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  • Edward du Cann – 1956 Maiden Speech in the House of Commons

    Below is the text of the maiden speech made by Edward du Cann, the then Conservative MP for Taunton, in the House of Commons on 23 April 1956.

    I have the honour to represent the ancient and historic constituency of Taunton, in the County of Somerset, which comprises not only the Boroughs of Taunton and Wellington but also their rural districts and the rural district of Dulverton, and which includes some of the most beautiful countryside in Somerset, if not in the whole country.

    The industries in my constituency are many and varied. They range from the production of cider—fortunately not affected by the proposals of the Chancellor of the Exchequer, or perhaps I should make a speech rather different from that which I am now about to deliver—to the textile trade; from the manufacture of gloves, shirts and collars to the manufacture of precision instruments; from engineering to withy growing.

    Taunton market is the finest in the West, and the largest single industry in the constituency is farming. Therefore, not only do we earn foreign currency by our work in this constituency, but we also save foreign currency as well. Perhaps I may say, in parenthesis, that one must recognise that for all the support which the farming industry is receiving at the moment from the taxpayer, small farmers and hill farmers particularly eke out a not very satisfactory living.

    The division has been represented in this House by many distinguished men, although it failed to elect the great Mr. Disraeli when he stood as a Tory candidate at a by-election in 1835. Not least among those distinguished men has been my immediate predecessor, Lord Colyton, to whom I owe a great deal—far more than I shall ever be able to repay. I see the hon. Member for Shoreditch and Finsbury (Mr. Collins) in his place, and perhaps I may say that both he and my predecessor the noble Lord represented Taunton with distinction and rendered great service to their constituents. They have both set me a hard example to follow, and I shall do my best to follow it.

    I confess to being in some difficulty in addressing the Committee today because, on the one hand, I understand that by the tradition of this House a maiden speech may not be contentious, but, on the other hand, I recall the turbulent history of the West Country. Names like Monmouth and Judge Jeffreys come to my mind. Perhaps it is just as well that the hon. Member for Nelson and Colne (Mr. S. Silverman) is not in his place. So we in the West Country are rebels yet, and suffer no Government gladly, particularly when they have their hands in our pockets in which we keep our loose change.

    For all that, it is true to say that my constituents and the majority of the people of this country support my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer in his grand design and aim to contain inflation, to encourage private, and more particularly Government, saving, to keep Britain solvent and to build up our reserves and keep us paying our way. We recognise, too, that if these things are done we are certain to maintain our standard of living and, perhaps, in the future to build it up. If these things are not done, we shall perish and the result will be tragedy for our people.

    It is with regard to the methods by which my right hon. Friend seeks to attain these aims that there may be differences of opinion. As to the detail of his Budget, I wish to refer, first, to the sensational announcement—for it is that—about the new Premium Bonds and then later to other matters.

    We shall have to wait for details of the Premium Bonds scheme, but it is is, perhaps, appropriate to make four points. The first is, that it is clear that the public imagination has been caught by the idea. That augurs well for its success. It seems to me important, if it can be arranged—as I have said, we do not know the details at the moment—to start the scheme as early as possible. I hope very much that we shall not be kept waiting for as long as my right hon. Friend suggested.

    Secondly, when we have secured the interest of the people, we surely want to maintain it. It occurred to me that it would, perhaps, be better to draw these bonds every month instead of every three months.

    Thirdly, my right hon. Friend announced that the bonds would have a par value of £1 and that the maximum holding would be limited to £250. I agree with the figure suggested for the holding, but I am not so sure about the par value. At a time when investments tend to be cheaper so far as their par value is concerned in order to encourage working and middle-class people to buy them, it seems to me that it would be better to reduce the par value to 10s. or 5s. One recognises the difficulty when a great investment company like Cable and Wireless has to do that in order to attract investors. Therefore, it seems to me important to make the point here today.

    Lastly, bearing in mind a letter in The Times on Friday last which quoted a precedent in Queen Anne’s day, it seems to me that my right hon. Friend might be able to get over the objections of some people—one can sympathise with and understand them—to the speculative nature of these bonds if some small rate of interest were paid on them. The net rate to be paid is 4 per cent. and if we gross it up it is about 7 per cent., which is a very high yield when compared with the ordinary share yield index quoted in the Financial Times, which is just about 5½ per cent. Surely 1 per cent. could be paid on these bonds, since my right hon. Friend has said that registers are to be kept.

    Leaving the subject of the Premium Bonds, I should like to say that I have—and I know that my constituents have—followed the Chancellor’s reasoning when he says, in effect, that this is to be a “hold-the-fort” Budget and that there could be no tax concessions this time. We are also pleased that no severe increase in taxation has been imposed either.

    I should like to register a point for the next time, and talk about two sections of the community, those who receive the most and those who receive the least—the Surtax payers and the old-age pensioners. I am, clearly, not an old-age pensioner, though, pray God, I may be one day, and neither am I a Surtax payer.

    The present initial level for Surtax is the same as it was in 1928–29, and if we take account of the fall in the value of money, it would appear, bearing in mind current values, that Surtax begins at a level of about £600 or £700. In these days, when the middle-class is expanding so fast—and we welcome that expansion—it is surely illogical and out of date to keep the lower limit at that figure.

    I am not suggesting that one should not recognise the social purposes of taxation, as the right hon. Member for Huyton (Mr. H. Wilson) mentioned in his speech, nor am I suggesting that we should not keep the upper limits of Surtax high. I am talking about the middle ranges of Surtax. We must surely recognise that Income Tax and Surtax discourage the people with special skills and trades. They discourage, too, the young and rising managers and executives. They stultify endeavour and kill incentive, and they are morally bad in the sense that they encourage the payer of Income Tax and Surtax to look for his remuneration in indirect ways.

    As to the old-age pensioners—I am sure that my right hon. Friend bears their needs very much in mind—much has been done for them, not least by the present Administration. I think that is a fair point to make, but much more needs to be done for them. On the subject of the tobacco concession, I have found among my constituents dissatisfaction, not because the concession has not been increased by 2d., but because the concession exists at all. Many think that it would be much better to give all old-age pensioners an extra 2s. 6d. a week rather than give one section an extra benefit. Although 50 per cent. of old-age pensioners take advantage of the tobacco concession, one does not know how many of them are habitual smokers. It would be fairer to give the 2s. 6d., or whatever the sum may be, to all of them.

    Another point which has been put to me very strongly, and with which I strongly sympathise, is that it would be a great aid for the old people if something were done to raise the earnings limit for them. I know that that is a matter which is being investigated at the present time.

    Finally, I hope and believe that my right hon. Friend’s language in his Budget speech gives great cause for hope that his second Budget may implement the promise of his first, and that when inflation is mastered and our trade position in the world improves, as we pray may be the case, we may look forward to enjoying the great tax reforms and reliefs of which our heavily burdened nation stands so sorely in need.

  • Gwyneth Dunwoody – 1966 Maiden Speech in the House of Commons

    Below is the text of the maiden speech made by Gwyneth Dunwoody, the then Labour MP for Exeter, in the House of Commons on 8 July 1966.

    If that riveting opening phrase, “I rise to make my maiden speech and to beg the indulgence of the House” causes you to sink a little lower in your august Chair, Mr. Deputy Speaker, I hope that you will forgive me.

    I warmly welcome the Bill as a step in the right direction. With the greatest respect, I welcome it also since I rather feel that I might not always find myself in such wholehearted agreement with the right hon. Gentleman the Member for Streatham (Mr. Sandys) during the rest of my Parliamentary career.

    I represent a very beautiful city. It is one for which I have great affection. Unlike my hon. Friend the Member for Peckham (Mrs. Corbet), I represent a city that has many historic associations and many beautiful buildings. To anyone who has the opportunity to sit, as I do, on a local authority planning committee, it is sometimes a little disheartening to discover how easy it is to destroy the beauty that men have left us over the years. Although we are able to preserve individual houses, it has in the past been only too easy to destroy the entire character of streets and cities by not considering an area as a whole.

    I am delighted that a Clause is provided in the Bill to deal with that aspect. I have had the slightly disheartening experience of taking part in a discussion on how to preserve a very beautiful view on one of the most beautiful rivers in Devon. Had it not been so tragic to me, I should have been amused at the sort of solution arrived at. It was decided that it was possible to leave a gap between two large sheds; and that this would preserve a very beautiful amenity.

    We have various other problems in Exeter on which I hope to have a chance to address the House on other occasions. We face the thorny problem of what is known as development. We desperately need to marry the best of the old with the best of the new. I always feel that beautiful cities, rather like beautiful women, require a certain amount of judicious preservation—I was about to say that they do better to be lived with; but perhaps that might be misinterpreted.

    If we are to provide the sort of environment in which people can live their lives to the full, we must be able to preserve the best houses and the best architectural points of interest. We certainly must do something about the rage we sometimes seem to have in modern society only to destroy and not to preserve. I have been startled by the number of ways in which it is possible to, shall we say, evade some of the provisions of the Town and Country Planning Acts.

    If it is true to say of people Thou shalt not kill, but need not strive Officiously to keep alive it is also true of trees. I welcome the provisions for the preservation of trees because there is here one aspect that we have not considered. Trees are living things, and can be easily destroyed.

    One can judiciously find that their branches are in need of lopping, one can destroy their roots, or find perhaps that they are a danger to new developments it is necessary to do away with them. In those circumstances, it is all the more important for local authorities to have the kind of provisions contained in this Measure to require developers or builders to replace trees in areas from which they have been removed.

    Those of us who have served on local authorities want to see our cities made not merely utilitarian and as a sort of background against which can be produced better jobs and a better future for our children, but a warmer, livelier and more beautiful environment. As this island becomes more and more crowded it becomes more incumbent upon us to protect areas such as the South-West which have great natural beauty where cities have grown up in very pleasant juxtaposition one to another, but which, if they are to live and not merely to be developed, must be developed in such a way that they will provide even greater beauty than in the past.

    I know that I do not need to draw the attention of the Joint Parliamentary Secretary, my hon. Friend the Member for Widnes (Mr. MacColl), to some of the problems we have in the South-West. I live in what is called a gem town. The problem for this particular gem is that the setting is one which we are very anxious to preserve. We look to the future to provide opportunities for better planning of growing towns. It is important that they should be the sort of towns which provide the environment we want for our children.

    I most warmly welcome the Bill.

  • Stephen Dorrell – 1979 Maiden Speech in the House of Commons

    Below is the text of the maiden speech made by Stephen Dorrell, the then Conservative MP for Loughborough, in the House of Commons on 13 June 1979.

    I begin, Mr. Deputy Speaker, by thanking you and the House for the honour you do me by listening to me this evening. It is a particular honour, because as the youngest Member of this new House I think that it is perhaps remarkable that I should be called to speak in the debate on what is, I think by general consent, one of the most important Budget Statements the House has heard in recent years.

    My first and very pleasant duty is to congratulate the new hon. Member for Blackburn (Mr. Straw) on what I think every hon. Member will agree was a cogent and well-informed speech, and one that is fitting for the successor to Barbara Castle. He has a very difficult task to follow his predecessor. I should like to associate myself with the hon. Gentleman’s wishing her well as the leader of the Labour group in the European Parliament.

    Tradition is a great help to a newcomer in placing an ordered series of duties on him when he rises for the first time. My second duty, and again a pleasant duty, is to refer to my predecessor, Mr. John Cronin. He had represented the seat since 1955, a total of 24 uninterrupted years. During that time he built up a formidable reputation both in the House and in the constituency as a very able, very intelligent and very civilised man. His constituents who went to see him always found a sympathetic ear. He was always prepared to take up the case of people who needed help and to do everything he could to help them. He will always be remembered in the constituency for the kind way in which he dealt with his constituents and the effective way in which he took up their problems.

