argyrotsipi/train-dataset huggingface dataset:
Safety in Custody and Violence in Prisons — House of Commons, 2016-05-09
Topic: Law and Crime
Kelly Jane Tolhurst (Conservative, Centre-right): I thank the Minister for his comments today and for his support with regard to our concerns about HMP Rochester and the Medway Secure Training Centre. I also thank him for his very speedy meeting with me and the governor of HMP Rochester earlier this year. The Minister will know that Medway Secure Training Centre was at the centre of abuse allegations. Will he confirm when the Medway improvement board report will be published? My constituents want reassurance that action and improvements have taken place, so that young people are safe in Medway.
Safety in Custody and Violence in Prisons — House of Commons, 2016-05-09
Topic: Law and Crime
Andrew Edmund Armstrong Selous (Conservative, Centre-right): I commend my hon. Friend for her serious interest in and support for the three prisons in her constituency. I was in HMP Rochester on Thursday morning, and I commend, in particular, the outstanding work of its governor and head of security to combat the constant pressure of drugs coming into the prison. On Medway STC, about which we will be saying more shortly, the Secretary of State and I have met Dr Gary Holden and the Medway improvement board, which was appointed by the Secretary of State. We will be making further announcements on its findings in due course.
Safety in Custody and Violence in Prisons — House of Commons, 2016-05-09
Topic: Law and Crime
Andrew Edmund Armstrong Selous (Conservative, Centre-right): The whole prison reform agenda speaks directly to the issue of violence. Our vision for prisons is one where prisoners engage in meaningful, relevant education and in skills training that is linked to skills needed in the local community and which will help them to get a job. Our vision also includes a commitment to keeping family relationships strong. If we can do those three things, we will reduce frustration, levels of violence and the number of assaults.
Safety in Custody and Violence in Prisons — House of Commons, 2016-05-09
Topic: Law and Crime
Andrew Edmund Armstrong Selous (Conservative, Centre-right): HMP Wormwood Scrubs is an older, Victorian prison facing various challenges. I went around it recently, and as I said, I have confidence in its very good new governor. The hon. Lady mentioned mobile phones, which we have not talked about much so far. As the Prime Minister announced on 8 February, we are committed to working with the mobile network operators, which also need to rise to their responsibilities to help us fight the scourge of mobile phones in prisons.
Safety in Custody and Violence in Prisons — House of Commons, 2016-05-09
Topic: Law and Crime
Andrew Edmund Armstrong Selous (Conservative, Centre-right): Decisions about who goes to prison are obviously for our independent judiciary, but the hon. Lady is absolutely right about the need for better rehabilitation. We are determined that time in prison is not wasted but is productive, relevant and beneficial to prisoners and to the wider community in terms of keeping us all safe when they come out.
Safety in Custody and Violence in Prisons — House of Commons, 2016-05-09
Topic: Law and Crime
Andrew Edmund Armstrong Selous (Conservative, Centre-right): I thank the hon. Lady for praising the work of HMP Parc in her constituency—in particular, I would praise the outstanding family work done by Corin Morgan-Armstrong—and I am grateful to her for raising the issue of good co-operation with the local police. I am pleased it is working well in her area, but she is right that it varies across the country. It is an issue that I take extremely seriously and about which I have regular conversations with the policing Minister.
Safety in Custody and Violence in Prisons — House of Commons, 2016-05-09
Topic: Law and Crime
Andrew Edmund Armstrong Selous (Conservative, Centre-right): The hon. Lady is a member of the Select Committee, is very knowledgeable and takes these issues extremely seriously. One issue not yet mentioned today is that we are significantly improving prison officer training. It has increased from six to 10 weeks, and we are providing officers with the additional skills they will need to be able to cope. Training on its own, of course, is not enough, which is why I reiterate to the hon. Lady the commitment I have made several times today to carry on recruiting at the rate we are recruiting to get up to the benchmark level. In December 2014, the number of vacancies for prisoner officers was 5%; it is now 2%, and I want to see it at 0%.
