The Union Learning Fund
Funding for the Union Learning Fund will cease in March 2021 with capital redirected elsewhere to support investment in skills and further education. I think it is right that Ministers regularly review how skills and training are funded, to make sure taxpayers’ money is invested as efficiently as possible and I can assure you that every penny of the funding provided will be reinvested into further education, skills and retraining.
Ministers are committed to ‘levelling up’ across the whole of the UK and have emphasised the importance of skills and training to the fulfilment of this ambition. The Prime Minister recently set out a series of reforms to ensure everyone can get the skills they need. These reforms will be backed by continued investment in college buildings and facilities – including over £1.5 billion in capital funding to ensure the further education estate is fit for purpose.
One of the key reforms will be the introduction of the Lifetime Skills Guarantee. Under the Guarantee, adults without an A-Level or equivalent qualification will be offered a free, fully funded college course at a time and location of their choice. The economy has incurred substantial change as a result of the Coronavirus pandemic and I am pleased that Ministers have responded by developing a long-term skills plan to ensure that as work changes, people can retrain, upskill and find new, well-paid jobs.
A new online learning platform has also been launched to help people upskill during the Coronavirus pandemic. ‘The Skills Toolkit’ will provide free digital and numeracy courses to boost job prospects in this challenging time. The toolkit places particular emphasis on the skills that businesses need, and I am pleased that the CBI and BT, among others, have welcomed the Prime Minister’s commitment.
Extensive guidance is also available online via the National Careers Service website to help individuals find free online learning courses across a variety of disciplines. (https://nationalcareers.service.gov.uk/find-a-course/where-to-find-free…).
I hope that the above has reassured you of the Government’s commitment to skills, training and development.
Free School Meals over Autumn Half Term
All MPs including myself agree that it is absolutely unacceptable for any child to go hungry in modern Britain. The difficulty, as always in politics, is deciding upon the most effective means for achieving this shared end. Opposition MPs think providing FSM vouchers during the holidays (as well as actual hot meals during term time) is necessary for doing so. The Government and the MPs which support it think there are better ways to achieve this (as did the last Labour government), and so did not vote for the motion. I should note at the outset that this was just a motion on a Labour Party debate, and was not legislation, and whatever the outcome was, it would not have been binding on the Government. Many constituents have contacted me asking to know why I voted as I did, and I would like to explain my reasoning.
As their name implies, Free School Meals have historically only been provided during term time, not in holidays, and they are not normally seen as part of general welfare provision. Indeed, during their thirteen years in Government, from 1997-2010, the Labour Party never provided FSMs during the holidays, and that was at a time when unemployment was usually higher than now. Given that schools closed during the first lockdown, however, Ministers took the unprecedented step to provide FSM vouchers to eligible families during this period to ensure that those children who would have otherwise received free meals continued to do so. This was then provided over the Easter Holidays, when some schools remained open, and then extended during the summer holidays given the extraordinary disruption to children’s educational routine, and the hardship many families are facing. The £120 million Covid Summer Food Fund – which I supported – was created to this end, providing food vouchers so eligible families could get food when they could not have access to the school canteens. With the vast majority of state schools back open, and the Government’s iron commitment to keep them open even as we return to lockdown, FSMs have now resumed their normal historic role that the last Labour government maintained: supporting children whilst they learn.
I am supportive of the Government’s position that FSMs should return to their normal remit once again, for two overarching reasons. Firstly, the Government has given out a substantial amount of support, financial and otherwise, to families in need to ensure that no child goes to bed hungry:
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Raising the standard monthly allowance for Universal Credit from £317.82 to £409.89. This is an increase of £92.07 (more than £1,000 per year). This is actually greater financial support than the £90 provided monthly by FSM vouchers earlier this year.
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Increasing Working Tax Credit by £1045 to £3040 from 6th April 2020 until 5th April 2021, benefitting more than four million lower income households.
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Providing an additional £63 million in welfare assistance to local authorities to support families with urgent needs, including for supplying food where appropriate.
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Injecting a further £9 billion into the welfare system since March beyond normal levels of support to help those who are most vulnerable.
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Offering one of the most generous Coronavirus support packages in the world, including the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme and the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme which have collectively supported 12.2 million jobs, at a cost of over £53 billion for England alone. These schemes have now been extended. This is relevant because one of the most effective ways of tackling child poverty is to ensure their parents have jobs.
The second overarching reason is that I think there are more effective ways to tackle food poverty than food vouchers, which until now many on the political left have campaigned against, to the extent that I remember some years back left-wing campaigners accusing Conservatives of wanting to bring in food vouchers for low income people. How times change. Among food poverty groups there has often been strong opposition to voucher schemes (or food stamps as they are sometimes known, particularly in the US), as families in receipt of them often feel stigmatised, they are open to abuse, and finally, they don’t provide contact with vulnerable children which in turn makes it difficult to identify what other support they might need. Moreover, there is broad political agreement that it is more effective to provide resources to local authorities to support families in need, as they know their communities better, than as part of a national scheme which is inevitably more blunt and rigid. This localised approach is what the Government is doing, as part of its implementation of the recommendations of the National Food Strategy, which addresses food poverty.