    Mr. Cronin will also always be remembered in the House for the wise counsel he gave in speeches, particularly on defence, a subject that interests him very much. Both the House and the Labour Party will be the poorer for his loss. I am sure that every hon. Member wishes him well. I certainly do.

    The third priority that tradition places on a new Member is that he should talk about his constituency. I should like to begin my comments about my constituency by remembering two other, relatively recent, predecessors. The first is the man who sat for Loughborough during the war, Lawrence Kimball, father of my hon. Friend the present Member for Gainsborough (Mr. Kimball). His predecessor was a man called Winterton, who Labour Members may be interested to hear sat as a Socialist.

    The constituency that I represent is a combination of urban and rural areas within the charmed triangle of the three great industrial towns of the East Midlands. It is almost equidistant between Nottingham, Leicester and Derby. The economy of the Loughborough town is based on a wide variety of small and vigorous companies in the engineering, pharmaceutical and textile knitwear industries. There is a very low level of unemployment. The population of the town is increasing and I believe that we can say that the economy of the Loughborough area is in a healthy state.

    In addition to industry, we have a new university of technology and a college of technology, so that in a sense education is a local industry.

    I should like to mention the 5,000 people of Asian origin who came to Loughborough during the 1960s and early 1970s as refugees from odious regimes, largely hi East Africa. They have integrated very well into the community, where they perform a valuable job. I believe that they are accepted as equal members of the community. We have a very good record of race relations in Loughborough and I very much hope that that will continue indefinitely.

    I suppose that “diversity” is the key word for the make-up of the constituency outside the town. It is made up of a series of towns and villages and a broad cross-section of interests. We have farmers and a large group of miners, because half the Leicestershire coalfield falls into the constituency. We also have the East Midlands airport

    Therefore, Mr. Deputy Speaker, I believe that when it comes to my suggesting that I have a particular constituency interest in speaking I shall have that argument at my disposal for a broad range of debates. The argument is nowhere more true than in talking about the Budget.

    I believe that I speak for the majority of my constituents when I welcome the basic thrust of the Budget. I believe that it will be welcomed throughout the community because it honours the basic priority that the Conservative Party put to the electorate at the general election—that we should, by reducing the deductions from the wage packet, increase the incentive for a man, first, to go to work, but, secondly, to do an extra hour’s overtime, to acquire an extra skill and to bring about that increase in productivity which is essential if our country is to be able to compete with our competitors elsewhere in the industrialised world, and particularly in Western Europe.

    The most dangerous fact for our economy, and the greatest danger that we face, is that the British worker on average produces less than comparable workers do in West Germany, France, Holland, Belgium and the other countries of the EEC. Until we can make it worth while for our workers to produce extra goods and bring our productivity up to those levels abroad, we cannot look for the standard of living that the people in those countries enjoy and which hon. Members on both sides of the House want to see for our own people.

    That is why I believe it is so important that the emphasis of the Budget is on reducing the burden of income tax, particularly the marginal rates. The incentive argument is at its strongest at the marginal rates, where it involves the decision as to whether one does an extra hour’s overtime or acquires a particular skill. That is where the incentive is at its greatest. If we can bring down the rates at the margin, the incentive is there to do that extra bit of work.

    No one on either side of the House likes the 3½ per cent. to 4 per cent. rise in the retail price index which my right hon. and learned Friend deems necessary to bring about that increase in incentive throughout the income tax structure. However, if we are to bring about the increase in productivity that I have been talking about, we have to give first priority to making that incentive available so that we can get the increased productivity and build a stronger industrial base.

    The Leader of the Opposition said yesterday that the Chancellor had taken a reckless gamble. I believe that in a sense my right hon. and learned Friend has taken a gamble—not a reckless one, but a calculated gamble. It is because these are in a sense high-risk policies, because my right hon. and learned Friend is taking a calculated risk, that it is perhaps now more important than ever that, in addition to honouring our pledge to reduce taxation, we should also honour our pledge to increase the role of the National Economic Development Council, so that trade union representatives and the representatives of all other interested parties are brought into discussion on the future state of the economy during the summer and before the next wage round begins.

    My hon. Friend the Member for Worthing (Mr. Higgins) said that any Government can have a wage policy. I think that he is right. The argument is not about whether one should have one. A Government have to decide on the wage levels of all the people who are their direct employees, and they also have a large say in the pay levels of their indirect employees. That, whatever one chooses to call it, is a wages policy. The only argument is whether one decides that policy by confrontation on the picket line or by discussion round the table.

    The latter is the role that we saw in Opposition for the NEDC—a table round which these things can be discussed in the context of a conflict which can to some extent be neutralised. I hope that our pledge in this respect will not be forgotten by the Government in forming their economic policy during the next three or four months. I recall in conclusion the words once used in very different circumstances—we shall never negotiate out of fear, but, likewise, we shall never fear to negotiate.

  • Angela Crawley – 2017 Speech on Child Maintenance Service

    Below is the text of the speech made by Angela Crawley, the SNP MP for Lanark and Hamilton East, in the House of Commons on 16 November 2017.

    It is perhaps not surprising that while Brexit dominates most political debate, issues of huge importance sometimes slip through the scrutiny of this place, and I believe that the Child Maintenance Service falls into that category. After several months of working through the formalities of this House, I am delighted finally to have the opportunity to raise my concerns and highlight in the Chamber the real struggles faced by my constituents.

    My constituency office has dealt with a huge variety of problems with the Child Maintenance Service, including the tax on survivors of domestic violence—the Minister may be aware of that issue since I have been campaigning on it for some time. I would also like to raise further constituency cases beyond that campaign, and I hope that the Minister will to respond to my remarks.

    The Child Maintenance Service was established in 2012 to replace the Child Support Agency—an organisation that was arguably worse. The new system was built on the ethos that children fare better when their parents have a positive relationship. However, that is not the case for all former partners, and some of the ill-judged changes made in the transition to the CMS included glaring oversights in the administration of the system. The stubborn refusal of the Government to acknowledge their mistakes has meant that the current system is not always fit for purpose.

    The essence of child support is simple. When both parents are not in a relationship, or if they break up, the child should not suffer financially. For some children, the CMS is their means of avoiding poverty. As a result, that organisation forms one of the most important roles of government—the protection of children. It is therefore vital that such a service should be treated with no less complacency than any other Department.

    To allow the CMS to fulfil its important duty, some changes should be made. It currently operates three different payment systems, two of which—the family-based scheme, and the direct pay scheme—operate without charge. The collect and pay scheme, however, has a number of charges. The family-based scheme essentially runs without the involvement of the CMS. Parents can sort out financial arrangements without the bureaucracy of Government interference. It is designed for former partners who can maintain an amicable relationship, and it is the most advantageous scheme for all those involved. It is cost-neutral to the Government, beneficial to the child, and ideally involves no ill-feeling between the parents.

    The direct pay scheme is where child maintenance is directed to the receiving parent without using the CMS. That happens after a maintenance calculation has been made by the Department. Parents essentially agree between themselves how and when maintenance will be paid, and the onus is on both parents to monitor the payment and highlight any discrepancies within the agreement. The direct pay scheme does not check whether maintenance has been paid, and neither does it offer any enforcement for either parent. Instead, if the scheme does not work, the CMS offers a move to a managed service—the ​collect and pay service. That scheme is available to those who have failed to receive payment, and if there is a reason why someone may not wish to interact with their ex-partner, or if the parent requests to use that scheme, in many cases the CMS can collect child maintenance payments and pass them on to the parent with day-to-day care of the children.

    Paying parents must pay a 20% collection fee on top of their usual child maintenance balance, and receiving parents must pay a 4% per cent collection fee that is deducted from their usual child maintenance amount. There is a £20 application charge for the collect and pay scheme, which is waived should the receiving parent be a survivor of domestic abuse. This scheme is the safest of all. Even in this instance, however, the system can be open to exploitation and abuse. The protections include wage deductions and the removal of any possible contact with an abusive partner. As the Minister will know, one of the biggest barriers to independence for survivors of domestic abuse is financial control, which is why it is welcome that the £20 application fee for the collect and pay scheme is waived for survivors of domestic abuse.

    I welcome the waiver, but it leads to the question that if the collect and pay scheme is the most secure mechanism for survivors of domestic abuse to exercise their right to child maintenance, and is free to apply, why is there an ongoing monthly charge for the survivors’ continued safety? The 4% collection charge is removed from the child’s entitlement. This is support that the Government have already determined through their calculations that a child is due, yet they see fit to remove it, taking vital financial support from families and penalising children.

    In previous correspondence with the Minister’s Department, I was informed that the charges were to cover administering the cost of the service and to incentivise the use of other schemes within the CMS. Logically, however, that runs counter to the Government’s removal of the £20 charge. The Minister is essentially saying that the initial charges are intended to incentivise the use of other schemes, but the ongoing monthly, and more costly, charges are there to penalise those where this is not possible. I am sure that that is not the intention, but the Government are using the charges to encourage some of the most vulnerable individuals in the country to engage with their abusive ex-partners and to rely on Government bureaucracy or worse. That is unacceptable and it must stop.

    The 4% tax on survivors of domestic abuse has rightly caused major concern with support groups and charities, including Women’s Aid, the White Ribbon Campaign, Gingerbread, Engender and One Parent Families Scotland. Those organisations all signed a letter in March this year, alongside Members from every party in this House with the exception of Government Members, calling for the abolition of the tax. Since then, the Government have lost their majority and this could carry the majority of the House. I therefore implore the Minister to do the right thing by vulnerable parents and send a message that the Child Maintenance Service should be a place of safety and security where individuals can exercise their right to child maintenance without fear of recurring abuse. I have been campaigning for this change for some time and have heard many weak excuses from the Department for its inaction. If the Minister in his reply plans to give me some of the ​same lines I have heard in the past, let me assure him that I have heard them all before. Let me try to counter them in advance and save him some time.

    The Government have consistently advised me that the direct pay scheme is a safe scheme and that the collect and pay scheme is the best way to ensure that both parties are protected. The Prime Minister has told me that users can utilise anonymous sort codes and therefore hide their location and that, if a payment is not made, the domestic abuse survivor can move on to the collect and pay service. Let me tell the Minister why that answer is at best careless and at worst negligent. Giving abusers access to communication with their former partners through bank transfers, and the ability to leave messages while doing so, continues the cycle of abuse. Allowing abusers to pay late without fear of enforcement also continues the cycle of abuse. The system is open to exploitation and abuse, and I hope the Minister will take that into consideration.

    Finally, while the collect and pay service offers the protection required, the charges come into play if a domestic abuse survivor is moved on to it. I am sure that that is not the intention. There is no way, even by the Government’s logic, that a survivor of domestic abuse can escape the tax applied by the Government without subjecting themselves to the possibility of continued abuse. Surely the Minister would agree that that is a flaw in the system? It must be reviewed and addressed accordingly.

    Another argument proposed by the Conservative party is that the tax is so small that it does not matter. I would question whether it is the place of the Government to define what matters and what constitutes small or large. Is it the place of the Government to define what is materially impactful when vulnerable families rely on the service? In response to a letter, the former Minister highlighted the fact that the 4% charge was “miniscule” and, in her interpretation, was not materially impactful. That is not a position I would expect of a Minister. I would expect the Minister to listen and adopt the views of Opposition Members as well as Government Members.