Safety in Custody and Violence in Prisons — House of Commons, 2016-05-09
Topic: Law and Crime
Andrew Edmund Armstrong Selous (Conservative, Centre-right): The hon. Lady is right about the importance of jail-craft. I point her to the recent chief inspector’s report on Glen Parva prison, in which it was noted that the new officers were treated as an asset because of their enthusiasm and the new skills that they brought, rather than being viewed as in their probationary period and thus not able to add very much. If establishments get the right attitude and use the enthusiasm of the new recruits, it will be helpful.
Safety in Custody and Violence in Prisons — House of Commons, 2016-05-09
Topic: Law and Crime
Andrew Edmund Armstrong Selous (Conservative, Centre-right): I should point out to the hon. Lady that the Prison Officers Association reached an agreement with the National Offender Management Service. We will definitely keep all the issues at Wormwood Scrubs under review, and, as I have said, we are continuing to spend more money on prison officers in order to recruit up to the benchmark. We are continuing to recruit at the rate at which we have been recruiting for the last few years.
“Educational Excellence Everywhere”: Academies — House of Commons, 2016-05-09
Topic: Education
Nicky Morgan (Conservative, Centre-right): The shadow Education Secretary was as constructive and positive as always, but let me deal with some of the issues she raised. She asked about the support for academies. She will know about this, if she has read the evidence I gave to the recent hearing of the Select Committee on Education, where we went through this in great detail. I am sure she has also seen the very long letter I sent to the National Union of Teachers about the international evidence, but let me just give two statistics: primary sponsored academies are making substantial gains, with the percentage of pupils achieving the expected level in reading and writing and maths at the end of key stage 2 having risen by four percentage points last year; and those academies open for just one academic year having seen their results improve by five percentage points. She asked about the views of the chief inspector—[Interruption.] I am sure that if she has—[Interruption.]
“Educational Excellence Everywhere”: Academies — House of Commons, 2016-05-09
Topic: Education
Nicky Morgan (Conservative, Centre-right): Thank you very much, Mr Speaker. It is extraordinary how some people do not want to hear any arguments against them, for example, from Sir Michael Wilshaw. The hon. Lady will have seen the letter from Ofsted in which he said: "As you know, I fully support the government’s ambition to create a more diverse and autonomous school system. As I said in my latest Annual Report, academisation can lead to rapid improvements and I firmly believe that it is right to give more autonomy to the front line." The hon. Lady mentions the Education Committee report from 2014, published last year, which said: "Academy sponsorship has encouraged and facilitated the contribution of individuals not previously involved in education provision and laid down a challenge to maintained schools to improve or face replacement by the insurgent academy model." It is extraordinary that it took until the hon. Lady’s final sentence for her to talk about standards. As usual, there was no mention of pupils, of standards or of aspiration. She has had nine months to set out a vision of what a strong, consistent education system looks like. I have set out ours very clearly in this White Paper and she now needs to do the same if she is to have any hope of office We know what today’s Labour party is all about—it is about taking sides. That is what Labour told us in the local elections and it is what its leader is all about. Today, Labour has picked its side: the side of vested interests in the status quo; the side of no change; the side of those who want to push back the tide of progress and return to Labour’s bad old days. I say no. We pick the other side: the side of parents, teachers and, above all, pupils; the side of higher standards and aspirations; and the side of progress and reform—the side of educational excellence for all.
“Educational Excellence Everywhere”: Academies — House of Commons, 2016-05-09
Topic: Education
Neil Carmichael (Conservative, Centre-right): The chief inspector of schools has already been cited this afternoon. I draw the attention of the House to his report of 2013 in which he referred to the "long tail of underachievement". He cited the big problem of having too many primary schools coasting and not delivering adequate teaching in maths and English and in other subjects, and many of those schools are in local authority areas that could improve generally. It is absolutely right therefore to focus on those local authorities and make sure that we do deliver for our young children, most of whom do not go to academies at primary school, because there are not enough primary schools in that category. I welcome this statement to focus on the schools that really matter and, above all, on the local authorities.
