(Westmorland and Lonsdale) (LD)
The hospitality and tourism industry is the biggest employer in
Cumbria and is worth £3.5 billion to the economy every year. Yet
those businesses are suffering a huge staffing crisis: 63% of
them are operating below capacity because they cannot find enough
staff. One solution is to recruit and train our own young people
into the industry, and a T-level would surely be one way of doing
that, but sadly, the Secretary of State’s Government have decided
to kick the catering T-level into the long grass. Will she
rethink that and bring it back front and centre of her campaign
to ensure that young people get into that important industry with
the right qualifications?
I agree with the hon. Gentleman that that is a vital industry,
not just in areas of tourism but across the country. We have many
full-time hospitality and catering courses at various levels and
lots of apprenticeships as well. We will bring forward and look
at T-levels and at what more we need in that area, and
potentially at management in the sector as well; I know that
businesses are looking for more skills in that.
Mr Speaker
We come to the shadow Minister.
(Chesterfield) (Lab)
The Secretary of State says that she is listening to businesses,
but if she were, she would hear that Labour’s plan to devolve
adult education budgets to local communities and directly elected
Mayors, and to change the apprenticeship levy into a more
flexible growth and skills levy, has won widespread support from
across the business community. Why is she so determined to stand
against what employers say they want, and to hold learners,
employers and our economy back?
That is a good question. The hon. Gentleman is right that
employers have often asked for that flexibility in the levy. I do
not think that anybody in this House doubts my support for
apprenticeships—they were my golden ticket and, I am convinced,
are a very good way into the workplace. Labour Members have said
that they want to build flexibilities into the levy. The problem
with their calculations is that, at this moment, we are spending
99.6% of the levy on apprentices. Their policy is based on levy
payer spend, not levy payer budget. That means that the biggest
losers from the policy would be small and medium-sized businesses
and about half of current apprentices.
Children with Special Educational Needs
(Strangford) (DUP)
4. What recent discussions she has had with her counterparts in
the devolved Administrations on support for children with special
educational needs. (905304)
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Education ()
The hon. Gentleman will be aware that we published the special
educational needs and disabilities and alternative provision
improvement plan in March this year. Although the plan applies
only to England, we shared a pre-publication draft with the
devolved Administrations to build understanding of our
proposals.
I thank the Minister for her response and for her interest in
exchanging such ideas with Northern Ireland. Whether we are on
the United Kingdom mainland or in Northern Ireland, money is
under pressure. As someone who has been an elected representative
in local government, in the council, as a Member of the
Legislative Assembly and as a Member of Parliament, I am very
aware that many more people seem to have special educational
needs. When people have to wait up to seven months for an
assessment, the cut in money is detrimental. Will the Minister
share the ideas from the mainland here in the UK with the
Department of Education back home? There are many ideas and
thoughts on classroom assistants on the mainland, and it would be
good to exchange those ideas and thoughts with the Assembly in
Northern Ireland.
I know that the hon. Gentleman is a passionate campaigner on such
issues. He will know that education is devolved, but Ministers
engage with our counterparts through the UK Education Ministers
Council, and a session was held just last week, on 8 June.
Children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities
(Oldham East and
Saddleworth) (Lab)
5. What steps she is taking to help improve support for children
with special educational needs and disabilities and their
families. (905305)
(Stoke-on-Trent South)
(Con)
7. What steps she is taking to improve provision for children
with special educational needs and disabilities. (905307)
(Thornbury and Yate) (Con)
21. What steps she is taking to improve provision for children
with special educational needs and disabilities. (905323)
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Education ()
I want every child and young person, regardless of their special
educational need or disability, to receive the right support to
enjoy their childhood and succeed in life. The SEND and AP
improvement plan, published in March 2023, sets out the next
steps that we are taking to deliver a more positive experience
for children, young people and families.
The Children’s Commissioner has expressed concerns about the gaps
in the Government’s plan to improve the system for children with
special educational needs and disabilities, identifying:
“A vicious cycle of late intervention, low confidence and
inefficient resource allocation”
that needs addressing. In particular, she points to the issues
for looked-after children with SEND. Given that the plan is to be
implemented by 2025, what are the Government doing now to achieve
those things?
We have not waited to take action on this issue. We have
increased, for example, high needs block funding by 50% over the
last four years to 2023-24. We have set out £2.6 billion to
increase the number of specialist schools. We have also hired
educational psychologists. We have done a lot of work to date,
but the reforms are ambitious and wide-ranging and they will, I
hope, help with the issues mentioned.
The need for more specialist school places is raised frequently
by parents in my constituency, and children are being bounced
between mainstream providers that are simply not fit to cater for
many advanced needs. Recently, I visited Hillcrest Glebedale
School in my constituency, which is keen to expand the number of
places. Will the Minister do more to ensure that we support such
schools and grow the number of SEND places in Stoke-on-Trent?
I thank all the special schools for the amazing work they do to
support children and young people. We have announced more than
£1.4 billion of high needs provisional capital allocations to
support local authorities to deliver new places for academic
years 2023-24 and 2024-25. Local authorities can use that funding
to work with any school or institution in their area.