    I believe that the Minister’s response is contemptible at best, and I seek a better response from the Department. I want to raise two points. First, if it is not materially impactful, why apply it at all? Secondly, it might not have a huge effect on the Government’s budget, but for families living on the breadline, every penny counts. In advance of next week’s Budget, I ask the Government to consider who needs the 4% of child maintenance more—a family who will feel its material impact or the Treasury, which will not? I hope he will feed that back to the Chancellor along with my determination that the tax be scrapped.

    The Government consider it a success that more people are using the systems outside the intervention of the CMS, but with one third of those applying for children maintenance citing domestic abuse as the reason, I wonder how many individuals are being put at risk to avoid these punitive charges. The CMS should be protecting, not punishing, those who have fled domestic abuse. It is time that the tax was scrapped. I have spoken at length about the domestic abuse survivors tax—an issue I have campaigned on and which needs attention—but it is just one aspect of the service that is not working, yet, as much of my constituency casework shows, it could very easily be addressed.​

    I wish to highlight a few further issues with the CMS, and I hope that the Minister will be able to respond. Several issues with its administration have clearly had an impact on my constituents. One of them had been in an abusive relationship but managed to cut off all contact while receiving maintenance for their child. However, the Department sent her a letter meant for her ex-partner, which caused her great concern, as she was worried that he would get mail meant for her and find out her new location. It is unacceptable that a simple administrative error could strike such fear and alarm into an individual and that any Department, no matter how easily administrative errors might occur, could allow someone to feel endangered in that way.

    Dr Philippa Whitford (Central Ayrshire) (SNP) I rise to mention the case of lady in my constituency who approached the CSA back in 2005 and was assessed as only getting £18 a week. Eventually in 2013, after multiple letters and failures, it recognised that it should have been £68 a week. By that time, though, there were nearly £20,000 of arrears. That woman has been left in debt, and until recently we were told that the arrears would be cleared over the coming 15 years. By then, she would have been left servicing debt for 27 years. We have managed to get it sorted, but the idea that someone could write back to a woman who has raised children for 12 years on her own and say, “Don’t worry. In 15 years, it’ll be cleared,” shows a lack of comprehension of the real world.

    Angela Crawley I wholeheartedly agree my hon. Friend that such errors, so glaring and so obvious, should be addressed by the Government.

    The service levels offered to my constituents are often inconsistent, and CMS rules are often not followed by departmental staff. For example, requests to use the collect and pay service are often discouraged by advisers. I have previously raised the case of a constituent whose ex-partner was falling behind on payments and had requested to be put on the collect and pay scheme. She was told by a CMS adviser that this was not possible because the shortfall in payments was less than 10%. My constituent had not heard of this rule and, on asking where this was written in the legislation, was told to look it up herself.

    I could not find it written down anywhere either, and on questioning the Department, I was informed that it was not policy. Will the Minister tell me if there are targets for staff to keep people off collect and pay? I sincerely hope that there are not. If not, why are excuses being made not to use the scheme? In calculating the amount owed by the paying parent, income details are taken from HMRC, but they are not always taken from the most recent tax year. In fact, HMRC can use historic income data from any year in the past six for which it considers it has complete details.

    While this might work for most people, as was outlined in correspondence with the Department, it fails those who are self-employed or who tend to work on a contractual basis. For those people, income figures can vary dramatically year on year, so the calculation often does not reflect real incomes. The CMS system of annual reviews does not work for contractors, particularly when the annual review takes place before the end of the tax year. That simply causes more issues, with CMS ​payments being calculated on the basis of inaccurate income figures. There is currently no facility for a mid-year adjustment, and I ask for that aspect of the policy to be reviewed.

    An additional failure in the system of calculation is that, should a contractor submit payslips to try to prove current income, the amount shown on them is extrapolated to produce an estimated annual income. The contracts are often, by nature, short-term, and a few months of high income may be followed by months of no work. This is what happened to my constituent George Gillan, from Carluke. As the Minister knows, I have written to one of his colleagues about it.

    George worked offshore on a contractual basis, with a high income during the months when he was working, which were followed by periods when he could live on those earnings when out of work. At present, the CMS is calculating his payments on the basis of income from the tax year ending April 2015. George tried to submit evidence of a change in his circumstances by sending 12 weeks of payslips, but that was extrapolated across the whole year. The total estimated income did not breach the 25% threshold for a new calculation, so it could not be changed.

    That left my constituent owing payments that he simply could not afford to make. His annual review takes place in February, and because a mid-year adjustment could not be offered, he cannot afford to take short-term contracts, as he will be expected to make payments based on his higher income from 2015. He has not worked since December 2016, because he is fearful that he will be penalised on that contractual basis. If mid-year adjustments were possible—I hope the Minister will consider them—things would be much easier for those who are self-employed or work on a contractual basis. I hope the Minister will agree that that would be an easy accommodation to make. There is a fundamental flaw in the current procedure for identifying accurate income details, especially those of contractual workers.

    I am sure that I have given the Minister more than enough material to respond to, but Members and the public will know there are many issues I have not been able to cover today. Let me recap. I am asking the Minister to make the system fairer for survivors of domestic abuse by scrapping the 4% tax for those who use the collect and pay service. I am asking him to address the administrative problems that plague the CMS. I am asking him to ensure that its service is managed to a high standard and that policies are clear and correctly interpreted by staff. I am asking him to ensure that the CMS works for contractual workers by allowing accurate income details to be taken and allowing for mid-year adjustments. I realise that it is difficult for policy changes to be made, but I hope that the Minister will give serious consideration to some of the injustices that my constituents and people across the country have experienced in their dealings with the CMS.

    I am grateful for the opportunity to speak. It took me rather a long time to secure the debate. I urge the Minister to take my pleas on board and to seek to improve the system to protect and support families, which is what the Child Maintenance Service should be doing.​

  • Andrea Leadsom – 2017 Statement on Abuse in Parliament

    Below is the text of the statement made by Andrea Leadsom, the Leader of the House of Commons, in the Commons on 16 November 2017.

    Thank you Mr Speaker, with permission I will update the House on steps being taken to tackle harassment and abuse in Parliament.

    Madam Deputy Speaker, as my Right Honourable Friend the Prime Minister has made clear – there can be no place for harassment, abuse or misconduct in politics.

    I said we would take action in days, not weeks and that is exactly what we have done.

    Getting this right matters to everyone here – and I want to thank the Honourable Member for Birmingham Yardley – who I know is taking a keen interest in this matter.

    I hope today’s statement will answer some of her questions.

    Last week, the Prime Minister convened a meeting of the party leaders to discuss this matter.

    All party leaders attended and there was agreement to work together to make swift progress.

    The proposals outlined by the Prime Minister for an independent grievance procedure have been embraced across this House, and I am reassured by the consensus.

    All parties have acknowledged that any proposal must adhere to three specific criteria: it must have cross-party agreement, it must include both Houses of Parliament and it must be independent.

    The new system will be available to all who work here – including all MPs’ staff, Lords staff including cross-benchers, interns, volunteers, journalists, and constituency staff.

    It was agreed that the political parties would establish a cross-party working group to take this work forward, and I am pleased to report that the group met for the first time on Tuesday.

    The working group is made up of representatives from every party and from both Houses – Conservative, Labour, SNP, Lib Dem, Plaid Cymru, DUP, Green, and cross-benchers.

    Very importantly, MAPSA, the Members and Peers Staff Association, and UNITE are representing parliamentary staff on the group, and are ensuring that their experiences, and their requirements, are taken fully into account.

    The first meeting of the working group made clear that the voices of staff will be at the heart of this process. Any new system will need the absolute confidence of those who will use it.

    The working group also agreed that the new procedure must be independent of the political parties – and that to inform the group over the next two weeks, we will hear from a number of different contributors.

    This will include hearing from staff directly, as well as groups including ACAS, IPSA, the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards, and experts on a range of topics that will help us to shape a new process.

    Anyone wishing to submit their own thoughts or suggestions to the group in writing is also very welcome to do so.

    This is early days for the working group, and we will certainly be working quickly but thoroughly to make sure we create a new procedure that provides confidence to all who use it.

    I know that in addition, many members of staff have expressed an interest in the provision of HR training, as well as better employee support for staff.

    All those employing staff need a certain amount of guidance and training that will enable them to be good employers.

    This week the working group heard directly from the Clerks of the two Houses – who provided a very helpful account of the procedure used by House staff.

    Whilst we have recognised that the Respect policy used by the House authorities provides an excellent reference point, the independent procedure we are seeking to build will take into account the specific needs of Parliament, and the group has acknowledged the need for more than just mediation.

    The working group agreed a new system should provide support, advice and action on a wide spectrum of complaints around bullying and harassment.

    We will do everything in our power to ensure the solution is transparent, fair, and effective.

    And this fairness, Madam Deputy Speaker, must also apply to MPs and Peers, because we do recognise that right across both Houses we have many model employers who genuinely care about, and look after, their staff extremely well.

    We are working to a tight timeframe – but we have all acknowledged that it is right we address this issue with urgency.

    The publication of the final proposal will balance the need for fast action with the need for due diligence.

    The working group, including staff representatives, are considering the timetable carefully, and aim to report back to the House before the House rises for Christmas recess.

    Madam Deputy Speaker, you and the Speaker have said that you hope all parties will live up to their responsibilities by demonstrating both an appetite for change and a practical means of delivering that change.

    That is exactly what we intend to do and I want to thank all parties for working together in a supportive fashion. We share this duty to bring about positive change.

    People come to work in this place for a number of reasons – out of public service, to support the party of their choice, or to gain new work experience.

    Nothing should deter them from pursuing those ambitions, and I know we are all determined to ensure that this is a safe and fair place to work.

    Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker.

  • David Davis – 2017 Speech in Berlin

    Below is the text of the speech made by David Davis, the Secretary of State for Leaving the European Union, in Berlin on 16 November 2017.

    Thank you for inviting me to speak here tonight.

    It’s a privilege to be here, at Berlin’s Museum of Communication, to talk to you about how the United Kingdom is approaching talks to leave the European Union.

    I’m not here tonight to give you a blow-by-blow account of the Brexit negotiations.

    I’m sure have already got that from the pages of Suddeutsche Zeitung already.

    And I’m sure I’ll be answering questions about that once we’ve finished.

    Just to say we have made a great deal of progress in the negotiations to date – far more than is understood by most people.

    I’ve come to talk about the future for Europe these talks will create and their importance to generations to come.

    Earlier this evening I spent a little time walking around this incredible museum.

    To see the evolution of technology that has made our world closer and more interconnected than ever before.

    Put simply, what I believe is this:

    In that more interconnected world, it’s more important than ever that the United Kingdom and Germany work together to protect the values and interests that we share.

    Values that define our relationship, and are more important than our membership of particular institutions.

    Values of democracy.

    Of the rule of law.

    Of human rights.

    Of economic liberalism.

    And of freedom.

    These are the values that will guide the new partnership we want with the European Union.

    Shared interests

    I know that the UK and Germany came to the EU from different starting points.

    For Germany, and others, the creation of the EU is still seen properly as a foundation for peace and stability, democracy and justice, across our continent.

    The UK’s experience is different.

    For us the European Union — and the European Economic Community before it — was primarily an economic endeavour.

    One that bolstered trade but which always provoked public debate about the political integrity of sovereign states.

    Now this isn’t to say that one is right and the other is wrong.

    Indeed they are linked.

