Topical Questions — House of Commons, 2019-09-09
Topic: Education
Questions: Since the Government broke their manifesto pledge to allow the opening of Catholic free schools by removing the faith cap, the Catholic Education Service has had to find 50,000 new places. Despite a convoluted plan by the previous Secretary of State to open new voluntary-aided schools, not a single new Catholic voluntary-aided school has opened, and only one is out for consultation. Now we have a new Secretary of State, will he bring some vim and vigour to this and try to fulfil our manifesto pledge?; I welcome the extra funding. Can my right hon. Friend confirm that each primary and secondary school in Wimbledon will benefit, and will he commit to writing to me on the revised settlement for each and every secondary and primary school in Wimbledon?; As a result of the introduction of universal credit in Coventry, 25,000 children are below the poverty line. What is the Secretary of State doing, or what are other Ministers doing, to fund school meals properly—not just in the holiday period, but generally?; Schools in rural constituencies such as North Warwickshire and Bedworth have long suffered from receiving lower levels of funding than their urban counterparts. The fairer funding initiative will go some way to rectifying that, but what more can be done to ensure that no matter where someone lives they will have equal access to the same resources?; I am sure Ministers are aware of the widespread concern in local government at the escalating costs of childcare, much of it driven by private fostering and care companies, often now owned by private equity, and of a tendency to put children into care at an early stage and not as a last resort. Do Ministers share that concern? If so, what are they going to do about it?; The recently announced multi-billion-pound settlement for education will be hugely welcomed by Stockport schools. I know that my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has had many requests this afternoon, but may I invite him to meet headteachers in my constituency, when perhaps he might share the figures?; My constituent Bella has Down’s syndrome and started primary school last week. What was supposed to be a very special time for her was racked with anxiety because the school said it could not afford to make the adjustments necessary for her to be able to attend school. Fortunately, a compromise has been made, but the school will have to make cuts elsewhere now. May we have this money for special educational needs provision brought forward now?; Will the Secretary of State send a message to every young LGBT child in our schools up and down the country that they are loved and valued and that children will be taught about their existence in school lessons in an age-appropriate way?
Nicolas John Gibb (Conservative, Centre-right): The Department’s current guidance on school uniform does place an extra emphasis on the need for schools to give the highest priority to cost consideration. No school uniform should be so expensive as to leave pupils or their families feeling unable to apply for or to attend a school of their choice due to the cost of the school uniform. If the hon. Lady has examples of schools that are not abiding by that guidance, I would be very grateful if she let me know.