Work has begun on the new Two Bridges Academy in South
Gloucestershire, a new school that will support pupils who have
severe, profound and multiple learning difficulties and autism
from the age of two right through to sixth form. Will the
Minister join me in thanking the educational trust, the council
and all the local groups who are helping to deliver this exciting
and innovative project and will she use her office to make sure
that it is open by the planned date of September 2024 to help us
cope with the growing demand for special educational needs
services in South Gloucestershire?
I am delighted to join my hon. Friend in thanking all those
involved in the project. The Two Bridges site remains on track to
open as planned and work is progressing well. We are committed to
working with the trust to ensure that that remains the case.
Weekly Childcare Costs
(Plymouth, Sutton and
Devonport) (Lab/Co-op)
6. What recent estimate she has made of the average weekly cost
of childcare for households with (a) one child and (b) two or
more children. (905306)
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Education ()
The cost of childcare depends on hours used a week over weeks per
year, provider type, child’s age and region. For this reason, the
Department does not produce an official estimate of the average
weekly cost of childcare by the number of children in a
household. However, this year, Coram estimates the cost of using
25 hours a week of childcare for a child aged under two in a
nursery as, on average, £151 across England.
In low-wage economies such as Plymouth, families are struggling
to afford decent childcare and are having to choose between
working all the hours God sends to afford the nursery bills and
leaving the workforce to look after the kids at home. I look
forward to meeting the Secretary of State tomorrow to talk about
how we can keep south-west nurseries financially afloat, but mums
and dads need to be kept afloat as well. What can the Minister do
to make childcare more affordable and, importantly, not just load
those additional costs on to nurseries that are already
struggling to pay their bills?
I completely recognise that this has been difficult for families,
but that is exactly why we are taking action. We are making the
single largest ever investment in childcare. We will be doubling
the amount we spend on it by 2027-28, and that will start with
additional funding this year.
Sir (Scarborough and Whitby)
(Con)
Parents were delighted to hear in the spring Budget of the
extension of childcare provision, which is being phased in to
allow the sector to gear up, recruit and train. Will my hon.
Friend give me an update on how that is progressing, in terms of
having enough highly skilled people in place to do that important
work?
That is the crucial issue when it comes to delivery, and we have
already taken steps. We are consulting on flexibilities for the
sector to make sure that we have the right people in place for
the first part of the roll-out, which will be in April 2024. We
have also been making sure that more funding is going into the
system this year.
Mr Speaker
I call the shadow Minister.
(Dulwich and West Norwood)
(Lab)
The early years sector has had three months to absorb the
Government’s Budget announcement on childcare. Wherever I go in
the country, early years professionals tell me that without a
plan for expanding and developing the workforce and securing
additional premises, the Government’s approach will deliver
neither affordable childcare for parents nor high-quality early
years education for children. They are clear that relaxing ratios
is not the solution they need. What does the Minister intend to
do about the deficit in the Government’s plans?
As I said, we have already set out some flexibilities in a
consultation that was published last week, and I urge every
single person in the early years sector to look at that. I urge
the hon. Lady to look at it too, because there are much wider
flexibilities in there: for example, looking at qualifications
relaxations. Overall, the Government have set out the single
largest ever investment into childcare; Labour has not set out a
plan at all.
Phonics Teaching: Isle of Wight
(Isle of Wight) (Con)
8. What assessment her Department has made of the effectiveness
of phonics teaching in Isle of Wight constituency.(905308)
The Minister for Schools ()
There is overwhelming evidence that systematic phonics is the
most effective method for teaching early reading. The English
hubs programme is made up of 34 high-performing primary schools
with exemplary practice in the teaching of synthetic phonics and
reading. They are using their expertise to spread best practice
to nearby schools, and have now reached over 1,600 primary
schools. The English hub supporting the Isle of Wight has been
helping 11 primary schools on the Island with their teaching of
reading.
I thank Ministers, first for the new special educational needs
school for the Island—it is much appreciated—and secondly for
agreeing to a phonics conference in June. The recent Islands
Forum held on the Isle of Wight showed the link between
education, jobs and the skills agenda and getting better
opportunities for islanders, whether they are in Scotland or down
on the Isle of Wight in my patch. On the phonics conference, is
the Minister willing to pledge that we will get a centre of
excellence for the teaching of phonics on the Island? Our nearest
one, however good it is, is on the mainland in Southampton.
My hon. Friend and I have discussed education standards on the
Isle of Wight on a number of occasions, and I pay tribute to him
for the support he gives his schools and his determination to see
standards rise in those schools. The Springhill English hub that
he referred to is supporting primary schools on the Island to
improve their teaching of phonics. As I said, it is already
working with 11 primary schools, five of which have received
intensive support, with the intention of ultimately finding a
school on the Isle of Wight itself that has sufficient expertise
to spread practice within the Island. That conference is taking
place at the end of the month, and I hope all primary schools
will be able to attend.
