Speeches by Phillipson.

“I am not sure of the exact figures.”

“We committed to introducing an international student levy through the immigration White Paper. We looked at the best way of implementing that levy. I want to stress that international students make an important contribution to our country and institutions. We have engaged with the sector on this and set out our plans a…”

“This is not a replacement for structural intervention, where that is the right and necessary thing to do. In many cases, RISE schools are schools that have already been through that structural intervention, yet we are still seeing progress that is too slow. It has to be a question of both. If the school is not currentl…”

“Work is ongoing with Ofsted on tackling the practice of off-rolling, where children are removed from school rolls without formal permanent exclusion. We are clear that it is completely unacceptable; schools should not be seeking to game the system, and we continue to work with Ofsted to tackle that. When it comes to th…”

“I welcome the evidence and research put forward by the Education Policy Institute. It seems self-evident that if children are not in school, they are less likely to succeed in school. Some of the challenges we have seen around attendance have particularly affected certain groups. We are moving in the right direction on…”

“By next year, we will have covered 60% of pupils. We want to move rapidly to get to every school by 2029-30, but we have made significant progress. Almost an extra million pupils and learners will by next April be benefiting from a mental health support team. I have visited one school that is already taking part. What …”

“One of the key areas that teaching unions, and particularly headteachers’ unions, raise is not just the nature of inspection but its quality and consistency, and the judgments that arise from that. That is why Ofsted are doing further work on how to ensure greater consistency in terms of validating their judgments and …”

“We want to deliver a fantastic education for every child, and inspection has to be a part of that. The new framework is about recognising where schools are doing things really well, and celebrating that success, as well as providing more granular insight into areas where there is scope to work with schools to do more. …”

“I do recognise the long-standing challenge in this area. As you will know, FE colleges, rather than the Government, are responsible for setting and negotiating pay within colleges. When it comes to the recommendation around a statutory pay review body, I appreciate the Committee’s interest in this area. All statutory F…”

“Understood.”

“I am Bridget Phillipson, the Education Secretary. Thank you for the opportunity to update members on the progress that the Department has made since we last met. It has been a busy year for education and for our mission to break the link between background and success. I want to take a moment of the Committee’s time to…”

“It is not subject-specific; it relates to secondary and special schools.”

“Yes, we are looking at that question and at the issue of temporary accommodation that the hon. Member raises. This is a cross-Government strategy and not for the Department for Education to solve alone, although the lifting of the two-child limit is an investment not just in our children and their life chances but in o…”

“I am grateful to my hon. Friend for raising her concern. We are working with the Home Office and with colleagues across Government in developing the child poverty strategy. We will focus on ensuring that vulnerable children are protected and their welfare is safeguarded, and that vulnerable migrant children receive the…”

“I recognise the particular challenges faced by many rural communities, and I am grateful to the hon. Lady for raising them. We have been considering such matters through the development of the strategy. The taskforce has been working across Government, including with colleagues in the Department for Environment, Food a…”

“I do not know whether the right hon. Lady listened to what I just said. It is not coming out of school budgets. [Interruption.] We are investing—”

“Of course, Mr Speaker.”

“Let me be absolutely clear: these are council deficits. They will not be coming from school budgets. Over the course of this Parliament, we are investing more in SEND. We are picking up the pieces of a system on its knees left behind by the party opposite. Either the right hon. Lady has not read what the OBR has to say…”

“I recognise the very real worry that parents across the country have about the system of support for children with SEND, which the hon. Gentleman and the Conservative party left on its knees. He would do well to reassure parents, not to scaremonger. I suggest that he goes away from here, reads the Budget document and w…”

“Labour believes that background should not determine what people go on to achieve in life. We see child poverty as a moral scar on our country. When last in government, we lifted 600,000 children out of poverty. During their time in government, the Tories plunged 900,000 children into poverty. The seismic decision take…”