Speeches by Phillipson.

“I do recognise the pressures that councils across our country face—pressures around children’s social care, around support for children with SEND, and much more. We do recognise that strain. As part of the local government finance settlement in December, the Government set out plans for making reform. There is more tha…”

“Yes. This is about the whole workforce, so that extends to our teaching assistants and support staff as well as to our teachers. It is why we are legislating to restore the school support staff negotiating body to make sure that everyone in our workforce is properly supported. Alongside that, one of the interventions t…”

“Yes, we have. I will return to that in one moment. I appreciate that the Committee has work under way in this area. We look forward to seeing the work that arises from the Committee and understanding what you might be able to share by way of approach and recommendation as part of that. I will turn to you, Permanent Sec…”

“We are looking at whether legislation might be required as part of any reforms that we intend to bring forward and we believe that we would have the time available to us should that be required. If I may, I think that slightly gets ahead of the thinking that we have under way in the Department. We need to take a step b…”

“Yes, through the wider capital programme of the Department and alongside that the additional investment that we intend to put into creating more specialist provision. We might come on to this point but there is a wider demographic shift taking place across the country, first here in London but seemingly elsewhere, that…”

“We will be saying more about that very soon on the new Ofsted report cards and the approach that we take from the Department on accountability, but I think a lot more needs to happen on inclusivity. I am also very alive to what I hear, and I am sure you all hear, from teachers and school staff across the country about …”

“I think right across the House—and right across our country when you speak to parents and schools and others—there is a recognition that the system that we have at the moment is not delivering the good outcomes that we want for children with SEND, where parents have increasingly lost confidence and councils are increas…”

“I think it is a combination of how we want to approach the wider package of being a teacher. It is about pay and conditions together, not just one or the other. Lots of what I hear from teachers across the country is that there have been challenges with pay, although we delivered the 5.5% pay award for teachers out of …”

“Yes. I anticipate that through the legislation, through the signal that we are sending into the system, this will lead to a step change in behaviour and response. Should that not be the case, then of course I will intervene to protect children’s interests.”

“This sends a very clear message into the system about the duty to work together. We are confident that this message will be heard that people want to do this, but where they refuse to co-operate the Secretary of State will be able to intervene to deliver for children.”

“Infrequently would be the expectation because we would require schools and councils to work together in terms of admissions and place planning. We have talked about demographic change several times, or I have certainly talked about demographic change several times. We need to think about how we are managing place plann…”

“We have some innovative work that is happening through the Department at the moment. I will bring in the Permanent Secretary to say a little bit on this. It is also about making sure that the tools that we have are well developed and that schools have a sense of clarity about where the most effective opportunities in t…”

“This is sometimes an area where there can be a bit of misunderstanding as to what it is we are talking about. Clearly, we need to ensure that we have teachers within school at the front of the class delivering a brilliant level of education for children. In fact, what I want to do is to ensure that teachers can do more…”

“Recruitment and retaining teachers is a key priority. We know that it is through teaching and leadership that we drive up standards in our schools through well-supported, well-qualified professionals who have the ongoing support that they need around their professional development and expertise. One of the first action…”

“I am happy to make that clear to the Committee, Chair.”

“Yes, because there will be a floor but no ceiling.”

“Sadly, often students can pay extraordinary amounts of money and not necessarily get the best quality provision. That is why through the reforms across government to the private rented sector we want to ensure that there are higher standards. It is undeniably a problem that many students face around the cost of housing…”

“What you just set out there I have heard from so many students right across the country. There is the increasing risk that students are taking decisions based on economic imperative and family circumstance rather than what is the best option in terms of the course and the longer-term outcomes that they seek. Again to t…”

“We are engaging with the sector and with others—with business, with students, with the Office for Students—on what this will look like. It is a big piece of work that we have under way around that wider reform and we will continue to keep the House updated in this area. I do not know if Susan is able to say a little bi…”

“We do expect to see more when it comes to widening participation and access. Just to set out what I mean when I say that, yes, it is about university being an option for all young people who have what is necessary to go on to take up that opportunity, but it is also about rates of completion among young people. It is o…”