Technical Education at Secondary Schools
(Aylesbury) (Con)
9. What assessment she has made of the adequacy of technical
education pathways at secondary schools.(905310)
(Meon Valley) (Con)
15. Whether her Department is taking steps to increase the
provision of specialist technical education at secondary
schools.(905317)
The Minister for Skills, Apprenticeships and Higher Education
()
To complement our reformed, more rigorous GCSEs, we are ensuring
that high-quality vocational and technical qualifications are
available. We have introduced new technical awards at key stage 4
in engineering, technology and many other subjects, and we have
our own prestigious T-level offerings for those from 16 years old
onwards.
I am very proud to have Aylesbury University Technical College in
my constituency. It provides excellent technical education for
young students on a specialist pathway, but not everywhere has
those specialist schools. As such, a proposal has been made to my
right hon. Friend’s Department to introduce UTC-style courses in
mainstream schools for some pupils who are perhaps better suited
to that type of education at key stage 4. What progress has the
Department made in assessing the feasibility of such courses,
which would provide the qualifications, employment skills and
work experience that are so important to today’s economy?
My hon. Friend is a champion of UTCs, and he knows that they are
equipping students with the skills that employers need. I
congratulate Aylesbury UTC on the new health and social care
suite it is opening later this month. As he mentions, Baker
Dearing Educational Trust has proposed a pilot for a technical
curriculum in a small number of existing schools, and the
Department will take a decision on that shortly.
Mrs Drummond
Students in my Meon Valley constituency who want to go to a
university technical college can apply only to the excellent but
oversubscribed one in Portsmouth. I am supporting the Portsmouth
UTC in its bid to expand into Southampton, which will increase
the numbers who are able to take advantage of this excellent
education route and give choice to young people in my
constituency. Can my right hon. Friend confirm when his
Department will announce support for the next round of UTCs?
My hon. Friend is a champion of skills, and she is right that
UTCs, such as the outstanding Portsmouth UTC, are providing
students with skills that will lead to rewarding technical
careers. The Department is carefully assessing the free schools
applications received against the published criteria and intends
to announce the successful proposals before the summer. It is
worth mentioning that UTCs have high destination outcomes at key
stage 5, especially into apprenticeships.
Teachers: Recruitment and Retention
(Jarrow) (Lab)
10. What steps her Department is taking to improve the
recruitment and retention of teachers.(905311)
(Slough) (Lab)
17. What steps her Department is taking to improve the
recruitment and retention of teachers.(905319)
The Minister for Schools ()
The school workforce census published last week shows that the
number of teachers has increased by a further 2,800 this year.
There are now more than 468,000 teachers in the state system in
England. We have invested £181 million in recruitment this year,
including training bursaries and scholarships worth up to
£29,000, and we are delivering £30,000 starting salaries,
reforming teacher training, delivering half a million training
opportunities and working with the sector to address teacher
workload and wellbeing.
The Minister mentions the data released last week, but it also
highlights the unacceptable consequences of real-terms cuts to
teachers’ pay and unmanageable workloads. It shows that posts
without a teacher have more than doubled in the past two years.
Last week, I met with NASUWT North East and the South Tyneside
branch of the National Education
Union which raised concerns about the impact of the
recruitment and retention crisis. When will the Minister take
action to tackle this crisis by increasing teachers’ pay and
reducing their workload?
In terms of teachers’ pay, we are waiting for the Government’s
response. We have received and are looking at the School Teachers
Review Body’s recommendations now, and we will respond in the
normal way and on the normal timing. In terms of workload, we set
up three important workload working groups, and over the years
that has resulted in the working hours of teachers coming down by
five hours a week, and we have pledged to do more to reduce that
further.
Mr Dhesi
There were 44,000 leavers from the teaching profession last year.
That is 9.7% of the total workforce, and the leaver rate is the
highest it has been since 2018. The Government have missed their
secondary teacher recruitment targets every year for the past 10
years bar one. All that is yet more evidence of how the
incompetent Conservative Government have created the recruitment
and retention crisis among teachers, and schools in Slough and
across our country are lamenting the detrimental impact on our
children’s education. Minister, what are the Government doing to
urgently fix the recruitment and retention crisis?
If the hon. Member looks at the tables attached to the school
workforce census, he will see that we have returned to
pre-pandemic levels of recruitment. If he looks over a period of
years, he will see that the number of teachers coming into
state-funded schools and the number leaving are broadly
similar.
(New Forest West) (Con)
The abandonment of respectful address, such as “sir”, will not
help, will it? Apparently it is because the female equivalent,
“Miss”, is considered demeaning. Might I suggest the substitution
of “ma’am”? It was good enough for Her late Majesty.
My right hon. Friend should not believe everything he reads in
the newspapers. Behaviour in our schools is improving. We have
set up behaviour hubs around the country to ensure that best
practice is spread throughout the school system.
Mr Speaker
I call the shadow Minister.
(Portsmouth South) (Lab)
Last week, the Minister’s Department celebrated the latest
teacher recruitment and retention figures, with the numbers
showing that 40,000 teachers left the profession last year—the
highest number since records began. Does he really think that is
worth celebrating?