    Trade and peace have always been mutually beneficial objectives.

    But simply we have always viewed the Union differently.

    Germany was a founder member. We chose not to be.

    Germany was a founder of the euro. Again, we stayed out.

    It also doesn’t mean that we do not see the value in the wider political project for Europe.

    There cannot be any doubt that we want to see the European Union succeed and flourish.

    It’s in both of our interests.

    And while the British people have had their say, and we have decided to leave the institutions of the European Union.

    Brexit does not and will not mean the end of our relationship with the EU or indeed with Germany.

    Or that trade between the UK and Germany should reduce.

    Neither does it undermine, or reduce, our unwavering commitment to Europe’s security.

    I believe, with determination from both sides, the opposite can be true.

    So we need to create the right structures for after our European Union exit that will enable our partnership to thrive.

    We will always – always – stand up to the shared threats our continent faces and cooperate on the security of Europe.

    And the close economic ties that we both benefit from should continue, if not strengthen, in the years to come.

    The weight of evidence requires it.

    Bilateral trade between the United Kingdom and Germany is worth a total of 176 billion euros a year.

    Spanning the entire economy.

    And that’s more than a thousand euros to every man, woman, and child in both our countries.

    In 2015, two billion euros worth of German aviation exports were sold in Britain’s markets.

    In the same year 8.5 billion of chemical and rubber exports went to the UK.

    And 29 billion of automotive exports, from your biggest manufacturers BMW, Mercedes and the like, end up on British roads.

    That translates to roughly one in three cars sold in Britain — that’s 810,000 cars — coming from Germany.

    For our part, Germany is the UK’s second biggest trading partner – receiving 9% of our exports — and we’re your fourth biggest investor.

    Meanwhile 220,000 Germans work for the 1,200 British companies in Germany.

    That trade creates jobs.

    It boosts prosperity.

    And it creates wealth not just in Britain, not just in Germany, but across the entire continent.

    I have twice served on the boards of FTSE100 businesses and I’ve seen it myself first hand.

    In the face of those facts I know that no one would allow short-term interests to risk those hard-earned gains.

    Because putting politics above prosperity is never a smart choice.

    Two months ago, our Prime Minister Theresa May explained a bold ambition for the form of our future relationship.

    One that ensures these links with our friends and partners, such as Germany, are maintained and indeed, strengthened.

    It goes beyond just wanting a positive outcome to the negotiations.

    Because fundamentally, it is about the kind of country that the UK wants to be, after we leave the European Union.

    I recognise that, since the referendum last year, some in the European Union have had their doubts about what kind of country we are or indeed what we stand for.

    Now if you want to know the mind of a nation all one must do is read its press.

    So with that in mind I looked through some copies of Suddeutsche Zeitung.

    I read that “Britain wants to isolate itself”, that we are “short-sighted islanders”, or at least that’s how I translated “Inselbewohner”.

    Well I’m afraid I have to disagree.

    We are the same country we have always been.

    With the same values and same principles we have always had.

    A country upon which our partners can rely.

    The sixth largest economy in the world and a beacon for free trade across the globe.

    And when it comes to trade — as we forge a new path for Britain outside the European Union — I believe we can be its boldest advocate.

    Continued security cooperation

    Being a country that our partners rely on also means the United Kingdom continuing to play its part in maintaining the security of the continent.

    From mass migration to terrorism, there are countless issues which pose challenges to our shared European interests and values that we can only solve in partnership.

    That’s why we have already set out our ambition for continued partnership in areas such as security, defence, law-enforcement and counter-terrorism.

    Drawing on the full weight of our military, intelligence, diplomatic, law enforcement and development resources to lead action both inside and outside Europe.

    Hand in hand with our closest allies and partners our determination to defend the stability, security and prosperity of the European continent remains steadfast.

    Because the threats that European people face are the same, whether they are attending a pop concert in Manchester, Christmas markets in Berlin or simply using public transport in Brussels, Madrid or London.

    Britain always has – and always will – stand with its friends and allies in defence of those values that we share.

    And, of course, the United Kingdom always has been — and always will be — a country which honours its international commitments and obligations.

    This is more than just rhetoric.

    If we spent the European Union average on defence and international development, and other foreign affairs, we’d spend 22 billion pounds a year less than we currently do.

    That’s money that demonstrates how seriously we take our role on the world stage and it’s money that we’ll continue to spend in our mutual interest.

    Future economic partnership

    Because of our shared values and shared history, we’re ambitious and optimistic about our future partnership with the European Union.

    Of course, life will be different. We recognise that we can’t leave the European Union and have everything stay the same.

    And as we leave, we will be leaving the single market and the customs union.

    This is not an ideologically driven decision but a practicality based on what our people voted for and the respect we have for the four freedoms of the EU.

    It’s clear that the British people voted to have greater control.

    Greater control over our borders.

    Greater control over our laws.

    And a greater say over the United Kingdom’s destiny in the world.

    Now as we look to the future, we understand that the single market’s four freedoms are indivisible.

    And that it is built on a balance of rights and obligations.

    So we don’t pretend that you can have all the benefits of membership of the single market without its obligations.

    However, we are seeking a new framework that allows for a close economic partnership but that holds those rights and obligations in a new and different balance.

    That recognises both our unique starting point and our trusted, historic relationship.

    We will be a third country partner like no other.

    Much closer than Canada, much bigger than Norway, and uniquely integrated on everything from energy networks to services.

    The key pillar of this will be a deep and comprehensive free trade agreement – the scope of which should beyond any the European Union has agreed before.

    One that allows for a close economic partnership while holding the UK’s rights and obligations in a new and different balance.

    It should, amongst other things, cover goods, agriculture and services, including financial services.

    Seeking the greatest possible tariff-free trade, with the least friction possible.

    And it should be supported by continued close cooperation in highly-regulated areas such as transportation, energy and data.

    Race to the top

    Because there is so much that, even after we exit the European Union, the UK will continue to share with our European partners.

    Like our European counterparts, people in Britain do not want shoddy goods, shoddy services, a poor environment or exploitative working practices.

    We cannot be cheaper than China.

    And we’ll never have more resources than Brazil.

    And that is why the UK is committed not only to protecting high standards, but to strengthening them.

    So after we leave the European Union we will not engage in a race to the bottom.

    That would mean lower standards for our consumers and poorer prospects for our workers.

    After Brexit, Britain will have an independent trade policy and we will use it to lead a “race to the top” on quality and standards across the globe.

    A race that both Britain and Germany are well equipped to win.

    And where it makes sense for our economies where we can, we will want to do so by working in tandem with our European partners — and especially with Germany.

    For example, we have worked closely with Germany in the G20, especially through the Financial Stability Board.

    This has set global standards for financial businesses, aimed at averting any new international financial crises.

    Goods and services

    So the real question is how should this economic partnership work for the most important parts of our economy — goods and services.

    Our trade in goods is deeply integrated — and I believe it’s in the interests of both parties that this is maintained.

    That consumers and businesses must continue to have access to the widest possible range of goods.

    That UK and European businesses should be able to continue to work together through integrated supply chains.

    And that the safety of consumers, patients and food should be paramount in any agreement.

    The first step is ensuring that we maintain tariff-free access across the board.

    There is precedent for this already.

    The Canada-EU free trade agreement will eventually remove tariffs on all industrial goods; and most tariff lines for non-industrial goods.

    But we can go further than that.

    Because we already have established supply chains.

    And unlike other agreements, it is not a case of opening up a previously-protected market to new challengers from abroad.

    We should be trying to maintain what we already have.

    Think of a BMW car, produced here in Germany to be sold in the United Kingdom.

    Currently, that car only has to undergo one series of approvals, in one country, to show that it meets the required regulatory standards.

    And those approvals are accepted across the European Union.

    That’s exactly the sort of arrangement we want to see maintained even after we leave the European Union.

    We also fully trust each other’s institutions.

    For decades we have been happy to let German bodies carry out the necessary assessments to make sure that products — from cars to medical devices — are fit to go to market in the United Kingdom.

    And our regulators work together within European Agencies.

    Collaborating on scientific assessments to authorise products from medicines to chemicals for use across the European Union and sharing data on public health and safety risks.

    Leaving the European Union should not necessarily change our approach on cooperation — even as we diverge.

    Services

    These principles are true, not only for goods, but also for services.

    They form an essential element of both the United Kingdom and the European Union’s economy.

    Both collectively and individually, we have been leading the way in opening up the trade in services across borders.

    And our new partnership should keep with this tradition.

    Our objective is that services can be traded across borders, in areas ranging from highly regulated sectors — such as financial services to modern ones such as artificial intelligence.

    Even here, we will need a common set of principles to underpin our new partnership in services.

    An obvious starting point for this is our shared adherence to common international standards.

    To ensure that there is no discrimination in highly regulated areas between services providers.

    Our approach here must be evidence-based, symmetrical and transparent.

    But, of course, for such an approach to be lasting over time, there will need to be a couple of further things in place.

    First, there must be continued cooperation between our public authorities, building on their long history of working together.

    And second, we must have an effective dispute resolution mechanism.

    This should provide for clear and proportionate remedies for any dispute which might arise.

    You wouldn’t expect that arbitration to be in the UK courts, nor can it be the European Court of Justice.

    It must be appropriate for both sides, so that it can give business the confidence it needs for this partnership will endure.

    Movement of workers

    But services trade is not only about regulation.

    Even in today’s modern world, services are often still provided in person, on the ground.

    This means people must be able to move to provide those services.

    While the free movement of people will end when we leave the EU, the UK has been clear that this does not mean pulling up the drawbridge — or doing harm to our shared interests.

    The UK will continue to welcome people, both from the EU and around the world, who want to work and contribute to our society.

    Services provisions are commonplace in trade agreements today but as in other areas and given where we are starting, the UK and the European Union should seek to go beyond existing arrangements and existing precedents.

    And in many cases, the ability for people to move to provide services will not be enough.

    They will also have to have their qualifications recognised.

    Again, another area where our unique starting point is important.

    Currently, many UK qualifications are recognised across the European Union and vice versa.

    Since the creation of the current recognition system in 1997, nearly 26,000 UK qualified professionals have succeeded in getting their qualification recognised in another Member State.

    And after the UK leaves the European Union, the quality of training received at British universities and the high standards needed to gain these qualifications will not change.

    And we are sure the same is true for the European Union.

    We have recognised and trusted these qualifications on the current basis for over two decades.

    And that’s why we would like to agree a continued system for the mutual recognition of qualifications to support these arrangements.

    How we get there

    So one of the biggest questions we face is how we get from where we are currently to this new partnership.

    But as we work out the path together, I would urge us all to think creatively about how we can best exploit our unique starting point.

    But no matter what approach we take, both sides will need time to implement those new arrangements.

    And, that’s why the Prime Minister set out in her Florence speech that we want to secure a time-limited transition period.

    And that would mean access to the UK and European markets would continue on current terms.

    Keeping both the rights of a European Union member and the obligations of one, such as the role of the European Court of Justice.

    That also means staying in all the EU regulators and agencies during that limited period which, as I say, we expect will be about two years.

    This means that companies will only have to prepare for one set of changes, as the relationship between Britain and the European Union evolves.

    There are three main reasons we see the need for such a period.

    Number one — it allows the UK Government the time to set up any new infrastructure or systems which may be needed to support our new arrangements.

    Number two — it allows European Union governments to do the same.

    It should not be forgotten that, our new arrangements may well require changes on the EU’s side as well as on the United Kingdom’s side.

