1. What proportion of secondary school pupils are taught in academies in (a) the borough of Kettering, (b) Northamptonshire and (c) England. (137899)

On behalf of the whole House, may I take this opportunity to congratulate you, Mr Speaker, on your 50th birthday on Saturday? On behalf of the whole House, I hope that it was a festive weekend in the Speaker’s household.

There are 2,619 academies in England. Over half of state-funded secondary schools are now open as academies or have applied for academy status. In Kettering, 85% of secondary school-age pupils are taught in academies; in Northamptonshire overall the figure is 75%; and in England it is 52%.

My constituents are delighted that five of our six secondary schools have now become academies. Will my right hon. Friend kindly agree to visit Kettering to see for himself how the lives of young people are being transformed and their educational development is being enhanced by this exciting Government initiative?

It would be a pleasure to visit Kettering. I am delighted at the progress that has been made in Northamptonshire. A wide range of academy sponsors have helped to ensure that children—not just in my hon. Friend’s constituency but across the county—are at last enjoying the education they deserve.

As the Secretary of State knows, Trafford borough council has a strong educational record and is giving good support to schools to form academy trusts, including Elmridge and Acre Hall schools in my constituency, about which I have written to him. Does he agree that it is important that every support is given to enable local solutions and local sponsors to come forward in successful authorities such as Trafford, rather than simply opening things up through outside organisations that might have little association with our children’s educational needs?

I absolutely accept the hon. Lady’s point that Conservative-controlled Trafford is a superb local authority, and we can see the many schools that have flourished under its care over the years. As a strong local authority, not only has it welcomed the growth and expansion of outstanding schools—such as Urmston grammar, led by Mike Spinks, in her constituency —but it recognises that schools sometimes have a responsibility beyond their borders to help others to improve. In Northamptonshire we would not have schools improving had it not been for the actions of David Ross and other outside sponsors. Similarly, I know that there are schools in the north-west that wish to extend their wings, not least Altrincham girls grammar in Trafford, helping schools in deprived east Manchester.

20. Three of the schools in my constituency have become academies, but there are still some laggards. What can my right hon. Friend do to encourage the rest of the schools to offer the same opportunity enjoyed by the young people in those academies? (137919)

I think that the best thing I can do is join my hon. Friend in visiting those schools in person, so that we can have a charm offensive to persuade them to become academies. He will provide the charm—and I will complement him.

2. What assessment he has made of the effects of removing statutory guidance on work experience at key stage 4 on the promotion of vocational education to young people. (137901)

In her report on vocational education, Professor Alison Wolf recommended the replacement of work-related learning at key stage 4 with high-quality work experience beyond the age of 16. Thanks to that report, funding reforms and the introduction of new 16-to-19 study programmes are supporting those changes, which were announced last July and will take effect from September.

Apart from the fact that most of that was fairly waffly, how would the Secretary of State know what is going on in his Department, given that his former children’s Minister told the Select Committee on Education last week that it was more like a department of Grace Brothers than a Department of State? What will the Secretary of State do, therefore, to ensure that people are being served? The Engineering Employers Federation, the Forum of Private Business and others have all said, “This isn’t working. Get your act together.”

I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman, but as Minister responsible for vocational education I do not know why he is so dismissive of department stores. Retail provides many opportunities for young people to learn the skills that they need to be successful in the world of employment. Last week we had the opportunity to discuss qualifications at 16 and the importance of vocational education. I was delighted then that those on the Opposition Front Bench endorsed every recommendation in the Wolf report, and I am delighted also that we have an opportunity now to carry through those recommendations.

My local education business partnership does fantastic work linking local businesses with schools and giving pupils a bit more understanding of the world of work and the workplace. What are the Government doing to help to promote such social enterprises?

I am absolutely delighted that business, not only in my hon. Friend’s constituency but elsewhere, is playing an increasingly positive role in supporting work experience in schools and promoting an understanding of the world of work among the next generation. In particular, I have been delighted to be able to work with Business in the Community, an outstanding organisation supported and established by the Prince of Wales, that has done much to ensure that business plays its part in encouraging our young people to aspire to achieve more.

This morning, the Under-Secretary of State for Skills tweeted his support for the Policy Exchange report on vocational education, but that report and Tim Oates’s report for Cambridge Assessment were both heavily critical of the Government’s approach, including of their move away from immersion in the workplace for young people. Will the Secretary of State tell us how many schools have now withdrawn provision for work experience for 14 to 16-year-olds, and whether he wants that provision to be ended completely?

It is for each school to decide what is appropriate for its own students, but Alison Wolf’s report, which was welcomed across the House, clearly underlined the importance of high-quality work experience after the age of 16. That position was supported by the CBI and by the Labour party at the time, and our reforms to the funding of post-16 education now facilitate that provision.

Will not the removal of the statutory guidance assist schools and further education colleges to work more closely together to maximise vocational opportunities for all vocational students in a particular area?

My hon. Friend makes an important point. We need better integration of schools and further education colleges, and that is happening as a result of the Wolf report. The barrier that prevented those who are qualified to work in further education colleges from working in schools has been removed, and children over the age of 14 have the opportunity to be taught in FE colleges, which they did not have before. Greater integration of the two sectors is vital if we are to build on the successes of both.