As I said earlier, if the hon. Member were to look at the tables
attached to the school workforce census, he would see that the
number of teachers coming into the state sector and those leaving
are broadly similar, and they have a broadly similar pattern
across the years. For example, the number of teachers leaving
last year—44,000—compares with the 42,500 who left the profession
in 2010-11. The challenge we have faced over the last 13 or 14
years is that we have created an extra 1 million school places in
our schools. However, over that period, the pupil-teacher ratio
in secondary schools, particularly in the last few years, has
been broadly similar—it has risen slightly, but it has been
broadly similar—despite the fact that we have increased the
number of school places by over 1 million.
Student Visas: Higher Education
(Lanark and Hamilton East)
(SNP)
11. What recent discussions she has had with the Secretary of
State for the Home Department on the potential impact of changes
to the student visa route on the competitiveness of the higher
education sector.(905312)
The Secretary of State for Education ()
The UK is home to some of the world’s top universities, which
benefit from strong international ties—so much so that it is
impressive that UK universities have educated 55 of the current
world leaders. My right hon. and learned Friend the Home
Secretary and I are proud of our higher education sector and our
commitment to having at least 600,000 international students
study here every year. The change we are making will restrict the
right of postgraduate students on taught courses to bring in
dependants. This decision strikes the right balance to ensure
that we have a fair and robust migration policy, and maintain the
UK’s place as a top destination for the best and brightest from
around the world.
The Higher Education Statistics Authority has shown that 55% of
UK universities recorded a deficit in the last academic year. One
of the key sources of revenue for universities is international
students, who account for almost one fifth of the income of the
UK’s higher education sector, and Scottish institutions are
paying the price. Does the Secretary of State recognise that her
Government’s policy change on student dependants risks
jeopardising the key income stream for many financially strained
universities across the UK and in Scotland?
No. Our offer to international students remains very competitive,
and we are committed to ensuring that the UK remains a
destination of choice for international students from across the
globe. International students do make a significant economic
contribution to the UK economy and to our universities, and they
make a significant cultural contribution. These changes will
predominantly impact on the dependants of students and, in our
view, will not impact on the competitive nature of our university
offer.
Mr Speaker
I call the shadow Minister.
(Warwick and Leamington)
(Lab)
The Opposition more than recognise the huge value brought to the
world-class higher education system by international students.
That said, we were clear that we would not oppose the changes the
Government have made to student visa rules. However, in
responding to a written question earlier today, the Home Office
stated that “any indirect impact” of its student visa policies
should be “proportionate” to the aims. Will the Secretary of
State explain how, given that the Government have failed to
conduct an impact assessment, she knows this to be true?
The problem we were trying to solve is that we saw the number of
dependants rise more than eightfold from 16,000 in 2019 to
136,000 in 2022, which is an unprecedented increase. Therefore, I
fully support the Home Secretary in taking action to reduce the
number. From January 2024, students coming to the UK to take
postgraduate taught courses will not be allowed to bring in
dependants, but students coming for many other courses, such as
PhDs or research masters, will still be able to bring in
dependants. The international education world is very
competitive, which is why we put together an international
education strategy—this is the first time we have done it—and why
we have somebody working with our universities to make sure that
we can attract the best and brightest into our universities, and
I am sure we will continue to do that.
Mr Speaker
I call the SNP spokesperson.
(Glasgow North West)
(SNP)
As a former teacher, can I just say that I was quite happy to be
called “Miss”? I have been called far worse as an MP.
When asked in December about the merits of limiting visas for the
dependants of international students, the Education Secretary
conceded that, if such a policy was enacted, our ability
“to attract the best students from around the world is going to
be reduced”.
This policy is now a reality. It is impacting on our emerging
markets in Nigeria and India, and it will skew our market much
further towards Chinese students. Does she stand by her initial
remarks?
The visas that we were very keen should be available are the
two-year graduate route visa, to make sure that all students
coming here have two years in which to find a job before they can
then apply for a work visa post their study period. That is a
very competitive offer and I was very keen to ensure it was in
place. We have looked at this very carefully but, as I said to
the hon. Member for Warwick and Leamington (), we had an unprecedented
increase—more than eightfold—in the number of dependants coming
here and, bearing in mind our migration figures, we wanted to
take action on that.
The eightfold increase happened because of the Secretary of
State’s Government’s policies and the collapse of the European
market—things that those on the Conservative Benches must be
responsible for. The vast majority of international students are
temporary visitors, yet they are counted as permanent in the
migration figures—a policy the former Education Secretary, the
right hon. Member for North West Hampshire (), has called “bonkers”. A simple solution to halt
the ongoing targeting of the students in this market would be to
count only those who stay. Why is that not being considered?
The hon. Lady is right: the vast majority of international
students return to their home countries once they have finished
their studies. Home Office data show that less than 1% of those
granted an initial study visa in 2016 had been granted settlement
by 2021, but the Office for National Statistics is responsible
for the migration figures.