    For example Calais, which sees over two and a half million road haulage vehicles come in from Dover each year.

    They’ll have to accommodate for that.

    And number three — and most importantly — it avoids businesses in both the United Kingdom and the European Union having to take any decisions before they know the shape of the final deal.

    Without such an implementation period, some of these decisions would need to be taken in the near future on the basis of guesswork.

    And that is why we want to agree this period as soon as the European Union have a mandate to do so.

    There is urgency to this; for all 28 Member States, including the UK and Germany, and for our businesses and citizens.

    My message to you is that when it comes to an implementation period, and our economic partnership, you are not detached observers you are essential participants.

    Conclusion

    Now I’ve laid out what I think the solutions, and even the opportunities, can be as we leave the European Union and forge a new relationship over the coming decades.

    But I am under no illusions.

    I know that the negotiations currently underway are difficult and they will be into the future.

    Despite all this, as the United Kingdom exits the European Union, I have no doubt that the future for all 28 members is bright.

    We’re very lucky, the Brits and the Germans.

    We live in prosperous countries, whose inhabitants enjoy great lives, and great cultures.

    Who have freedom and privacy, justice and democracy, with strong economies that support people into work, and provide a safety net for people who can’t.

    And we’re lucky enough to live in a world where technology and globalisation — while challenging governments — creates huge opportunities.

    Our future will be brighter still if we achieve the positive, ambitious partnership we are aiming for.

    It’s one that is unprecedentedly close.

    That allows for the freest possible trade in goods and services.

    And that recognises that Brexit means that things must change but takes account of our unique starting point, as the basis for a new order.

    And a new, exciting and enduring relationship between the United Kingdom and Germany as friends and allies into the future.

  • Nick Gibb – 2017 Speech on School Business Professionals

    Below is the text of the speech made by Nick Gibb, the Minister of State for School Standards and Minister for Equalities, to National Association of School Business Management National Conference on 16 November 2017.

    It is a pleasure to be back again at the National Association of School Business Management National Conference. Can I just start by wishing CEO Stephen Morales a speedy and full recovery from his accident at the weekend. As I said last year, school business professionals play a crucial role in schools, freeing teachers and headteachers to focus on delivering a knowledge-rich education and improving the life chances of pupils. Your expertise helps shape the strategic direction and governance of schools.

    Which is why it is important to celebrate NASBM moving to Institute status. This is an important step for the status of your profession and for school leadership and governance as a whole. It is yet another milestone in the journey of school business professionals, as you become an integral part of the school system.

    The role of the school business professional has never been more important. As part of a school’s senior leadership team, many of you play a vital role in setting strategic direction. Having started my career as an accountant at what was then Peat, Marwick, Mitchell and Co. – before the firm merged and became KPMG – I know that an analytical approach to detail and prudent financial management should be the basis of any decision-making.

    This understanding should be at the heart of all organisations, whether private or public sector. A forensic interrogation of the detail and a careful management of resources frees an organisation to operate more efficiently and more effectively. For schools, this means improving the use and deployment of resources and freeing teachers to focus on what is most important.

    School business professionals play a vital role in strategic and financial management, which enables more teachers and headteachers time to be given over to teaching a high-quality, knowledge-rich curriculum. This allows for more money to be spent on evidence-informed CPD for teachers, to improve pedagogy and develop staff in preparation for future leadership responsibilities. And it provides greater opportunities for those essential intangibles that are so vital to providing a great education for all pupils, such as extra-curricular programmes and educational visits.

    As the old saying goes: look after the pennies and the pounds will look after themselves. But I know your role goes much further than that. The strategic oversight and the financial expertise that you bring to schools gives teachers and headteachers something that is even more valuable than extra financial resource; a skilled school business professional gives teachers more time.

    Research supports this, having produced strong evidence to suggest that a high quality, skilled school business professional can ease workload, saving headteachers up to a third of their time. We want more schools to benefit from this, which is why we want to enhance entry routes and options for professional development.

    We want to grow and support your workforce and we have supported NASBM to ensure there are quality apprenticeships available for school business professionals. This includes a route for school business directors through the level 6 Chartered Management Degree Apprenticeship.

    And we are working to encourage known school business professional networks to expand, as well as supporting professionals to set up new networks. Our aspiration – over time – is that every school business professional should be able to join a network.

    We want teachers and headteachers to understand how a strong school business professional can help improve their school and reduce workload.

    Teachers dedicate their working lives to improving the life chances of the pupils they teach. It is the duty of government to free teachers from the bureaucracy that too often prevents them from using their time as productively as possible and as they would like.

    Upon taking office in 2010, the government scrapped 20,000 pages of unnecessary regulation and guidance, freeing teachers to focus on teaching. We are working with Ofsted to bear down on time-consuming tasks that do little to improve pupil attainment. For example, the scourge of ‘triple marking’.

    But there is more that needs to be done. The past 7 years have seen significant change in the school system as our reforms bed in. Teachers and headteachers have responded well to the more rigorous national curriculum; the new GCSEs have been received well by the profession; and we are bringing stability to assessment in primary schools.

    These reforms are raising standards:

    – Thanks to the focus on phonics reforms, this year, 154,000 more pupils are on track to becoming fluent readers than in 2012
    – The proportion of pupils fulfilling the science pillar of the EBacc has risen from 62% in 2010 to 91% this year
    – And the gap between disadvantaged pupils and their more affluent peers shrunk by 9.3% at KS2 and 7% at KS4 between 2011 and 2016

    We all owe our thanks to teachers and our admiration for what they have achieved. Since 2010, there has been a transformation of the school system, improving the life chances of pupils, particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds.

    But teachers deserve more than our thanks. Government should support teachers to make their workload more manageable and provide them with more time to focus on what is most important: raising academic standards for all.

    School business professionals can and do play an important role in giving teachers back their time. You are the key levers that enable the employees of every school to most productively use that time.

    We want to see increased recognition of the value of school business professionals across the country. I look forward to working with the Institute of School Business Leadership (ISBL) to raise the status of school business professionals and develop the expertise of the hardworking professionals already driving improvements in our school system.

    Teachers and headteachers – supported by school business professionals – now enjoy far greater control over the destiny of their own school. Academy freedoms accentuate the greater autonomy enjoyed by teachers, but the government has given greater powers to all teachers.

    Greater powers now exist to deal with disruptive behaviour, which for too long blighted English education. Importantly, the government granted anonymity if teachers faced allegations from parents or pupils.

    The scourge of the ‘Ofsted teaching style’ has been eliminated. No longer does Ofsted make judgements about the pedagogical approach used by schools. Teachers are trusted. Instead, they are judged on the ends they achieve.

    Pedagogy is now a matter for teachers. It is a subject that is hotly contested in vibrant debates, which are increasingly being led by teachers: sharing platforms with academics at ResearchED; debating with intellectuals at the Institute of Ideas; and flooding the blogosphere with insightful critiques of received wisdom. This is the new normal in teaching.

    Teachers have seized their profession and are shaping the future. The great explosion of ideas that has emerged in the past few years has changed teaching forever. Unshackled from the grips of conformity, teachers have begun to question the previously unquestionable.

    Tom Bennett’s tireless campaign to improve school behaviour means that poor behaviour can no longer be dismissed as a consequence of uninspiring lessons. The days when classroom management is seen as the sole responsibility of the classroom teacher might – finally – be numbered. As Tom Bennett makes clear in his report Creating a Culture, managing pupil behaviour requires a whole-school ethos where classroom teachers are supported by senior staff.

    High expectations pervades so much of what teachers are now demanding. Consider the contributions to ASCL and PTE’s recent pamphlet ‘The Question of Knowledge’, which makes the powerful case for a knowledge-based curriculum.

    Luke Sparkes and Jenny Thompson, architects of the success of Dixons Trinity Academy – a free school in Bradford that ranked in the top 10 schools nationally for progress achieved – described the ongoing, teacher-led quest to raise standards, writing, I quote:

    A knowledge-based curriculum is about harnessing the power of cognitive science, identifying each marginal gain and acting upon it; having the humility to keep refining schemes of work, long term plans and generating better assessments.

    Government can take some credit for providing inspirational teachers with the freedom they needed, but the impetus comes from the profession seizing the opportunities that have become available.

    Consider the books that teachers now recommend to each other. Writing for the Chartered College of Teaching earlier this month, Elizabeth Royde reviewed Daisy Christodoulou’s masterful debunking of previous educational orthodoxy, ‘7 Myths About Education’. Her decision to conclude the review with a quote from the book was particularly powerful. Discussing the hyperbolic rhetoric of those opposed to teacher-led instruction, Daisy Christodoulou wrote the following:

    It is a baffling overreaction: to move from a legitimate criticism of mindless rote-learning to the complete denial of any kind of teacher-led activity. The solution to mindless rote-learning is not less teacher instruction, it is different and better teacher instruction.

    This quotation sums up the step-change there has been over the past few years. Teachers have claimed their voice. No longer will sound-bite criticisms be enough to dictate how teachers teach. Informed by a nuanced understanding of the evidence, teachers will no longer tolerate bland pronouncements from those who presume to be in a position of authority. Evidence is becoming the new currency in the marketplace of education ideas.

    Debate – as it has done for the last few years – will continue to rage. The freedom seized by the profession means that all will have a voice, but ideas will be weighed and will be discarded if found wanting. The heterogeneity of debate has encouraged a hundred flowers to bloom.

    Innovative academies and free schools – of varying and differing stripes – provide opportunities to test empirically different approaches to the curriculum and pedagogy. Twinned with the vibrant debate amongst teachers and academics, exemplary schools will serve to test ideas. The theoretical will become empirical, shaping debate and advancing our understanding.

    Free from government intervention, the feedback loop needed for a self-improving school system is now taking shape.

    The most successful innovative schools – such as Dixons Trinity Academy, which registered a Progress 8 score of 1.22 and an EBacc entry rate of 81% – are now beacons for others to copy. Dixons Trinity proudly stands as a living counter example that discredits the notion that outstanding education is somehow the preserve of the wealthy or those who live in the London. This school demonstrates unquestionably that all children – wherever they live in the country and whatever their family background – can achieve outstanding academic results.

    These schools are a bitten thumb, if you like, to all who clamour for contextualising achievement and a consequent lowering of standards. They represent a teacher-led fight to show what it is possible to achieve.

    But that is not to say that government cannot play a vital role in raising standards. The government overhauled the national curriculum, ensuring that children are taught the knowledge they need to thrive in an ever more globalised world. We have put an end to grade inflation and introduced more rigorous national assessments.

    Thanks to the hard work of teachers and headteachers, the strategic support and expertise provided by school business professionals, and the reforms that we have brought in since 2010, there are now 1.8 million more children in schools rated good or outstanding than there were in 2010.

    In July this year, to support schools to continue to drive up standards for pupils, we announced an additional £1.3biilion for schools and high needs across 2018-19 and 2019-20, in addition to the schools budget set at Spending Review in 2015. This means that funding per pupil for schools and high needs will, at a national level, be maintained in real terms for the next two years.

    And following our announcement in September 2017, in September 2018, for the first time, under the national funding formula, school funding will be distributed based on the individual needs and characteristics of every school in the country. The new NFF will provide for an increase in funding in respect of every school, allocating a minimum of £4,800 for each secondary school pupil and £3,500 for every primary school pupil in 2019-20, nationwide.

    Fixing our outdated, anachronistic and deeply unfair school funding system is another example of the good that government can do, creating a level playing field from which professionals can do what is best for their schools.