3. What steps he is taking to accelerate the adoption process. (137902)

I am determined to eradicate underperformance in the adoption system. The Department has already published two rounds of adoption scorecards for local authorities as part of a tougher approach to driving up the speed of the adoption process. Our most pressing priority now is to increase the number of approved adopters, and it is crucial that all parts of the system focus on that goal. I hope to make an announcement shortly.

I thank the Minister for that response. I have been made aware of a case involving a couple seeking to adopt, who have been piloting concurrent care with their local authority. The judge initially ruled that the placement order had to be completed within 26 weeks of the birth of the child, but it now looks unlikely to be completed before 44 weeks, at best. Is the Minister listening to the experiences of carers undertaking such pilots to ensure that he understands what they are saying and is able to improve the process across the country?

It is disappointing to hear of the experience of my hon. Friend’s constituents, who are trying to help some of the most vulnerable children in our society. We are keen to promote all ways of improving approaches to concurrent planning, and to fostering for adoption, that are child-focused and that will ensure that children are placed as soon as possible. We are working with Coram to develop practice guidance that is informed by the experience of carers themselves, including—I hope—those in my hon. Friend’s constituency, in order to improve people’s and professionals’ understanding of how those placements work. We will also be legislating in the forthcoming children and families Bill to ensure that care cases are completed as soon as possible within the 26-week time limit.

Adoption is successful for many children and families, as I can confirm from personal experience, but as the Minister knows, there is a shortage of adoptive parents coming forward. Will he confirm that it is important that we improve care standards in residential care and among foster carers, and that we make an investment in those people as well as, rightly, trying to speed up the adoption process?

I completely agree with the hon. Gentleman, who has huge experience in this area. We need to ensure that we have the right placement available for the child at the right time. That could involve a variety of potentially permanent placements, but we need to ensure that the child has the opportunity to thrive whatever the placement. We believe that there are more children who could benefit from adoption, but we need to ensure that the whole system is fit for purpose.

May I congratulate my hon. Friend on the progress that he is making on adoption, an area in which he is particularly well qualified, professionally and personally? What progress is he making on driving out the political correctness that makes it difficult for white parents to adopt children from ethnic minorities even though there is a shortage of adoptive parents?

We know that that is still a problem in the adoption system. For example, it takes over a year longer for a black child to be adopted than a white child. There is also concern that there is still too much emphasis on getting a perfect ethnic match in the adoption system. That is why we will be legislating to ensure that all factors that are relevant to the characteristics of the child are taken into consideration, but that none, including the child’s ethnicity, should be overriding.

4. What steps he is taking to raise awareness in schools of the dangers of human trafficking in the UK. (137903)

Human trafficking is a heinous crime, and I salute my hon. Friend’s work in raising awareness of this issue. Schools can ensure that pupils receive appropriate information on this important topic through personal, social, health and economic education.

I thank the Minister for that reply. I commend the work undertaken among girls at Sandbach high school in my constituency, raising awareness that trafficking is happening right here in many UK towns and cities. What are the Government doing to make sure that school pupils recognise grooming, are aware of the dangers to which it can lead and know how to avoid becoming victims?

I, too, commend the work done by pupils and teachers at Sandbach high school, and I thank my hon. Friend for bringing it to my attention. I would be interested to hear more from her about how that school carries out best practice. She rightly highlights that PSHE plays a role in ensuring how pupils learn about, recognise and spot the signs of abuse and grooming, helping them to stay safe and to make informed choices.

Are not too many teachers anxious about raising such subjects in the classroom? We know of the real risks that young girls face—most brutally revealed at the Old Bailey last week by the cases of young children in Oxford? What can the Minister do to help teachers in the classroom to have the tools they need to protect these girls?

The hon. Lady is absolutely right that we need teachers to be aware of, and well trained in, these issues. I would like to learn from the case raised by my hon. Friend the Member for Congleton (Fiona Bruce) and to share it as best practice, so that we can ensure that those important issues are taught in our schools.

One of the signs, of course, is children who go missing from school on a regular basis. In 2011, the Select Committee recommended that the Secretary of State should write to schools annually, reminding them of their responsibilities. Is that now happening?

I am not sure, but I will certainly undertake to get back to the right hon. Gentleman. He raises a very important point, and schools should be vigilant about it.

5. How many children went missing from local authority care in each of the last three years. (137904)

The number of children reported to the Department as missing from care for more than 24 hours was 800 in 2010, 920 in 2011 and 1,490 in 2012. However, there are significant differences in data collected by the police and local authorities, which need to be addressed. The expert group on data has now made recommendations, and we will announce our actions shortly.

Those are large and significant numbers. Can we try to get to a situation in which at least child victims of trafficking are treated no worse than adult victims, as surely they deserve no less?