School Buildings
(North Shropshire) (LD)
13. What steps her Department is taking to improve school
buildings.(905315)
The Minister for Schools ()
Well-maintained, safe school buildings are essential. The
Department has supported local authorities and academy trusts to
keep their schools in good condition by providing over £15
billion in condition funding since 2015. Our school rebuilding
programme will also transform buildings at 500 schools,
prioritising those in the poorest condition.
I recently visited the Corbet School in my constituency, a small,
rural, academy trust secondary school. It is very well run, but
25% of its teaching space is in old demountable buildings. How
can small rural schools with only 750 pupils on the roll better
access funding to improve the buildings the pupils are taught in,
to give them the same opportunities as pupils in more urban
areas?
We take into account the condition of any school’s buildings in
the capital funding we give either to the local authority or to
the trust or diocesan group, and it is up to those bodies to
decide how best to distribute that funding to meet local needs.
All schools, including rural schools, have the opportunity to be
nominated for the latest round of the school rebuilding
programme, which is rebuilding and refurbishing school buildings
across the country.
Sir (Rossendale and Darwen)
(Con)
It would be remiss of me not to thank the Department for the huge
rebuilding programme it is undertaking, particularly in
Rossendale—not least the brand-new school in Whitworth and huge
investment in Haslingden High and All Saints’ schools. However, a
school I was previously a governor at, the Valley Leadership
Academy, which is part of the Star chain of academies, is
suffering terribly from under-investment. The estate is not fit
for purpose, and I hope that when the next round of funding
happens, my right hon. Friend will look favourably on the Valley
Leadership Academy, and also the other Star Academies schools
which are delivering brilliant quality education against the
state of their school buildings.
I take on board what my right hon. Friend is saying. The
condition data collection is a thorough nationwide assessment of
the condition of every school in the country, and that is the
data on which decisions are based when deciding how to fund
capital funding.
Dame (Hackney South and Shoreditch) (Lab/Co-op)
Many schools up and down the country still have asbestos in them
and are getting to a dangerous state. It is all very well telling
governing bodies to identify the asbestos, but there is not much
incentive if there is no special or directed funding available to
remove it and that is beyond the budget of an individual school.
What is the Minister going to do to make sure asbestos is removed
from our school buildings?
Asbestos management in school buildings is, as the hon. Lady will
know, regulated by the Health and Safety Executive. The
Department follows its advice and works closely with it. The DFE
published detailed guidance on asbestos management for schools in
2020. When asbestos is a problem in a school, that is a major
factor taken into account when deciding to rebuild schools under
the school rebuilding programme.
(East Devon) (Con)
Children and staff at Tipton St John Primary School had to be
rescued by the fire service after it flooded recently. The safety
of children and staff must come first as sites for a new school
are assessed by the Department in the coming weeks. Will my right
hon. Friend meet me to discuss the urgent need to build a school
in a safe location?
Yes, I will. I was sorry to hear about the flash flooding and its
impact on the school and the local community. Tipton St John
Primary School was selected in December for the school rebuilding
programme, which will ensure a long-term solution for the school,
protecting children and staff from flooding in the future.
Officials are working with the diocese of Exeter, Devon County
Council and my hon. Friend to identify and secure a new site for
the school. I thank him for his support to help make that happen
as quickly as possible.
Student Suicide Rate
(Broxtowe) (Con)
14. What steps she plans to take with the higher education sector
to reduce the suicide rate for students. (905316)
The Minister for Skills, Apprenticeships and Higher Education
()
Preventing tragic deaths by suicide is a priority for the
Government. Our approach to improving mental health outcomes and
reducing suicides is focused on three pillars: funding and
resourcing vital services; spreading and implementing best
practice and clear responsibilities for higher education
providers; and protection for students.
I have been contacted by many of my constituents in Broxtowe
regarding a campaign to establish a duty of care for universities
towards their students’ mental health. Suicide is currently the
biggest killer of people under 35 in the UK. Will the Minister
ensure that we are prioritising mental health support and lay out
what the Department is doing to work with universities so that
such help is provided? We must prioritise mental health, and we
must do so now.
My hon. Friend is a huge champion of mental health in his
constituency. Based on my previous answer to him, we are giving
the Office for Students £15 million to help universities with
mental health support. We have asked universities to sign up to
the mental health charter by September 2024. We have a new
student implementation taskforce to spread best practice, which
is reporting on its first stage by the end of the year. We are
also commissioning a national independent review of student
suicides.
School Funding
(Bedford) (Lab)
18. What recent assessment she has made of the adequacy of
funding for schools. (905320)
The Minister for Schools ()
We are committed to providing world-class schools. Total funding
for both mainstream schools and special schools and alternative
provision will total £58.8 billion by 2024-25: the highest ever
level per pupil in real terms. That assessment has been confirmed
by the Institute for Fiscal Studies.
Liam, a teacher in my constituency, described the Government’s
pay offer as akin to
“a mouldy carrot dangled in front of us to lead us back to the
despair of the classroom.”
He works in a school that has had to make redundancies due to
insufficient budgets. Does the Minister understand the impact
that Government cuts to school budgets are having on children’s
futures? Can he honestly say that he is giving all children equal
opportunities?