“Educational Excellence Everywhere”: Academies — House of Commons, 2016-05-09
Topic: Education
Nicky Morgan (Conservative, Centre-right): I thank the Chair of the Education Committee. It was a pleasure to visit a school in his constituency of Stroud recently. I know that he is absolutely committed to the lifting of educational standards for all young people. Is it not telling that, rather than working with the Chair of the Education Committee, the hon. Member for Manchester Central (Lucy Powell) just tries to shout him down?
“Educational Excellence Everywhere”: Academies — House of Commons, 2016-05-09
Topic: Education
Nicky Morgan (Conservative, Centre-right): I thank the hon. Lady for her long question. I agree that the most important thing we can do in our classrooms is to ensure that the quality of teaching is at its absolute highest, which is why we have more teachers in our schools than we have ever had before On recruitment, let me say that, if the hon. Lady has the chance to read the White Paper, she will find a lot of answers to her questions. There is the introduction of "Achieving Excellence Areas", the introduction of the National Teaching Service, the setting up of career progression for teachers, and the support for a college for teaching. Let me also say to her that, in Scotland, there are now fewer teachers than there were when the SNP came to power and a bigger gap between the advantaged and the disadvantaged. With the election of Ruth Davidson as an MSP and the fact that our party came second in the polls, her party will now be held to account.
“Educational Excellence Everywhere”: Academies — House of Commons, 2016-05-09
Topic: Education
Alan James Carter Duncan (Conservative, Centre-right): Very grise, Mr Speaker. It is a matter of regret that on such an important issue, the shadow Secretary of State rather let herself down this afternoon. Those of us involved with this issue have expressed concerns—about compulsion, of course, but also about planning for school places, transport across changing catchment areas, and what happens when a failing school has no suitable academy to take it over. The House is grateful to the Secretary of State for having listened, and we urge her to look at what might be described as the final pieces in the academisation jigsaw. We very much appreciate the tone and the constructive nature of her statement.
“Educational Excellence Everywhere”: Academies — House of Commons, 2016-05-09
Topic: Education
Nicky Morgan (Conservative, Centre-right): I thank my neighbour and right hon. Friend for his question. He raises important issues that we have addressed in the White Paper, in the sense that we highlighted that there are difficult issues around place planning and transport, and that we need to work with local authorities, the Local Government Association and others to make sure that we get this right. Ultimately, if schools are autonomous, we have to trust the frontline to deal with those difficult issues.
“Educational Excellence Everywhere”: Academies — House of Commons, 2016-05-09
Topic: Education
Nicky Morgan (Conservative, Centre-right): I thank the right hon. Gentleman for his question. The answer is: a lot. In the White Paper, we set out the plans by local authorities—two, certainly—for multi-academy trusts. Many of them are already exploring spinning out their services, as well as setting up multi-academy trusts. There are limits on the ownership that they are able to take. A lot of local authorities are exploring the option of setting up a trust in which the heads of the schools own part of the trust. That is a strong model, and it builds on the great collaboration that we already see in our education system.
“Educational Excellence Everywhere”: Academies — House of Commons, 2016-05-09
Topic: Education
Graham Stuart Brady (Conservative, Centre-right): I thank my right hon. Friend for the very constructive approach she has taken throughout this debate. I particularly welcome her recognition that stand-alone academies, or small multi-academy trusts, can have the benefits of autonomy, while keeping schools in touch with the communities they serve.
“Educational Excellence Everywhere”: Academies — House of Commons, 2016-05-09
Topic: Education
Nicky Morgan (Conservative, Centre-right): I thank my hon. Friend for the conversations that we have had. I know that he is absolutely committed to high educational standards. He is extremely fortunate to represent a very high-performing local authority. He and I both want all children in the country to have the same opportunities as children in his constituency.