    But, as you will all be aware, the challenge does not stop there. Of course, whilst the way schools are funded is important, it is also vital that schools themselves continue to get the best value from their resources, to improve pupil outcomes and promote social mobility. Alongside our substantial investment, we are committed to helping schools improve their efficiency in order to achieve this.

    Incisive analysis of how school funding is spent can dramatically affect the success of a school in delivering for pupils. The expertise and strategic view that a school business professional can bring to financial decision making is beyond question, and we want more schools to benefit from this expertise.

    School efficiency must start with – and be led by – schools.

    Central to this is our approach to integrated curriculum and financial planning. Curricula should be inherently integrated with good financial planning. We know that this integration is pivotal to school efficiency.

    We want to highlight and develop the support, guidance and tools that are already available to help you to maximise your schools’ efficiency and long-term financial health.

    Currently, we are helping schools to get the best value from their non-staff expenditure through the ambitious initiatives set out in the Schools’ Buying Strategy, which was published last January. In particular, we have made positive progress with the Buying Hubs and are on track to start delivering support to schools in the North West and South West pilot regions early in the New Year.

    Further, we have helped schools to procure better value goods and services on areas all schools purchase thanks to our recommended deals. Schools can save on average 10% on their energy bills, or 40% on printers, photocopiers and scanners. We intend to expand these deals where it would help schools for us to do so.

    And over the summer, we launched an updated and significantly improved benchmarking service for schools, based on feedback and user testing with school business professionals.

    We will continue to build on this offer. When a school is at risk of falling into financial difficulty, it is right to intervene – directly with academies, or working with local authorities in the case of maintained schools. In these cases, we will deploy experienced efficiency experts to provide direct support to schools.

    The government is on a mission to support schools to use their resources as efficiently and effectively as possible. We’re looking forward to working with the Institute for School Business Leadership in this joint endeavour, which is why it is a pleasure to be here today to celebrate your move to institute status.

    Thanks to your strategic oversight and governance, and the hard work of teachers and headteachers, the school system has gone from strength to strength since 2010. Thank you for everything you have done, and will do in the future, to improve standards in our schools and to drive social mobility.

  • Sajid Javid – 2017 Speech on the Housing Market

    Below is the text of the speech made by Sajid Javid, the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, on 16 November 2017.

    Thank you, and good morning everyone.

    Half an hour ago, the official figures were published showing that the number of new homes in England increased by more than 217,000 last year.

    That represents the highest level of net additions since the depths of the recession, and it’s the first time in almost a decade that the 200,000 milestone has been reached.

    Yesterday, the Housing Minister Alok Sharma, he signed the papers that will allow housing associations to be reclassified as private sector organisations.

    Freed from the shackles of public sector bureaucracy, associations will be able to concentrate on their core, crucial mission – building homes.

    Later this morning, the Prime Minister will be in north London meeting with families living in new, high-quality social housing.

    They’re just some of the families to benefit from last year’s 27% rise in the number of new affordable homes.

    And they’ll soon be joined by many more thanks to the £9 billion that we’re investing in affordable housing.

    Now, all that is just the tip of the iceberg.

    Because this is a government that is getting things done.

    A government of deeds, not words.

    We’ve doubled the housing budget to deliver a million more homes, including hundreds of thousands of affordable ones.

    We have reformed planning rules, leading to record levels of planning permissions being granted.

    We have fought bureaucratic inertia and vested interests and we have freed up unprecedented levels of public sector land.

    We’re providing hundreds of millions of pounds of finance for small and innovative builders to accelerate construction speeds.

    And tens of thousands of derelict homes are being brought back into use…

    The list goes on and on.

    So yes, we’ve done a lot.

    Yet it is painfully obvious that there remains much, much more to be done.

    217,000 net additions means 217,000 more people or families with a roof over their heads.

    217,000 places where people can put down roots and build their life.

    But fixing the broken housing market will require a much larger effort.

    The figures that have been released today show that we have started turning things around.

    But they are only a small step in the right direction.

    What we need now is a giant leap.

    You wouldn’t know it if you listened to some people.

    Even today, I still hear from those who say that there isn’t a problem with housing in this country.

    That we don’t need to build more.

    That affordability is only a problem for Millennials that spend too much on nights out and smashed avocados.

    It’s nonsense.

    The people who tell me this – usually baby boomers who have long-since paid off their own mortgage – they are living in a different world.

    They’re not facing up to the reality of modern daily life and have no understanding of the modern market.

    The statistics are well-worn but they do bear repeating.

    Nationwide, the average house price is now 8 times the average income.

    The average age of a first-time buyer is now 32.

    People in their early 30s are half as likely as their parents were to own their home.

    A third of all men in their 30s are still living with their parents – a stat that will send a shiver down the spine of all mums and dads everywhere!

    Where once it would have taken an average couple 3 years to save for a deposit – 3 years – it will now take a quarter of a century. Assuming, of course, they can afford to save at all.

    And last year, the average first-time buyer in London needed a deposit – a deposit – of more than £90,000.

    £90,000!

    That’s a lot of avocados.

    Now, like some kind of noxious oil slick, the effects of our broken housing market are spreading slowly but steadily through all our communities and all demographics.

    And if we fail to take decisive action, the impact will be not just be felt by those who are directly touched by it.

    And that’s because your home is so much more than just the roof over your head.

    It’s not the backdrop to your life, it’s a fundamental part of it – and of society too.

    Our home is supposed to be our anchor, our little patch of certainty in an uncertain world.

    And once you have that certainty, that stability, then you can start to put down roots.

    Start making friends.

    Become part of your community.

    You can begin to play your role in those Burkean “little platoons” that have long been at the heart of much political thinking, for 2 centuries or more.

    So our homes are engines of society, and they’re also engines of social progress.

    In purely fiscal terms, yes, but in so many other ways.

    A safe place where children can do their homework, spend time with their parents.

    It’s much, much harder to get on life if you’re constantly forced to move from school to school, from place to place because your parents can not afford the rent.

    And homes are the rocks on which families and communities are built.

    If, like me, you believe in the importance of a strong, stable family unit, if you got into politics to help protect it, then you must also accept that homes should be made available.

    You simply must.

    At the heart of British life – is the idea that if you work hard you are free to enjoy the rewards.

    It’s an idea that has been articulated by countless politicians over many generations.

    But it’s an idea that is fundamentally undermined by our broken housing market.

    Because working hard no longer guarantees rewards.

    There is no guarantee that you will be able to afford a place of your own, to buy your own home, build your own life, pass something on to your children.

    With wages swallowed up by spiralling rents, there’s not even a guarantee that you’ll be free to spend your money on what you choose.

    Opportunity is increasingly limited not by your own talents but by your ability to make a withdrawal from the Bank of Mum and Dad.

    The generation crying out for help with housing is not over-entitled.

    They don’t want the world handed to them on a plate.

    They want simple fairness, moral justice, the opportunity to play by the same rules enjoyed by those who came before them.

    Without affordable, secure, safe housing we risk creating a rootless generation, drifting from one short-term tenancy to the next, never staying long enough to play a real role in their community.

    We risk creating a generation who, in maybe 40 or 50 years, reaches retirement with no property to call their own, and pension pots that have not been filled because so much of their income has gone on rent.

    A generation that, without any capital of its own, becomes resentful of capitalism and capitalists.

    And we risk creating a generation that turns its back on the politicians who failed them.

    A generation that believes we don’t care.

    We must fix the broken housing market, and we must fix it now.

    Tomorrow will be too late.

    February’s white paper, that set out our broad vision for doing so.

    It described the scale of the challenge and the need for action on many fronts.

    Since then we’ve been putting it into action, laying the foundations for hundreds of thousands of new homes.

    But I’m about as far from complacent as it’s possible to get.

    So I’m not about to let myself – or anyone – think that the battle is already won.

    I’m going to keep on pushing for much more change, keep on seeking answers to the questions that need to be asked.

    Can and should central government take a bigger, more active role in building homes?

    Our vision for Garden Villages and Garden Towns have been well received by planners and residents alike.

    But should we now be more bold, taking the concept to the next level and creating larger Garden Cities?

    How can we get more land into the system, freeing up more sites on which to build?

    Despite what some claim, our green and pleasant land not about to turn concrete grey.

    Twice a day, more of Britain gets covered by the incoming tide than is currently covered by buildings.

    England is the most developed part of the UK, yet less than 10% of its land is urban.

    Building the homes that we need does not mean ruining vast tracts of beautiful countryside. It doesn’t mean that at all.

    It just means working with local communities to make sensible, informed decisions about what needs to be built and where – and finding the right sites on which to do so.

    Many of those sites are already part of the urban landscape.

    Bristol was quick to sign up to the pilot scheme that we set up for a Brownfield Register.

    As a result, another 248 sites have been identified right across this city.

    And none of them require the loss of a single piece of greenfield land.

    But whether in cities or the countryside, the key to unlocking new sites is infrastructure.

    The right infrastructure can make private development viable.

    It can make new communities places where people actually want to live.

    And it can make development acceptable and attractive to existing communities.

    Tomorrow, the National Infrastructure Commission will publish its report on the opportunities on offer if we open up the Cambridge-Milton Keynes-Oxford corridor.

    I’m very much looking forward to what Lord Adonis has to say.

    That’s because infrastructure has to be at the heart of any major development. And as Secretary of State I will make sure make sure that it is.

    Too many commentators seem to think we have to choose one solution and stick with it, whether that’s planning reform, it’s infrastructure, it’s training or it’s investment.

    That couldn’t be further from the truth.

    There are many, many faults in our housing market, dating back many, many years.

    If you only fix one, yes you’ll make some progress, sure enough.

    But this is a big problem and we have to think big.

    We can’t allow ourselves to be pulled into one silo or another, and I don’t intend to let that happen.

    So there is much that central government can do.

    But, acting alone, we won’t be able to do anything.

    Fixing the broken market requires action on many fronts, and from many actors.

    That’s why we’re here today.

    I never need an excuse to come back to Bristol, the city where I grew up, my home town.

    Being here this morning means I can visit my mum’s in time for lunch!

    She makes the best lamb samosas this side of Lahore!

    But this city – and the site we’re on today, Temple Meads Quarter – is also a great example of how different agencies and different groups of people can work together to deliver the homes we need.

    When I was a kid, the Temple Meads area was a picture of decline – neglected, run-down, under-used.

    The sorting office building had stood empty and increasingly derelict since 1997.

    Today, the whole area is being reborn as a new urban hub, a modern and sustainable place to work, to learn, to play and to live.

    Appropriately enough, the list of business tenants includes HAB, the innovative housing start-up co-founded by Kevin McCloud.

    They’re just down the road at Temple Studios.

    We’re building homes for businesses, so that businesses can build homes for us!

    The transformation of Temple Meads has many parents, but at its core is a local authority that’s pro-development and a government agency – the Homes and Communities Agency – that’s willing to use all of the powers at its disposal.

    Now you couple that with a Local Enterprise Partnership that’s serious about building, a combined authority that’s committed to delivering the right infrastructure, can-do attitude from the superb West of England Mayor Tim Bowles, and a private sector that’s ready to meet the challenge… The results, they speak for themselves.

    This kind of collaboration brings results, and I want to see these kind of results replicated right across the country.

    And that means a huge range of different groups working together to tackle the many faces of the housing challenge.

    For starters, I want the Homes and Communities Agency to be less cautious, to be more aggressive, and to be more muscular.

    To take its foot off the brake and use all the tools we’ve created for it.

    The agency is taking that approach here at Temple Meads, and the results are clear for us to see.