From a local perspective I have no reason to doubt either of these points. On the contrary, I have been very impressed by the way in which local authorities have supported those in need with the additional funds provided by the Government throughout the pandemic. Cambridgeshire County Council’s Covid-19 Coordination Hub, for instance, has (along with much else) provided a food service to those persons shielding or in need, ensuring that they are kept with food. The County Council, via all schools in Cambridgeshire, sent letters to those families eligible for FSMs clearly outlining what support was available to them outside term time. The Coordination Hub’s service is not means-tested and open to all those who ask for it, all the time, including those who do not qualify for FSMs (such as pre-schoolers). It is thus much more generous than FSM vouchers.
I have made enquiries with the Coordination Hub and they have confirmed that they experienced a small uptake in demand during the October half-term, but not as much as they were expecting, and certainly not as much as the supply of food they had available. As a last resort, there are also obviously food banks, such as the one at Cambourne, which I have been supporting during the pandemic, and which have helped many in need. I should also point out that no constituent has ever contacted me to say they are struggling to feed their children – I would be horrified if they did, and would make sure they get support. If you do know of any child going hungry in South Cambridgeshire, do urge their parents to contact my office and we can make sure they get the help they need.
I will end on a point of frank reflection. This entire episode has been deliberately inflamed by Labour, who have made every effort to present it as unfairly and as emotively as possible, to the extent of the Labour deputy leader shouting “scum” at a Conservative MP in the Chamber of the House of Commons. There has been huge and deliberate misrepresentation by Labour and other activists, for example saying Conservative MPs had voted to end Free School Meals, which is just untrue. This deliberate generation of political hatred has lead to a large number of political attacks in recent weeks, which is now occupying a large amount of police time. I do not think this is good for democracy in Britain, and believe we need to restore civility into public life.
Protect Children's Wellbeing
It must be a matter of priority for all of us that we do everything in our power to ensure our children are happy and healthy. I know Ministers share this view and I am reassured that many steps are already being taken towards this goal.
The introduction of the new Relationships, Sex and Health Education curriculum will be an important step in improving our children’s overall wellbeing. The curriculum is designed to equip children early-on with the knowledge they need to make informed decisions about their wellbeing, health and relationships, as well as preparing them for adult life in a changing world.
Schools make a real difference to children’s mental health, and so I am pleased that Mental Health Support Teams will be rolled out to schools and colleges. These teams will employ new staff who are being recruited and trained specifically for the programme. The first 25 trailblazer sites delivering 59 new teams were announced in December 2018 and a further 57 MHST sites, delivering 123 teams were confirmed in July 2019. The National Health Service is on track to deliver the roll-out of mental health support teams in schools and colleges across 20-25 per cent of areas in England by 2023/24.
Monitoring children and young people’s wellbeing will of course be vital to ensure we are making progress. I therefore welcome the publication of the first ‘State of the Nation’ report into children’s mental wellbeing last year. The report delivers on a commitment made last World Mental Health Day to publish an annual report designed to better understand patterns and issues in young people’s mental health, alongside guidance for schools to help them measure their students’ wellbeing and make sure appropriate support is in place.
Teaching Black history in schools
I believe it is vital for young people in this country to learn about black history and imperial history. I am therefore pleased that all schools have the freedom to teach it from primary school age onwards, as part of the history curriculum. I am aware that schools have flexibility over how they teach this subject and which resources to use from a range of organisations and sources, including the black curriculum if they choose.
I am encouraged that the Department for Education is committed to an inclusive education system which recognises and embraces diversity and supports all pupils and students to tackle racism and have the knowledge and tools to do so. Under the statutory guidance for the new relationship education syllabus, all primary-aged pupils will be taught the importance of respecting others, even when they are very different from them, or make different choices or have different preferences or beliefs. Pupils will also be taught what a stereotype is, and how stereotypes can be unfair, negative or destructive.
As part of a broad and balanced curriculum, pupils should be taught about different societies, and how different groups have contributed to the development of Britain, and this can include the voices and experience of black people. The flexibility within the curriculum means that black British history can already be included in the teaching of the curriculum, as well as in subjects such as English and citizenship.
I am appalled by the racism experienced by many from a BAME background. It has no place in our communities and we all have a part to play in tackling it. Schools are required to actively promote fundamental British values, including democracy as well as the rule of law, individual liberty, mutual respect and tolerance of those of different faith and beliefs. The wealth of diversity across our country is something to be celebrated, so I am pleased that the national curriculum allows us to do exactly that.
Reception baseline assessment for primary school children?
Primary education is fundamental to ensuring every child receives the best possible start in life. The primary assessment and accountability system plays an important role in ensuring that every child, no matter what their background or where they go to school, benefits from a high-quality primary education. These assessments help ensure great schools are recognised and help to improve those that can learn from others.
The reception baseline assessment (RBA) will be used to inform the way the Department for Education measures the educational progress that primary schools help their pupils to make. The RBA is not a test. It is a short, teacher-led assessment of children’s communication, language, literacy and early mathematics skills. No preparation will be required, either at home or at school. It will enable the Department for Education to develop improved progress measures which will take into account the work that primary schools do with their pupils in the reception year and throughout the first two years of schooling. Data from the assessment will only be used once children reach the end of primary school, and will not be used to judge, track or label individual pupils.
In light of the coronavirus pandemic Ministers decided to postpone the statutory rollout of the Reception Baseline Assessment (RBA) until September 2021, given that some schools may not have had the time they needed to familiarise their teachers and staff with the process.
It is important to note that this assessment will replace existing end-of-key stage 1 tests, which will be made non-mandatory once the new reception baseline has become established.
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