The hon. Member will have seen that, in recent international
surveys, standards are rising in our schools. We increased school
funding by £4 billion last year, and this year it has increased
by £3.5 billion. Taken over those two years, that is a 15%
increase in school funding. Those of us on the Government side of
the House want to have a well rewarded, well motivated teaching
profession, because that is how we will ensure that standards
continue to rise in our schools.
Topical Questions
(Lancaster and Fleetwood) (Lab)
T1. If she will make a statement on her departmental
responsibilities.(905325)
The Secretary of State for Education ()
Teachers are the ultimate opportunity creators, giving all of us
the tools we need to reach our potential. I am delighted that new
data shows a record number of teachers joining the profession, so
today we have over 468,000 teachers in our schools. That is a
year-on-year increase of 2,800, meaning that there are over
27,000 more teachers in classrooms since we took office.
The difference that teachers make is almost impossible to
measure, but there is no doubt about their commitment to
delivering results. The number of schools rated good or
outstanding has risen from 68% to 88% since 2010. We have climbed
the international league tables in science, maths and English,
most recently coming fourth in the world for reading at primary
school age in the progress in international reading literacy
study. It would be remiss of me not to pay tribute to the
Minister for Schools, my right hon. Friend the Member for Bognor
Regis and Littlehampton () for his relentless championing
of phonics, helping our fantastic teachers to drive up standards.
Ahead of Thank a Teacher Day, I want to say a massive thank you
to teachers, early years professionals, teaching assistants and
all who play their role in helping the next generation reach
their potential.
The decision to make it harder for those on postgraduate courses
to bring dependants will once again mean that Britain’s
universities will be looking to China for international students.
At a time of growing tension and concern about Chinese foreign
policy, not least on the Secretary of State’s own Benches, is she
confident that this is going to end well?
I thank the hon. Lady for her question. We discussed this a
little earlier. There is a large and growing desire for the
education that our top universities provide and there are many
countries in the world where the middle class is developing, so
there is a lot of opportunity for our universities as long as
they keep on delivering their world-class fantastic quality.
(Orpington) (Con)
T3. I welcome the relationships, sex and health education
curriculum review. The Secretary of State herself has said that
she shares concerns about inappropriate lessons being taught in
schools. Can she reassure my Orpington constituents that the
review will strengthen the ability of parents to view teaching
materials, so that some teachers are no longer able to push
unilaterally their own views on politics and gender to
impressionable young people?(905327)
The Minister for Schools ()
As my hon. Friend knows, the Secretary of State has written to
all schools to emphasise that schools can and should share RSHE
teaching materials with parents. The Department will consider, as
part of the review of the statutory guidance, whether any further
changes are needed to reinforce that and to ensure that all
resources that teachers use to teach RSHE are
age-appropriate.
Mr Speaker
I call the shadow Secretary of State.
(Houghton and Sunderland
South) (Lab)
Today’s announcement by Ofsted is a welcome recognition of the
need for change, but it does not go far enough. Labour is the
party of high and rising standards in our schools, which is why
we would give parents a comprehensive picture of their children’s
school in the form of an Ofsted report card, rather than a
simplistic one-word judgment. Why is the Secretary of State
content to sit back, rather than drive improvement in our
schools?
The last time I was at the Dispatch Box, the hon. Member for
Reading East () asked me to meet the family of
Ruth Perry and members of the Caversham community following
Ruth’s tragic death. I have been honoured to work with Ruth’s
family and friends over the last few weeks. I take this matter
incredibly seriously. Today, we announced that we are
significantly expanding wellbeing support, in addition to
announcements from Ofsted to improve the accountability system.
Overall grades provide a clear and accessible summary of
performance for parents, which is why the vast majority of
parents—almost eight in 10—are aware of the Ofsted rating of
their child’s school. I encourage parents to read the report
narrative alongside the summary grade. The Ofsted grades also
mean that we can highlight the success of schools, including the
88% of schools that are now good or outstanding—a much better
record than any achieved by the hon. Lady’s Government.
(Guildford) (Con)
T4. I read with great interest that the hon. Member for
Houghton and Sunderland South () recently said in an
interview in The Guardian that “the government could reduce the
monthly repayments for every single new graduate without adding a
penny to government borrowing or general taxation—Labour will not
be increasing government spending on this.”That sounds too good
to be true. As we on the Government Benches know, those on the
Opposition Benches excel themselves on the subject of fairy-tale
economics, so can I ask the Secretary of State—(905328)
Mr Speaker
Order. These are topical questions. Questions have to be short
and punchy, and not a speech.
Thank you, Mr Speaker. Has the Secretary of State made an
assessment of the comments by the hon. Member for Houghton and
Sunderland South, because to my ears they sound more fantasy than
reality?
I thank my hon. Friend for her very insightful question. The
Labour party’s proposals would, unfortunately, mean that
graduates would live unhappily ever after. Either Labour would
have graduates pay back their loans at a lower income threshold,
impacting people just as they are taking their first steps on the
career ladder, or it intends to make graduates pay back their
loans well into retirement. That would, essentially, create a
graduate tax. Yet again, this is the same old Labour—
Mr Speaker
Order. Please. Questions and answers have to be short and punchy.