“Educational Excellence Everywhere”: Academies — House of Commons, 2016-05-09
Topic: Social Welfare
Chloe Rebecca Smith (Conservative, Centre-right): Thank you, Mr Speaker. [Laughter.] I am delighted to be picked from among the serried ranks of excellent Back Benchers. Evidence such as the social mobility index sadly shows that my constituency has some of the poorest opportunities for the poorest children. May I urge the Secretary of State to stick to her guns, and to ensure that her focus is on standards for those who need it most?
“Educational Excellence Everywhere”: Academies — House of Commons, 2016-05-09
Topic: Education
Nicky Morgan (Conservative, Centre-right): I thank my hon. Friend. She is absolutely right to say that this is about higher standards for all, but particularly for those for whom education is the great life transformer that will set them up for life. If we do not get this right, we are losing out as a country, and children are losing out. She and I have discussed the opportunity for her area to take part in the "Achieving Excellence Areas" pilots, and I look forward to discussing that further.
“Educational Excellence Everywhere”: Academies — House of Commons, 2016-05-09
Topic: Education
Nicky Morgan (Conservative, Centre-right): The right hon. Gentleman and I discussed this when I gave evidence to the Education Committee. We have been very clear that there is a role for parent governors. We expect trust boards to have parent governors, but we also think that that is not the only way for parents to be involved and that much better, more meaningful engagement can be achieved.
“Educational Excellence Everywhere”: Academies — House of Commons, 2016-05-09
Topic: Education
Tania Mathias (Conservative, Centre-right): Following on from that, I thank my right hon. Friend for listening to the arguments for not compelling academisation, but because parent governors are so vital to the excellence of schools—I have worked with some brilliant parent governors—how will my right hon. Friend ensure that parental input continues? That is part of excellence.
“Educational Excellence Everywhere”: Academies — House of Commons, 2016-05-09
Topic: Education
Nicky Morgan (Conservative, Centre-right): We are making it an expectation that parents will be heavily involved, not just through being governors, but through, for example, parent councils, as my hon. Friend the Member for Pudsey (Stuart Andrew) set out recently, and the parent portal. My hon. Friend the Member for Twickenham (Dr Mathias) is right to say that parent governors make a huge contribution to schools. I happen to know that because I am married to one of them.
“Educational Excellence Everywhere”: Academies — House of Commons, 2016-05-09
Topic: Education
Nicky Morgan (Conservative, Centre-right): I think the hon. Lady rather let herself down by that patronising question, if I may say so. I have been very clear all the way along, since the first day of my appointment, that the most important people in our education system are the teachers. The quality of teachers is the single most important thing that attracts and helps young people meet standards. If any Minister puts forward any proposals, we are likely to hear comments, but that does not mean that we should not put proposals forward. That is not the kind of person I am. I said last week that I was not going to leave the job half-done; I am not going to leave the job half-done.
“Educational Excellence Everywhere”: Academies — House of Commons, 2016-05-09
Topic: Education
Stephen Daniel Double (Conservative, Centre-right): I welcome the Secretary of State’s comments on the support for small rural schools, and her commitment to a funding review. Does she agree that a funding review delivers the opportunity to address the deep unfairness in the funding system that has left schools in places such as Cornwall underfunded for far too long?
“Educational Excellence Everywhere”: Academies — House of Commons, 2016-05-09
Topic: Education
Nicky Morgan (Conservative, Centre-right): We remain committed to a national funding formula review. It cannot be right to have 152 different local formulae operating across the country. As I have talked about having a strong, consistent education system across the country, that must mean that we have a strong, consistent funding system too.
“Educational Excellence Everywhere”: Academies — House of Commons, 2016-05-09
Topic: Education
Nicky Morgan (Conservative, Centre-right): Plenty of evidence can be cited in favour. I point the hon. Gentleman to the PISA and the OECD evidence, which I have already talked about, which sets out clearly the benefits of autonomy in our school system.
