argyrotsipi/train-dataset huggingface dataset:
School Funding — House of Commons, 2019-04-25
Topic: Education
Susan Elan Jones (Labour, Centre-left): I am conscious of the differences between the English and Welsh systems, but given the concerns of teachers, parents and students, does my hon. Friend agree that we need to be spending a higher percentage of our GDP on education?
School Funding — House of Commons, 2019-04-25
Topic: Education
Michael Lee Amesbury (Labour, Centre-left): I respect the right hon. Gentleman’s considerable experience in this field. Simon Kidwell, a headteacher in my constituency, has called for a more long-term funding arrangement. The current funding arrangement is just not sufficient to fund schools in my constituency and beyond.
School Funding — House of Commons, 2019-04-25
Topic: Education
Eleanor Claire Reeves (Labour, Centre-left): It is a pleasure to speak in this debate As the daughter of two teachers, I remember the 1980s and ’90s as a time of chronic underfunding in our schools. There were not enough books to go around, and lessons were held in crumbling classrooms and temporary huts. I recall my parents being overworked, undervalued and underpaid, and my dad, a local National Union of Teachers branch chair, fighting for better conditions for both pupils and staff. The teachers at my school worked tirelessly, and I owe them a huge debt of gratitude, but it often felt like the Government and the local authority had no aspiration for the girls at my south-east London comprehensive If we keep on the current trajectory of underfunding and asking ever more of our teachers, I fear we are likely to end up repeating the mistakes of the past. Every child deserves a decent education, regardless of who they are and where they live. The remedy to our current schools funding crisis is quite simple: investment in schools yields results. Between 1997 and 2010, education spending rose by 78%, the biggest increase over any decade since the mid-1970s. Full-time-equivalent teacher numbers rose by 48,000, school buildings were transformed and attainment levels soared. Yet since 2010, under successive austerity and cost-cutting Governments, we have seen school funding slip back to profoundly inadequate levels. On current trends, schools in Lewisham and Bromley will see real-terms cuts of £8.8 million and £14.1 million respectively between 2015 and 2020, an average of around £300 per pupil When the Chancellor came to this House to deliver his Budget, his promise of the "little extras" for schools was little more than a platitude—this was a mere £45 extra per pupil. These token gestures of cash here and there go no way to repairing the damage that long- term underinvestment has done to our schools. According to the Institute for Fiscal Studies annual report on education spending in England, even if per pupil funding had been maintained at 2015 levels, annual spending on schools would be £1.7 billion higher this year The Government have been warned time and again about the damage that austerity is having on the education sector and have had ample opportunity to change course. However, throughout this austerity-driven funding, since 2010, we have seen £3.5 billion-worth of cuts to schools and average teacher pay down £4,000 in real terms. I have visited more than 30 schools in my constituency since my election, and have been consistently told that recruitment and retention are major issues across the board. Teachers are the backbone of the schools system, but a recent poll showed that 81% of teachers said they have considered leaving the profession because of the pressures of workload. Teachers are working harder but losing out in their pay packets. If this Government really value the work of teachers, they should match their rhetoric with the funding and pay that teachers not only require, but fully deserve.
School Funding — House of Commons, 2019-04-25
Topic: Education
Eleanor Claire Reeves (Labour, Centre-left): I will not give way, because of time constraints. As the motion notes, "schools are having to provide more and more services, including those previously provided by other public agencies including health and local authorities" We have recently been in the midst of a knife crime crisis in this country, and my constituents have experienced the shock and anger of seeing young people needlessly losing their lives as a result. I am pleased that there is consensus for a public health approach to tackle knife crime, but that can be successful only if we see funding restored to local public services. It is imperative that this also includes a boost to school funding. Schools are having to do more and more. This Government cannot stand by, continuing to increase the burden but neglecting to increase the funding. So I have to urge the Minister: it is surely time to think again about the funding modelling used at present and to make the changes necessary to properly invest in our children’s futures.
School Funding — House of Commons, 2019-04-25
Topic: Education
Lyn Carol Brown (Labour, Centre-left): The pressures that schools face are growing. We know it across this House, and we hear it from heads, teachers and parents alike. The message—just like the message that many of us have heard about the climate crisis this week—could not be clearer. As some hon. Members have said already, the special educational needs of pupils are increasingly challenging. Heads have told me directly that they do not know how their secondaries will cope when the numbers of younger children who are now being diagnosed start to come through. I have heard estimates that genuinely shock me.