It may be a pre-arranged question and answer, but I am not going
to have such long answers.
Ms Anum Qaisar (Airdrie and Shotts) (SNP)
T2. Data from the Higher Education Statistics Agency reveals
that, despite achieving the same level of qualification, the
salaries of first-class female graduates were £2,000 lower than
those of their male counterparts. What steps is the Minister
taking to foster women’s workplace progression once they leave
university?(905326)
The Minister for Skills, Apprenticeships and Higher Education
()
The hon. Lady will be pleased to know that male graduates earn
more than £130,000 over their lifetime and female graduates
£100,000, so graduates are coming out of university with good
wages, and we know that more disadvantaged students are going to
university than ever before.
(Colne Valley) (Con)
T5. A number of smaller schools across my Colne Valley
constituency have increasing numbers of SEND students. What can
the Department do to cajole Labour-run Kirklees Council to
deliver timely education, health and care plans and ensure that
it is delivering the financial support for the extra educational
assistance that these children need?(905329)
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Education ()
The work of teaching assistants is incredibly important to the
SEND arena. We have taken education funding to real-term historic
highs for mainstream education and we have increased the
high-needs block by more than 50%.
(Cambridge) (Lab)
T6. Principals of sixth-form colleges across the country, such as
Yolanda Botham at the excellent Long Road College in Cambridge,
are warning that the Government’s continuing plans to scrap many
of the BTEC qualifications risk real harm to their students. Will
the Government listen to those people and to the Sixth Form
Colleges Association and protect student choice?(905330)
Just to be clear on BTECs, many BTECs will remain and people will
be able to do them with A-levels. We are getting rid of BTECs
that either have low outcomes, significantly overlap with the
T-level, or have very low uptake. We have also introduced the
T-level transition year so that people who want to prepare for
T-levels are able to do so.
(Vale of Glamorgan) (Con)
T7. Few Members have done more to support and drive up the
standards of apprenticeships than my right hon. Friend, the
Minister for Skills, Apprenticeships and Higher Education. The
hospitality sector is keen to continue to work with him and the
Department in order to bring people into apprenticeships and to
drive up the standards further. People in the sector believe that
they can achieve more with some elements of flexibility and by
continually evolving the policy. Is my right hon. Friend prepared
to engage with the sector in order to see how we can work with
it?(905332)
I thank my right hon. Friend for his kind remarks. We have
already introduced flexibilities with the apprenticeship levy. As
I know how deeply concerned he is about the hospitality industry,
I can tell him that I have visited Greene King and seen how
brilliantly it uses the levy to employ hundreds of apprentices.
Of course, where we can, we will work to ensure that this carries
on across the hospitality industry, which he so ably
represents.
(Lewisham East) (Lab)
Last year, a survey by the National Union of Students found that
the mental health of 90% of students had been negatively impacted
by the rising cost of living, with students worrying about paying
bills and paying for food. The Government have been failing
students so far, so what will the Minister do about it?
The hon. Lady will be pleased to know that we increased the grant
to the Office for Students by £50 million to £276 million. That
grant goes to help disadvantaged students. We increased the
maintenance loan and grant by 2.8%. We have energy rebates for
students who live in private accommodation as well. We are doing
everything possible to help students with the cost of living, but
being fair to the taxpayer as well.
(Southend West) (Con)
T8. I applaud the Government’s commitment to recruiting record
numbers of teachers and the fact that there are 27,000 more now
in our classrooms than in 2010. I recently met all of Southend’s
secondary heads. Their concern was retention, but they had a
number of interesting and innovative ideas. Will the Secretary of
State meet me and them to discuss those ideas? Perhaps, when she
visits our local employer, Adventure Island, she could make it a
whole team awayday.(905333)
I am sure that my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State will
visit, but if she cannot then I certainly will. Teacher retention
is key to ensuring effective teacher supply and quality. We are
taking action to support teachers so that they can stay in the
profession and succeed. The Department has published a range of
resources to help schools address teacher workload issues,
prioritise staff wellbeing and introduce flexible working.
(Weaver Vale) (Lab)
Despite the introduction of my private Member’s Bill to help
reduce the cost of school uniforms, which is now law, far too
many schools still require a plethora of branding and logos. What
will Ministers do to ensure that those schools apply the law?
It was a pleasure to work with the hon. Member on that important
legislation to put the guidance on the cost of school uniform
into statutory form. I congratulate him on the Act. Ultimately,
these are matters for headteachers but the guidance is there, and
if parents are concerned that schools are not abiding by the
guidance, each one has a formal complaints procedure.
(Rugby) (Con)
I often hear from parents whose children remain in mainstream
education despite their school not being able to meet the child's
special educational needs. Despite Rugby having received some
additional SEN places recently, I have had such an email from a
constituent in the last few hours. What is being done to make
certain that more such spaces are made available?
We have set out ambitious reforms to give parents greater
confidence that their child’s needs can be met in mainstream
provision. When they need specialist support, we are building
many more special and alternative provision free schools—127 so
far since 2010, with 67 in the pipeline.