    Now it’s time to repeat that success right across the country.

    The private sector developers must also play their part, building more homes more quickly.

    They’re great at securing planning permissions – but people can’t live in planning permissions.

    The government is actively removing barriers to build-out.

    As the white paper said, we’re tackling unnecessary delays caused by planning conditions.

    We’re making the process of dealing with protected species less painful.

    And we’re committed to tackling the skills shortage and boosting the construction workforce.

    We’re giving the industry the support that it needs, and I expect the industry to respond by getting shovels in the ground.

    That’s why the white paper also set out plans to increase transparency and accountability, so everyone can see if a developer is dragging its feet.

    Now, I’ve been very clear about the need for an end to unjustifiable land banking.

    But the sector should remember that it’s not just government that wants to see this happen.

    It’s a time of national shortage, and in this kind of time British people will not look kindly on anyone who hoards land and speculates on its value, rather than freeing it up for the homes our children and grandchildren need.

    Then there are the housing associations.

    I’ve talked before about my admiration for the work they do.

    They kept on building throughout the recession.

    They’re on course to deliver 65,000 new homes a year by next year.

    And many of those homes will go to be people who would otherwise be simply unable to afford them.

    Housing associations are run like big businesses – after all, they have assets worth about £140 billion.

    But they deliver an incredible social good, providing good quality homes for millions of people right across the country.

    They have such an important role to play in getting homes built, which is why this government has not hesitated to give them the resources they need to succeed.

    Just in the past month or so we’ve given them certainty over rental income and increased by £2 billion the fund from which they can bid for cash to build homes for social rent.

    And today, as I said at the start of this speech, we’re reclassifying housing associations, taking them out of the public sector and off the government’s balance sheet.

    I know it sounds like a piece of bureaucratic box-ticking.

    But the results will be far-reaching.

    Freed from the distractions of the public sector, housing associations will be able to concentrate on developing innovative ways of doing their business, which is what matters most: building more homes.

    Finally there is the most important cog in the housing and planning machine, local government.

    Some councils – most in fact – are doing very well.

    Where that’s the case, where councils are showing real drive and ambition, the government will back them every step of the way, including with the kind of housing deal we’re negotiating here in the West of England.

    And in the areas where supply and demand are most badly mismatched, where most homes are unaffordable to most people, I want to give local authorities the tools they need to build more – and that includes financial help.

    I want to help local authorities because most of them deserve that help.

    They’re recognising their responsibilities and they’re stepping up to meet them.

    But too many still leave much to be desired.

    It’s more than 13 years since our existing local plan process was first introduced, letting England’s 338 planning authorities set our how and where they expect to meet their residents’ needs for new homes.

    Yet, incredibly, more than 70 still haven’t managed to get a plan adopted.

    Of these, 15 are showing particular cause for concern.

    Deadlines have been missed, promises have been broken, progress has been unacceptably slow.

    No plan means no certainty for local people.

    It means piecemeal speculative development with no strategic direction, building on sites simply because they are there rather than because homes are needed on them.

    It means no coherent effort to invest in infrastructure.

    It means developers building the homes they want to sell rather than the homes communities actually need.

    And so on.

    It’s very simple: unplanned development will not fix our broken housing market.

    It will most likely make things worse.

    I do believe in localism above all else, which is why I’ve been willing to tolerate those who took their time to get the process moving.

    What mattered most was that they got there in the end.

    But today is the day that my patience has run out.

    Those 15 authorities have left me with no choice but to start the formal process of intervention that we set out in the white paper.

    By failing to plan, they have failed the people they are meant to serve.

    The people of this country who are crying out for good quality, well-planned housing in the right places, supported by the right infrastructure.

    They deserve better, and by stepping in now I’m doing all I can to ensure that they receive it.

    To the other authorities who are lagging behind, don’t think for one minute that you’ve got away with it.

    That you can ignore agreed deadlines or refuse to co-operate with your neighbours.

    Get your plan written.

    Get your plan adopted.

    I’ve shown today that I will take action if this doesn’t happen.

    I will not hesitate to do so again.

    I’ve talked a lot today about housing supply.

    After all, building more is the single biggest challenge that we face.

    But this government’s housing policy goes way beyond that.

    Our homes and our lives are completely intertwined, which is why we’re determined to make the housing market work better at every stage of your life.

    We’re building more houses so that you don’t have to spend your childhood crammed into the kind of overcrowded accommodation I grew up in.

    We’re making the rental market fairer, more transparent and more affordable, so that when the time is right and you can leave home you can get a place of your own without being ripped off.

    We’re introducing longer tenancies, so you can plan ahead, put down roots, and you can start saving for that deposit.

    We’re creating a supply of affordable, appropriate homes for first-time buyers so that, when you’re ready, you can get a foot on the housing ladder in the same way your parents did.

    And we’re helping you take the step up to buy your own home by putting billions of pounds into schemes like Help to Buy.

    We’re tackling rogue managing agents who hit leaseholders and tenants with unfair charges.

    And we’ve launched a crackdown on abuse of leasehold so that desperate young buyers don’t get stuck with a costly, unsellable asset.

    We’re reforming the whole process of buying and selling homes, so that as your family grows and your needs change you can move up the property ladder with the minimum of stress and expense.

    We’re making sure that developers offer a proper supply of suitable smaller homes so that you downsize once you get older.

    And we’re encouraging the construction of more sheltered and supported housing, so that the right kind of homes are there for you in your old age.

    Faced with the crisis of the Second World War, Churchill demanded “action this day” so the country could rise to the challenge.

    And, faced with an unprecedented housing crisis, that’s what you’re going to get from this government.

    Real action, day after day, week after week, to give this country a housing market that works for everyone.

    In next week’s Budget you’ll see just how seriously we take this challenge, just how hard we’re willing to fight to get Britain building.

    But, as I’ve said, central government can only do so much.

    If we’re going to fix our broken housing market, if we’re going to repair the damage that’s being done to our society and communities, if we’re going to make good on our promise to the next generation then, just like in Churchill’s day, we all have a role to play.

    We all have to roll up our sleeves and get to work.

    Most important of all, we all have to ask ourselves what kind of country we want this to be.

    Do we want this to be a nation where people who work hard can afford a place of their own?

    Where strong families are raised in stable, close-knit communities?

    Where ordinary working people can save for retirement and pass something on to their children?

    I know I do.

    That’s why I’m totally committed to building more of the right homes in the right places at the right prices.

    So is the Prime Minister.

    So is the Chancellor.

    So is this government.

    It’s a national crisis and it’s one we’re ready to meet.

    The question is, are you ready to join us?

  • Anne Milton – 2017 Speech to Association of Colleges Conference

    Below is the text of the speech made by Anne Milton, the Minister of State at the Department for Education for Apprenticeships and Skills, to the Association of Colleges Conference on 14 November 2017.

    Thank you to all of you for giving me the opportunity to speak here today.

    My professional background before I entered politics was in the NHS: I trained as a nurse and worked in the NHS for 25 years. But I have to say that it is hard to think of a group of professionals delivering a more important public service than the people in this hall today. A profession caring for young people and old people – changing lives.

    I would like to start by briefly sharing some of my memories from the WorldSkills competition which I attended a few weeks ago. I have to be honest, I was completely blown away by Team UK. They did fantastically well – competing on the world stage for skills and achieving great things. And I came away thinking that WorldSkills is probably one of our best kept secrets – and in all my time in politics there are few things that have impressed me so much, and on so many different levels.

    One story – but I could mention many that I heard while I was there – was about Ashley who nearly didn’t become an apprentice. At school, his teachers encouraged him to go to university – apprenticeships were never mentioned as an option. Ashley was fortunate that his dad employed apprentices so he could see the benefits of training on the job. He secured an apprenticeship with Redrow, one of the largest house builders in the country. And Ashley went on. He was named the world’s best young bricklayer at WorldSkills Leipzig in 2013. He went on to complete a degree in Construction Project Management at the University of Salford. And he is now senior site manager at Redrow, managing his own team of apprentices – as well as continuing to volunteer, training members of Team UK in bricklaying.

    It really matters to me that the young apprentices who did so well to get to Abu Dhabi are able to follow in Ashley’s footsteps, and become an inspiration to others.

    Ashley’s story, and those of others like him, are why this job matters to me on a very personal level. They are why I am here today, why we are all here today. Our commitment to a public service that transforms the lives and life chances of young people and adult learners. Our commitment to the sector, and a desire for it to get the recognition it rightly deserves.

    High quality, resilient and confident institutions with a clear mission and values, and outstanding leadership. Colleges embedded in our communities with excellent teachers that change the lives of others through learning, and give the country, business, industry and the public sector the skills that we need.

    But our aim is not just about great colleges. It’s about how those colleges – your colleges – can respond to the most critical social and economic challenges that we face as a country today: tackling disadvantage, and making a success of whatever changes and challenges our country needs. I am going to mention Brexit. You know, and I know, how powerful further education can be as an engine of social mobility. That is also at the heart of the DfE’s mission: extending opportunity, and unlocking ambition for everyone.

    For young people that have struggled at school, and who lacked access to the support and opportunities enjoyed by many of their peers. For those that want to take a high quality and challenging technical route. For those that want to get a degree in their local community. And for those whose path to learning has taken a different route, or who need to retrain to develop their careers.

    You know and I know that the work you do meets the needs of all those people. And I know, and you know, that further education is central to the challenge of delivering a prosperous future for this country after Brexit. Ensuring that we have an adaptable workforce with the skills and opportunities to thrive. Supporting the growth of innovative, productive business. And making the most of local strengths in communities right across the UK.

    The reform of technical education will be at the centre of our response to those challenges and we will be saying more about that later this month, including as part of the Government’s industrial strategy. Irrespective of Brexit, we also face a skills shortage. For the few of you who were there in Abu Dhabi, we are not alone – the world is suffering a skills shortage.

    For me, meeting the challenge of both making sure people are, and feel, they can change the direction of their lives – becoming socially mobile – and tackling those skills shortages are at the core of what I want to help you with.

    We all need to be focused on meeting those challenges – colleges, government, the wider FE sector, and indeed employers as well. You want to do that within your institutions, within your communities. I want to play my part within government, by acting as your champion. And I will always bang the FE sector drum. But having a shared purpose is not sufficient on its own. We will only succeed in meeting those challenges by working together.

    At the Skills Summit later this month we will be focusing on developing our partnership with employers. Today, I’d like to talk a little bit about our partnership with you.

    I know that words like “partnership” and “working together” come with historical baggage. There have been times in the past when our partnerships have been tested. I can understand that, given the changes that we have faced in recent years. And I can also see that the drive for freedom and autonomy has, on occasion, put too much distance between you and Government.

    Looking to the future, we need to build on what works well at present. But as we face new challenges, the way in which we work together will also need to change.

    I am not coming to you with a blueprint for how our partnership should work from now on. Instead, in a spirit of dialogue, I want to talk to you about what I think are the three emerging themes.

    The first of those is support: from Government, for the sector.

    We are, and will be, asking a lot of you over the next few years. It is only right to make sure that you get the support that you need.

    Wherever we can, we want to deliver that support by harnessing the capacity within the sector. Improvement through collaboration, rather than competition alone. That’s what we are doing with the National Leaders programme, and through the new Strategic College Improvement Fund.

    Where that capacity for support does not already exist within the sector, or needs to be strengthened, we will invest, strategically, in its development.

    You want more money – everyone wants more money. And my job is to be your advocate within Government, making the case for why colleges matter. Money is coming in, but I recognise the challenges you face.