School Funding — House of Commons, 2019-04-25
Topic: Education
Andrew Francis Slaughter (Labour, Centre-left): Does my hon. Friend agree that perhaps worse than the headline figures—millions and billions of pounds—is the fact that a commonplace discussion with every single head- teacher, when we visit schools every week, is how they are making fundamental cuts to their staffing, special needs and other budgets? Should not the Minister look at that?
School Funding — House of Commons, 2019-04-25
Topic: Education
Lyn Carol Brown (Labour, Centre-left): I absolutely agree As many as a third of pupils in some local nursery classes are now thought to need some support. That is massive. In Newham, the challenge for schools is only likely to get bigger. Hundreds of local children who need an education, health and care plan or a statement do not yet have one. Official statistics show that EHC plan and statement rates for Newham are currently five times lower than for any other inner London borough. The council is working hard to turn this around, but these current low rates mean that the challenge for local schools is just beginning, and they are struggling to keep up. The funding for the specialist, trained support that large numbers of children now need simply is not there. The average funding available for each child with an EHC plan has fallen by a fifth over the past five years I want to raise just one example—I would have given many more if we had had longer. Adam is nine. He has complex behavioural and emotional challenges. He has an EHC plan and is supposed to receive speech and language therapy and psychological help. He simply does not get it. The support services have been cut far too much. Most of the speech and language staff are now temporary or agency workers, so there is no consistency, and there are long gaps in Adam’s access to services. Cuts to the psychological services mean he has not had any of the support he needs for his emotional and behavioural challenges, and his ability to learn and grow as a healthy member of his community will obviously be hugely affected Adam’s primary school in Newham has got to the point where it simply cannot meet his needs. Between 2015 and 2018, it lost more than £100,000 from its budget every single year—more than £400 for every pupil. How foolish will Adam’s generation think we were because we did not invest in them or him and left his and their potential unfulfilled? Like climate change, this is an issue where we are letting our children down. What kind of country are we living in The achievements of Newham’s young people are extraordinary, given the circumstances, and our teachers are amazing—I see it on so many school visits—but the achievements of our children are made against the odds, despite the barriers and with no thanks to this Government, who will have cut Newham’s schools by £37.5 million since 2015—a cut of £445 for each and every pupil. The Government need to wake up to the long-term damage they are doing. They need to give Newham’s schools and other schools the funding they need to keep up with rising pupil numbers and inflation, to reduce the impacts of the poverty and inequalities their policies are increasing and to pay for proper support so that pupils with increasing needs can fulfil their potential as well.
School Funding — House of Commons, 2019-04-25
Topic: Education
David Drew (Labour, Centre-left): Does my hon. Friend agree that a fundamental point, which I have raised with the Minister on a number of occasions, is that too much of the funding does not reach the schools but gets stuck somewhere on the way? We have to make sure that the funding is in the schools.
School Funding — House of Commons, 2019-04-25
Topic: Education
Stephen Twigg (Labour, Centre-left): I absolutely agree Despite the challenging environment that Bank View and Redbridge schools face, I am delighted that have they have again been ranked outstanding by Ofsted. I want to take this opportunity to congratulate both schools on that fantastic achievement Schools in Liverpool are highly dependent on the minimum funding guarantee, but that has not been confirmed beyond 2020-21. As the Chair of the Education Committee rightly said, schools need long-term certainty. Another headteacher has raised the issue of having to put forward three-year budget plans without confirmation of future funding arrangements due to the delay in the comprehensive spending review. Surely the message of this debate is that education deserves the same kind of long-term planning that we see for our health system I thank all the teachers and support staff who work so hard and go above and beyond. The headteacher of Clifford Holroyde School, Jane Pepa, said to me, "I have spent large amounts of my time seeing how we can do more with less, applying for grants to keep us afloat and even selling Christmas trees to try to generate funding." The burden should not be on headteachers such as Jane to do that. As the Government expect more from our schools, they need to back that up with significant increases in funding and resources. We need a serious, long-term settlement for schools funding.
Electric Vehicles — House of Commons, 2019-06-11
Topic: Energy
Christopher Philip James Elmore (Labour, Centre-left): May I press the Secretary of State on yesterday’s statement from the Secretary of State for Wales in relation to Ford? There is capacity in the Bridgend plant and it would be a very good way to keep it open. Will he work with the Welsh Government to ensure that electric batteries can be constructed at Ford, to help to keep the jobs in and around my community?