(Twickenham) (LD)
Freedom of information requests from the Liberal Democrats
recently revealed that three in four primary schools will not
have a mental health support team in place by 2024, when the
funding runs out. Officials have suggested to MPs that
hard-pressed NHS budgets could be squeezed to fund those schemes
further. Will the Minister please commit to prioritising this
area and committing new cash? If not, will she put a counsellor
in every school?
We take this issue incredibly seriously, which is why we are
rolling out mental health support teams. We are ahead of
schedule, with 35% of pupils covered this year and another 100
teams on the way to cover 44% of pupils next year, alongside
other proposals.
Sir (New Forest East) (Con)
If and when parents get sight of what their children are being
taught about relationships and sex education, will they have the
right to withdraw their children from such lessons if they deem
the materials to be inappropriate?
My right hon. Friend raises an important point about the
appropriateness of materials being used in schools to teach
relationships, health and sex education. We have been concerned
about reports on that, which is why my right hon. Friend the
Secretary of State wrote to all schools to remind them of their
duty to share teaching materials with parents, and why we brought
forward the review of the RHSE guidance. There is no right to
withdraw children from relationships education, but there is a
right for parents to withdraw their children from sex education
in the RHSE curriculum.
(Ealing Central and Acton)
(Lab)
Since 1985, girls and boys from nursery age to right up to
pre-university have been educated at the King Fahad Academy in
East Acton. Imagine the shock of parents, pupils and staff to be
told last month that none of them are coming back in September
because the Saudi Government, who fund it, are pulling the plug.
Could the Secretary of State urgently intervene, at least to
provide some basic certainty to a stunned community? Even the
road layouts around there were conceived around the school. It
could mean 500 kids left in the lurch after summer.
I am happy to meet the hon. Lady to discuss this issue in more
detail.
(Great Grimsby) (Con)
I have constituents who have been studying at the University of
Lincoln for the last three years, but the classification of their
degree and their graduation are being prevented because lecturers
who are union members are boycotting marking their final
dissertations. Can my right hon. Friend advise me and my
constituents of what they should do to push through and get the
qualifications that they have worked so hard for?
My hon. Friend is right that students should get their papers
marked. I have been discussing these issues with Universities UK,
which says that they will affect a minority of students, and a
lot of universities are ensuring alternative markers. Students
have recourse to the Office of the Independent Adjudicator if
they feel they are not getting the service that they have paid
for with their student loan.
(York Central)
(Lab/Co-op)
On Saturday, I attended an inspiring conference hosted by Bootham
Quaker School, where about 120 year 12 students from across the
world had come together to determine the purpose and future of
education. Does the Secretary of State agree with them that we
need a renewed vision for education, taking into account what
education achieves for communities, countries and the planet we
share, rather than just its personal benefits?
The hon. Lady raises a number of important points. First,
sustainability is an important part of the curriculum. Secondly,
we want our young people to be able to succeed. In a global jobs
market—a global trading market—they need to have the best
education possible. Our schools are rising in the international
league tables for maths and reading standards in PISA, PIRLS and
TIMMS—the programme for international student assessment, the
programme in international reading literacy study and the trends
in international mathematics and science study.
(Winchester) (Con)
I met a group of headteachers in Chandler’s Ford, in my
constituency, on Friday, and it is clear that they feel they are
currently subsidising the surplus in places from falling school
rolls, and particularly in universal infant free school meals.
The Minister and I discussed this in my recent Westminster Hall
debate, and he said he was “actively looking” at the issue. Since
then, the Hampshire school meals provider has put up the price
again. Will the Minister give me an update?
I am happy to discuss this further with my hon. Friend. As I said
in the Westminster Hall debate, we have been looking at this
issue carefully and have increased the price per pupil of the
universal infant free school meal, backdated to April. We
understand the cost pressures that schools and suppliers of
catering to schools are facing because of higher food prices.
(Glasgow Central)
(SNP)
The Glasgow science festival has just completed its 17th year
communicating research and inspiring young people, and older
people, in venues across Glasgow. Will the Minister congratulate
Dr Deborah McNeil for her work in promoting this brilliant
festival? It is an example of how young people and academics in
science can be brought together.
I am delighted to congratulate the science festival and the
individual the hon. Lady mentions. We need more such science
festivals across the United Kingdom; I would be very interested
to learn more about that science festival and how we can spread
such festivals across our country.
(Stoke-on-Trent North)
(Con)
Improving educational outcomes in places like Stoke-on-Trent
North, Kidsgrove and Talke relies on retaining the skills of
highly qualified teachers. One way we can go about doing that is
by changing levelling-up bonus payments in education investment
areas, so that money can be given to teachers regardless of how
many years of service they have. Will the Minister consider that
action?
Having served as Schools Minister at the Department for Education
for a period of time, my hon. Friend will be aware that we have
levelling-up premium payments for teachers to teach maths,
physics and computer science in disadvantaged schools, in order
to encourage teachers in those subjects into the schools that
need them the most.
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