    Second, I want Government to be playing an active role.

    To be clear, I don’t think that Government always knows best, or can do this on its own. But just as an active role for Government is central to our approach on the industrial strategy, we need to adopt the same mind set when thinking about how we achieve the world class FE provision that we need. “By the sector, for the sector” is not, on its own, always the best response to many of the biggest challenges we face together.

    As set out in the Government’s manifesto, we want to introduce a dedicated programme to help industry experts join the profession – building an ever closer link between business and education. Some colleges and employers are doing this already and it is good to hear about where that is working well. Because, when we come to develop the programme, we won’t be saying “we know how to get industry professionals into colleges, and this is what you must do”. We will be asking: “what can we do to help meet the very different needs of the sectors, employers and local economies that you work within?” And different areas have very different education and business communities – no one solution will work – you need to tell us what you want and what you need.

    There are also some issues where Government has a unique set of levers and resources that can help find solutions to shared problems. We can see that in the positive changes coming out of the area review programme, and support for restructuring. It is why Richard Atkins, the FE Commissioner, is working with more colleges to ensure that the right support for improvement is in place. I meet frequently with Richard and indeed many local MPs, to make sure I keep closely in touch with what’s going on.

    The third building block is looking at the whole system.

    We need a better co-ordinated approach, both within Government, and between the Government and the sector. I am looking to the new College Improvement Board, chaired by the FE Commissioner, to help deliver that in strengthening quality, for example.

    We need to ensure that targeted support for quality improvement works in tandem with wider support for FE teachers and leaders. We need to harness the insights from inspection by Ofsted to help identify improvement needs. We need to reform the accountability system to make it work better. And we need to ensure that our ambition is matched by providers who are financially resilient.

    Partnership is a much over-used word. But, if meant, if felt by both sides, if it is meaningful, genuine and balanced, it does work. It is not always easy – partnership is never easy – and we sometimes fear that partnership will dilute our own unique contributions, or that one side will subsume the other. But when it does work it can be a phenomenal force for good.

    This is a hugely exciting and challenging time for colleges and for FE, as it is for Government. You want more money and I will always lobby for that. But what I do know is that together, in that partnership, we have a shared ambition for all of our learners, for all of our communities and for our country.

    When the Prime Minister appointed me to this post, I don’t think she was fully aware of my heartfelt beliefs about further education. (And just as an aside, I am also Minister for Women, and as a self-proclaimed born again feminist – and that’s what politics does for you – I’m delighted to have that as well.) But somebody – and this is very personal – who has always said that university is not the right thing for everyone – irrespective of high grades it is still not always the right choice. And someone who probably didn’t do as well as I should have done at school, who believes that everyone whatever their age deserves a choice, a second chance. Ladies and gentlemen, I got mine.

    We together have a determination to meet the challenges and seize the opportunities that lie ahead.

    Together – in partnership – I know that we can make this happen.

  • Matt Hancock – 2017 Speech at Times Tech Summit

    Below is the text of the speech made by Matt Hancock, the Minister for Digital, at the Times Tech Summit on 15 November 2017.

    Thank you for inviting me to this Tech Summit.

    The word summit of course has two popular meanings. There’s a gathering such as this, and then there’s the peak – the zenith, the apex, the apogee – the highest point that can be reached.

    When it comes to tech, and to digital technology, we are very far from the summit of what can be achieved. Indeed, we are only beginning to even glimpse the potential of where digital technologies might take us, and how much they will transform our world.

    These are very much the foothills, and now we must be ready for the climb. Policy making is always as much about anticipating and preparing for the future as it is with addressing current issues.

    Our Digital Strategy, published in March of this year, set out how we intend to make the UK the best place to establish and grow a digital business and the safest place for citizens to be online. That means today, but also in the future, so we are ready for the changes ahead.

    It established seven pillars that underpin the changes we need to see and I’d like to update you now on the impressive progress that, just eight months in, we have already made.

    The first pillar, and central to everything, is infrastructure. In the Digital Strategy we committed to building a world-class digital infrastructure for the UK. That means ubiquitous coverage, so no one is left out, and with sufficient capacity not only for today’s needs but in readiness for tomorrow.

    We are on track to meet the target, set out in the Strategy, of superfast broadband coverage at 95% by the end of 2017. Then to reach the final 5%, we legislated in the Digital Economy Act, which received Royal Assent this year, for a Universal Service Obligation to deliver decent broadband to all. In the modern economy, broadband is essentially a utility, and I’m pleased it is increasingly delivered by a competitive market of providers.

    For mobile reception, each MNO is obliged to provide voice coverage to 90% of the UK by the end of this year. Meanwhile, 4G premises coverage rose from 29% in 2015 to 72% last year and in our Manifesto we set a target of 95% coverage of the UK landmass. People must be able to stay connected wherever they live, work, and travel.

    But at the same time as fixing the current technology, we must also look ahead the next generation, and that means 5G and full fibre.

    Our 5G strategy, released at Spring Budget 2017, outlined the necessary steps. As part of a £1.1 billion investment in digital infrastructure, we are funding a coordinated programme of integrated fibre and 5G trials to ensure the UK leads the world in 5G connectivity.

    Today, we’re launching a pilot scheme in Aberdeenshire, Bristol/Bath and North East Somerset, Coventry, Warwickshire, and West Yorkshire, which will see local companies offered vouchers by broadband suppliers to pay for gold-standard full-fibre gigabit connections. This should help revolutionise our digital infrastructure, and make it fit for the future, so we trust that take-up will be high.

    The second pillar of the digital strategy is skills. At every level, from getting people online for the first time, to attracting and training the world’s top coding talent, Britain needs stronger digital skills if we are to thrive in the years ahead.

    Government can’t address this shortfall alone. So when we launched the Digital Strategy in March, we committed to establish a new Digital Skills Partnership, between Government, businesses, charities and voluntary organisations. The aim was to bring greater coherence to the provision of digital skills training at a national level.

    And at the launch we promised to create more than four million digital training places. Just eight months in, we and our partners – including Barclays, Lloyds, Google, and many others – have impressively over-delivered, with more than two million places made available, in everything from basic online skills through to cybersecurity and coding. These skills will be crucial to our country’s future prosperity, so we intend to keep up the pace.

    The third pillar is to make the UK the best place in the world to start and grow a digital business.

    Make no mistake, Britain is already a global tech powerhouse, with more than 1.4 million people working in digital tech and new jobs being created at twice the rate of other sectors. In the first half 2017 there was a record £5.6 billion invested in tech in the UK – including from Microsoft, Amazon, Apple, IBM, and Google – and the sector has an annual turnover of £118 billion.

    All impressive figures, but we can still push further.

    So today we are unveiling a £21 million investment to create a new national network of regional tech hubs, across the country, from Belfast to Edinburgh, Cardiff to Birmingham. The funding will also help entrepreneurs in emerging technologies, such as Artificial Intelligence and FinTech, by connecting them to peers and potential investors in other hubs across the country, as well as by offering tailored development programmes.

    And, as the Chancellor has announced, Tech City UK and Tech North are to become a single national organisation, Tech Nation, to speed up the growth and reach of the UK’s innovative digital clusters. Companies that have already benefitted from Tech City UK’s input include Just Eat, Funding Circle and Zoopla, and they haven’t done too shabbily. So this is very welcome news.

    The fourth pillar of the Digital Strategy is that every UK business should be, to some extent, a digital business.

    In July we launched the Productivity Council, which was developed through discussions with UK business leaders, the Confederation of British Industry and the Institute of Directors, and designed to encourage and support UK businesses to go digital. Analysis suggests that only a modest improvement across a broad base of firms could unlock billions of Gross Value Added every year.

    The fifth pillar is to make the UK the safest place in the world to live and work online.

    Our Internet Safety Strategy, published last month, is a substantial step towards that goal. The Strategy sets out how we all must play our role in tackling online harms. We want to bring together groups from across our whole society and hear from people of all backgrounds – including technology firms, schools, the voluntary sector, and citizens young and old as we turn ambition into reality.

    We will bring in a statutory code of practice for social media companies, and are consulting on an industry levy to support educational programmes and technical solutions. We also want to see more transparency, to help inform future policy.

    Ensuring the internet is safe means cyber security too, and our National Cyber Security Strategy, funded to the tune of £1.9bn, sets out what we are doing to help improve Britain’s cyber security.

    One of the programme’s many aims is to find, finesse and fast-track tomorrow’s online security experts. Over 6000 young people – between 14 and 18 years old – are now being invited to test their skills in online cyber and problem solving challenges, via a £20 million training programme. They might then win a place on the Cyber Discovery scheme, where they can learn cutting-edge skills from cyber security experts.

    But keeping citizens safe online means more than protecting against cyber crime. It means ensuring that norms of behaviour online match those we have always valued offline.

    The Digital Strategy is now complemented by the Digital Charter, as introduced in the Manifesto. The Charter will reinforce the work we started with the Strategy but will further consider how we apply the liberal values we value offline to the online world, so we can seize the opportunities that unprecedented connectivity provides, while also mitigating the harms it creates.

    Throughout we will be guided by three core principles. First, what is considered unacceptable offline should not be accepted online. Secondly, all users should be empowered to manage their own online risks. Lastly, technology companies have a responsibility to their users to develop and protect safe online communities.

    And we are committed to bringing about a sustainable business model for high quality journalism. I welcome Google’s movement towards this, not least removing the one click free policy, but there is much more to do to ensure we find a genuinely sustainable business model for high quality journalism, as we have, for example, for the music industry that’s been through a similar radical disruption but found a way to a model that seems to be working.

    The sixth pillar of the Strategy is to digitise Government.

    Since the creation of Government Digital Services in 2011, Britain has been a world leader in such work.

    From applying for a passport, to applying for lasting power of attorney, dozens of Government services have been digitised. The massive project to make tax digital is proceeding carefully, and the feedback from those who use the new digitised service is encouraging. Our G-cloud procurement system is being copied around the world, as it allows and encourages contracts to go to small innovative companies, not the traditional main players. In February this year, we had 3,947 suppliers on the Digital Marketplace, of which 93% were SMEs. And as a result out GovTech market is booming.

    And so we arrive at the final pillar: data.

    The Digital Strategy has also committed to unlocking the power of data in the UK economy and improving public confidence in its use. Research shows that, currently, more than 80 per cent of people feel that they do not have complete control over their data online, and that is too high.

    So we are strengthening our data protection laws through the new Data Protection Bill, making UK law consistent with the EU’s GDPR. Under its proposals individuals will have more control over their data, through the right to be forgotten and to ask for their personal data to be erased. They will also be able to ask social media channels to delete information they posted in their childhood.

    We want to end the existing reliance on default opt-out or pre-selected ‘tick boxes’, to give consent for organisations to collect personal data. We all know these are largely ignored. The Data Protection Bill will make it simpler to withdraw consent for the use of personal data and require explicit consent to be necessary for processing sensitive personal data. It also expands the definition of ‘personal data’ to include IP addresses, internet cookies and DNA.

    New criminal offences will be created to deter organisations from creating situations – be it through pure recklessness or deliberate intent – where someone could be identified from anonymised data. The data protection regulator, the Information Commissioner’s Office, will be given more power to defend consumer interests and issue higher fines for the most serious data breaches.

    So there you have it. We may be in the foothills of this digital age but we are well equipped for the climb, and remain alert to any obstacles ahead. Much remains to do but I am confident the measures I’ve just outlined will continue to ensure our good progress.