Greenhouse Gas Emissions: Targets — House of Commons, 2019-06-11
Topic: Environment
Questions: With reference to the report entitled, “Net Zero: The UK’s contribution to stopping global warming”, published by the Committee on Climate Change on 2 May 2019, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the Government’s greenhouse gas emissions targets.; Last month, this House declared a climate emergency and called on the Government to“set ambitious, short-term targets for the roll-out of renewable and low carbon energy and transport”.Will the Minister outline what he has done to set and achieve those targets?
Rachel Jane Reeves (Labour, Centre-left): We have a moral obligation to bring our carbon emissions down to net zero, and there are real economic and social benefits in doing so. Although the Chancellor has expressed his scepticism, despite the fact that we face a climate catastrophe, will the Minister offer real leadership and commit the Government to supporting the Bill I will be presenting to the House this afternoon to bring down our carbon emissions to net zero by 2050?
Greenhouse Gas Emissions: Targets — House of Commons, 2019-06-11
Topic: Environment
Questions: With reference to the report entitled, “Net Zero: The UK’s contribution to stopping global warming”, published by the Committee on Climate Change on 2 May 2019, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the Government’s greenhouse gas emissions targets.; Last month, this House declared a climate emergency and called on the Government to“set ambitious, short-term targets for the roll-out of renewable and low carbon energy and transport”.Will the Minister outline what he has done to set and achieve those targets?
Barry Strachan Gardiner (Labour, Centre-left): I welcome the Minister to his new responsibilities while the right hon. Member for Devizes (Claire Perry) is on compassionate leave. We hope the right hon. Lady makes a speedy return to the House Assuming the Government will do the right thing and legislate for net zero by 2050, in line with the recommendations of the Committee on Climate Change, why has the Minister decided to weaken the third carbon budget by carrying over surplus emissions from the second carbon budget, against the committee’s specific advice While the Minister is at the Dispatch Box, perhaps he will confirm that net zero can be achieved within the current cost envelope for an 80% reduction of 1% to 2% of GDP. The Chancellor’s claim of £1 trillion spuriously adds together all the costs over the next 21 years and fails to subtract any of the benefits or savings.
Solar Power — House of Commons, 2019-06-11
Topic: Energy
Clive Anthony Lewis (Labour, Centre-left): With all due respect, only this Government could dress up a 94% collapse in domestic solar installations as a success. They now plan to slap 20% VAT on solar and storage and to replace the certainty of the feed-in tariff export payments with a lick-and-a-promise scheme with no certain payment rates and no guaranteed periods. Why does the Minister not just admit that, as ever, the Tories always side with big and dirty rather than with clean and local?
Solar Power — House of Commons, 2019-06-11
Topic: Energy
Questions: Thank you, Mr Speaker. Does my hon. Friend agree that we should be doing more to enhance technical education and engineering, and that one of the best ways to do that will be with T-levels? What impact does he think they will have?
Albert Owen (Labour, Centre-left): Solar power is an important part of the energy mix. What plans do the Government have to help community groups to ensure that community buildings are built to be self-sufficient by producing their own electricity and selling to the grid, and to put solar panels on the roofs of Government buildings?
Business Growth: North of England — House of Commons, 2019-06-11
Topic: Government Operations
Lucy Maria Powell (Labour, Centre-left): I thank the Minister for his answer. I would also like to see Ministers throw their weight behind the Power Up The North campaign but, given that the current Prime Minister banned all mention of the northern powerhouse when she took office and that most of the candidates to succeed her are southern MPs, and one is a former Mayor of London, is there not a real risk that the northern powerhouse agenda will fall off a cliff with a new Tory Prime Minister?
Business Growth: North of England — House of Commons, 2019-06-11
Topic: Macroeconomics
Chinyelu Susan Onwurah (Labour, Centre-left): In the north, European structural funds helped to create 70,000 jobs and 16,000 new businesses between 2007 and 2013. The Minister’s complacent and lackadaisical refusal to divulge any details of the shared prosperity fund raises real doubts that this will be a true replacement for those vital funds enabling significant regional decision making. So will he put the north above party infighting, help power up the north and commit to giving details of that fund before the end of the Tory leadership election?
