Speeches by Trott.

“That draft guidance was produced a year and a half ago. The Education Secretary wants to talk about her record. Well, let me remind her that one of her first acts on coming into post was to pause implementation of the Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Act 2023, which would have protected gender-critical voices. She …”

“Not only has the Education Secretary introduced a Bill to this place that will destroy standards in English schools, but now she has broken her promises on national insurance contributions compensation and is leaving schools in an impossible funding situation. Every MP has heard from headteachers who are stressed beyon…”

“Despite the Education Secretary’s best attempts to rewrite history, we Conservatives did not need a court to tell us that biological sex was real. She has on her desk the draft guidance for schools on gender questioning, and the final Cass report was published a year ago. If she is serious about protecting women and gi…”

“We welcome the Education Secretary’s announcement, but let us be absolutely clear: the policies that she is talking about represent investment of £37 million, but the Government are taking away half a billion pounds from nurseries by failing to compensate them for the national insurance increase. That will have a catas…”

“I congratulate the hon. Member for Twickenham (Munira Wilson) on securing this important UQ. It is utterly extraordinary that we have had to summon the Government to the Chamber to provide clarity on whether they have axed a programme that ended yesterday—or so we thought—which supports 20,000 of our most vulnerable yo…”

“I had hoped that, during the Commons stages of the Bill, the Government would listen to the vast number of respected voices from the education sector who have warned repeatedly that this ill thought through Bill is nothing short of a disaster for education standards in this country. Unfortunately, the Secretary of Stat…”

“The Secretary of State is spending £90 million on advertising. She is cutting not just Latin programmes, but computing hubs, language hubs and advanced maths. Are those also less important than her advertising budget?”

“How on earth can the Secretary of State justify spending £90 million on a one-year contract for advertising and media while cutting a £4 million Latin excellence programme mid-year that is helping to improve school standards in some of the most deprived areas of the country? Does that not show that the Secretary of Sta…”

“One of the key metrics for holding schools and trusts to account is pupil numbers; parents vote with their feet. Why is the Secretary of State stopping good schools from being able to expand in the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill? That will stop competition and accountability, erode parental choice, and drive dow…”

“I have huge respect for the hon. Gentleman and thought his earlier question was spot on. There is much that needs to be improved, but that is much less vague than Skills England, which is what we have in front of us at the moment. There are risks of distraction, with the time and cost involved in creating a new agency …”

“Hey!”

“I rise to speak on a piece of legislation that poses more risks than benefits and proves that there is not parity of esteem for technical and academic qualifications within the Government. The Secretary of State is putting forward a Bill that allows her personally to write each apprenticeship assessment. Just in case y…”

“I am grateful to the Schools Minister for advance sight of her statement, and I echo her words: our thoughts and prayers are with the parents of the 15-year-old boy whose life was so tragically cut short, and with the teachers and pupils at All Saints Catholic high school. We are promised today a better and faster appr…”

“On a point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker. I seek your advice. The Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill is making its way through the House of Commons—indeed, we are well into the Committee stage—yet still we do not have an impact assessment to show what effect it will have. That impedes the ability of Members to prop…”

“I associate myself with the right hon. Lady’s words on Holocaust Memorial Day. Just today, another voice came out against the disastrous academy proposals in the Government’s Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill. The Children’s Commissioner said in a scathing letter that ending the academy order to turn around failing…”

“The Education Secretary does not understand that her Bill will make things worse, not better. The legislation is in total chaos. At the Dispatch Box she said that pay will not be capped by the legislation, yet we now know that it will be. The Government cannot even do a U-turn correctly. Last week the Prime Minister to…”

“We know that smartphones in the classroom have a negative impact on reading and on the educational attainment of children in general. When in government, we issued guidance to try to ban smartphones from the classroom, but the latest evidence is clear that they are still far too prevalent in schools. To fix the problem…”

“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship as ever, Dr Huq. I congratulate the hon. Member for Chelmsford (Marie Goldman) on securing this debate and on her excellent speech. It is obvious from everybody who has spoken how much distress the delay in EHCPs is causing across the system. What is equally striking is…”

“I was about to wrap up because I am conscious of time and I want to ensure that the hon. Member for Chelmsford has time to speak at the end of the debate, so I will close my remarks there.”

“I acknowledge absolutely that pay was part of that, but it was also about terms and conditions and flexibility, which I do not think we have seen adequately addressed to date. I am grateful for the engagement on these issues from the hon. Member and the Minister. It is really important that we get this right, because w…”