“Educational Excellence Everywhere”: Academies — House of Commons, 2016-05-09
Topic: Education
William James Quince (Conservative, Centre-right): I pay tribute to the Secretary of State for listening to Back Benchers on this issue. She knows that I have been a vocal critic, but I found her willingness to engage with us on the issue most refreshing and I am grateful to her for that. Can she confirm that she will continue to engage with parents and teachers as she pursues our vision to improve education for every child, regardless of background?
“Educational Excellence Everywhere”: Academies — House of Commons, 2016-05-09
Topic: Education
Nicky Morgan (Conservative, Centre-right): I think the right hon. Lady needs to read the White Paper. Let me also point out that we have the highest number of teachers ever in the profession, and we have created 600,000 more school places since 2010. When the Labour party was in power, it took 200,000 places out of the system at the time of a baby boom.
“Educational Excellence Everywhere”: Academies — House of Commons, 2016-05-09
Topic: Education
Graham Charles Stuart (Conservative, Centre-right): I think you have had your question. May I join colleagues in congratulating the Secretary of State on her statement and on the way in which she has engaged with colleagues on both sides of the House? The Education Committee described the healthy tension between local authority schools and academy schools, which has contributed to 1.4 million fewer children being at weak schools. Does the Secretary of State agree that if local authorities that do manage to deliver outstanding schools and excellent overview and intervention, they can continue?
“Educational Excellence Everywhere”: Academies — House of Commons, 2016-05-09
Topic: Education
Nicky Morgan (Conservative, Centre-right): I thank my hon. Friend for the conversations we have had. Yes, of course—this is all about lifting standards and making sure no child is in a school that is failing or underperforming. Of course, if a child is in a good school being supported by a strong local authority, I want the authority to get on with doing that.
“Educational Excellence Everywhere”: Academies — House of Commons, 2016-05-09
Topic: Education
Nicky Morgan (Conservative, Centre-right): I think there were three questions in that one question, but I will give the hon. Gentleman, who is a member of the Education Committee, the benefit of the doubt. First, let me answer his last question. We take swift action in any academies that are failing. Regional schools commissioners have already brokered over 100 schools and issued 94 warning notices. However, the hon. Gentleman’s question shows a worrying lack of understanding of what we are doing. There has been a one-size-fits-all system—and that was local education authority control. We are now saying that there will be freedom for schools to decide the right future for them; that could be continuing in a strong, supportive local authority, but it could also be converting into a stand-alone academy or joining a small local cluster, a bigger multi-academy trust or a diocesan trust. Schools are free to make the decision that is right for them and their pupils.
“Educational Excellence Everywhere”: Academies — House of Commons, 2016-05-09
Topic: Social Welfare
Felicia Jane Beatrix Drummond (Conservative, Centre-right): May I also welcome the Secretary of State’s readiness to listen to colleagues? An Ofsted report earlier this year on the standard of provision by the local authority in Portsmouth is damning, with generations of children having been let down. The Conservative-led city council has made some important changes, and a new director of children’s services is beginning to make a difference, but does my right hon. Friend agree that she must have the powers to intervene where local authorities are failing?
“Educational Excellence Everywhere”: Academies — House of Commons, 2016-05-09
Topic: Education
Nicky Morgan (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend is absolutely right: we cannot stand back where local authorities are not providing sufficiently strong and effective school improvement. She is right to talk about the generations of young people who have been failed. It would be utterly irresponsible for the Government to let that continue on our watch.
“Educational Excellence Everywhere”: Academies — House of Commons, 2016-05-09
Topic: Education
Nicky Morgan (Conservative, Centre-right): The second half of the hon. Gentleman’s question was a lot more constructive than the first. I go back to what I said to the hon. Member for Gateshead (Ian Mearns): we are not having a one-size-fits-all system—we had one, and it was called local education authorities. We now have a system where schools can decide their future, either on their own, or working in clusters or with the diocese. I am delighted that the hon. Gentleman is on our side on raising standards, and I hope he can speak to other Opposition Members about that.