Topical Questions — House of Commons, 2019-06-11
Topic: Labor
Questions: The International Development Secretary recently said that he wants to double the UK’s current £1.1 billion commitment to the UN green climate fund. As the UK is yet to do so, will the Minister who has temporary responsibility for our engagement with the UN climate talks assure us today that it is the Government’s intention to commit additional money to the fund?; The Office for Product Safety and Standards undertook a thorough review of the modification of Whirlpool tumble dryers. However, there still remain great concerns about not only the straightness of Whirlpool, but whether people have unsafe products in their homes. Can the Minister update us on what is happening in relation to Whirlpool?; I have two universities in my constituency that work very closely with businesses to develop technology. Can the Minister assure me that the Augar review will not lead to funding cuts at these universities, as they get funding from different sources?; With town centres such as that of Lowestoft facing serious challenges, will the Minister confirm that she is working with the Treasury and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government to put in place a fairer system of business taxation?; British steel companies pay twice as much as their French competitors for energy and 50% more than German companies. What action will the Government take to enable the British steel industry to compete without having one hand tied behind its back?; York Instruments, based in my constituency, is doing ground-breaking work developing advanced medical devices, attracting £10 million of private investment from the US to sustain 41 high-skilled jobs. Can the Government assure me that they are doing everything possible to facilitate this kind of investment, which can be very difficult for some small businesses to navigate?
Ruth Stephanie Nicole George (Labour, Centre-left): What has the Department done to monitor the growth of short-hours contracts in supermarkets, which have led 76% of USDAW members on low pay to rely on unsecured loans to pay everyday bills, with 63% believing that financial worries are affecting their mental health? Will the Secretary of State meet USDAW to discuss its recent survey in detail?
Topical Questions — House of Commons, 2019-06-11
Topic: Labor
Questions: The International Development Secretary recently said that he wants to double the UK’s current £1.1 billion commitment to the UN green climate fund. As the UK is yet to do so, will the Minister who has temporary responsibility for our engagement with the UN climate talks assure us today that it is the Government’s intention to commit additional money to the fund?; The Office for Product Safety and Standards undertook a thorough review of the modification of Whirlpool tumble dryers. However, there still remain great concerns about not only the straightness of Whirlpool, but whether people have unsafe products in their homes. Can the Minister update us on what is happening in relation to Whirlpool?; I have two universities in my constituency that work very closely with businesses to develop technology. Can the Minister assure me that the Augar review will not lead to funding cuts at these universities, as they get funding from different sources?; With town centres such as that of Lowestoft facing serious challenges, will the Minister confirm that she is working with the Treasury and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government to put in place a fairer system of business taxation?; British steel companies pay twice as much as their French competitors for energy and 50% more than German companies. What action will the Government take to enable the British steel industry to compete without having one hand tied behind its back?; York Instruments, based in my constituency, is doing ground-breaking work developing advanced medical devices, attracting £10 million of private investment from the US to sustain 41 high-skilled jobs. Can the Government assure me that they are doing everything possible to facilitate this kind of investment, which can be very difficult for some small businesses to navigate?
Jenny Chapman (Labour, Centre-left): Yesterday, I spoke to the chief executive of Arcadia Group about the Top Shop, Top Man and Dorothy Perkins stores in Darlington. Tomorrow, there is a CVA—company voluntary arrangement —meeting where we could see the loss of 18,000 jobs nationwide. I know that the Government cannot intervene in the process, but what are they going to do to protect communities who could be affected by this decision?
Topical Questions — House of Commons, 2019-06-11
Topic: Macroeconomics
Questions: The International Development Secretary recently said that he wants to double the UK’s current £1.1 billion commitment to the UN green climate fund. As the UK is yet to do so, will the Minister who has temporary responsibility for our engagement with the UN climate talks assure us today that it is the Government’s intention to commit additional money to the fund?; The Office for Product Safety and Standards undertook a thorough review of the modification of Whirlpool tumble dryers. However, there still remain great concerns about not only the straightness of Whirlpool, but whether people have unsafe products in their homes. Can the Minister update us on what is happening in relation to Whirlpool?; I have two universities in my constituency that work very closely with businesses to develop technology. Can the Minister assure me that the Augar review will not lead to funding cuts at these universities, as they get funding from different sources?; With town centres such as that of Lowestoft facing serious challenges, will the Minister confirm that she is working with the Treasury and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government to put in place a fairer system of business taxation?; British steel companies pay twice as much as their French competitors for energy and 50% more than German companies. What action will the Government take to enable the British steel industry to compete without having one hand tied behind its back?; York Instruments, based in my constituency, is doing ground-breaking work developing advanced medical devices, attracting £10 million of private investment from the US to sustain 41 high-skilled jobs. Can the Government assure me that they are doing everything possible to facilitate this kind of investment, which can be very difficult for some small businesses to navigate?
Rachael Helen Maskell (Labour, Centre-left): Only a fifth of York Central development is earmarked for economic development, which will seriously curtail the opportunities for business growth, inward investment and good jobs for York. Following my discussions with the Minister and stakeholders, will he consider a new proposal for York Central?