I completely agree with my hon. Friend’s analysis and about the importance of ensuring that all children, particularly those who have been trafficked who are probably the most vulnerable of all, have the protection they need within the care system. Our forthcoming revised statutory guidance on children who go missing from home or care will include specific advice on how to safeguard trafficked children. We are asking the Refugee Council together with the Children’s Society to carry out a review of the practical care arrangements for children in care who may have been trafficked, to identify the gaps in the system and to make sure that good practice is spread as widely as possible.

I thank the Minister for the very constructive meeting we had before Christmas. I am sure he is aware of concerns about the new police definitions of “missing” and “absent” and their impact on effective child protection. I am sure he would agree that the key to protecting children from child sexual exploitation is a sharing of all data about vulnerable children, including absence figures at the local level? Will he therefore ensure that any future guidance from his Department about children missing from care reinforces that?

I pay tribute to the hon. Lady not only for her chairmanship of the all-party parliamentary group for runaway and missing children and adults, but for her vital contribution to the work of the groups in the Department that have been looking into the issue. I hope that we can continue that dialogue in future.

It is crucial for us to improve data on missing and absent children at local level, in police forces and local authorities and more widely in other agencies, and we need to make that as effective as possible throughout the whole system. I look forward to discussing with the hon. Lady how we can do that better.

As the Minister will readily acknowledge, the police think that far more children are going missing than local authorities record. What the Minister says about trafficked children is absolutely right, but until local authorities are forced to identify trafficked children, we cannot begin to deal with the problem. Will he instruct authorities in future to record the number of trafficked children whom they are looking after?

Part of the purpose of the working group that we set up following the report from the all-party parliamentary group and the accelerated report from the deputy Children’s Commissioner was to consider how we could better record the data on all children who have some contact with the care system, and that includes trafficked children. I will think carefully about what my hon. Friend has said in conjunction with that work, and I should be happy to discuss it with him further.

It is said that one of the main reasons children go missing from care is a lack of time, love and attention from those who care for them. However, the Government have presided over dramatic cuts in children’s services at a time when more children are entering the care system, along with—according to the former children’s Minister—a “downgrading” in the Department of issues involving children. Given that more than 50% of social workers are describing their case loads as unmanageable and 88% say that children’s lives may be put at risk by the cuts, can the Minister tell me who will be able to spare those children the time, love and attention that they need, keep them in the care system and keep them safe?

We must ensure that the child protection system that we have is as effective as possible. We are implementing the Munro reforms, which the hon. Lady’s party supports, both in relation to the statutory guidance on safeguarding and working together and in relation to better trained and higher quality social workers. We want protection to be in place for every child who needs it, but we must also provide the care that children require once they are in the care system. I want what the hon. Lady wants, which is the best possible care for all those children, and I hope she will join me in supporting Eileen Munro’s work so that we can ensure that it is provided.

6. What recent representations he has received on his proposed changes to GCSEs; and if he will make a statement. (137905)

12. What recent representations he has received on his proposed changes to GCSEs; and if he will make a statement. (137911)

We have received almost 5,500 written responses to our consultation, and we are currently reviewing them, along with all the views that we have heard in meetings with interested organisations. We will report on the findings from the consultation once we have had a chance to consider them in full.

If the Secretary of State had succeeded in uniting everyone—from the CBI to the teaching unions, from Kenneth Baker to Sir Jonathan Ive—in support of his proposals, we would be calling him a genius. What word would he use to describe someone who has achieved the exact opposite?

I am always grateful for the thought that the hon. Gentleman is toying with the question of whether to call me a genius or a saint. I shall merely say that what we have managed to do so far is put the case for reform after the years when, sadly, the Labour party was in power, and confidence in our examination system received a shock from which the coalition Government are at last rescuing it.

The Secretary of State may not see anything wrong with a 19th-century education system that places no value on practical, vocational or creative training, but employers are very concerned, and so is the CBI. Why is the Secretary of State not as worried as they are?

I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for his question, because it gives me another opportunity to remind the House of the changes that we have made to, for example, the teaching of computer science. We replaced an out-of-date information and communications technology curriculum, which had not changed under the last Government, with a fit-for-purpose computer science curriculum that was endorsed by the industry. The hon. Gentleman’s question also gives me an opportunity to point out that, through both the Wolf review of vocational qualifications and the Richard review of apprenticeships, we have managed to unite all those who take vocational education seriously in acclaiming the reforming steps that we have taken.

The school information regulations that came into force last September require schools to publish on their websites their GCSE results and the GCSE courses that they offer, as well as details of the curriculum for each academic subject in each year of school. Will my right hon. Friend ensure that schools comply with those regulations, so that parents have all the information that they need when deciding on a school for their children?

My hon. Friend makes an excellent point; one of the best ways in which we can ensure that all schools offer the range of subjects that young people need in order to succeed is to ensure that there is transparency about the curriculum and clarity in the minds of parents. The changes he mentions should secure that, and it is important that schools observe them.

Does my right hon. Friend agree that if this country’s work force are to be able to compete in the global marketplace, we must always endeavour to equip our students better with the skills that they will need to flourish in an increasingly competitive and globalised world?

My hon. Friend, once again, hits the nail on the head; he is acquiring a reputation in these Question Times for cutting straight to the heart of an issue. He describes why the changes we have made to ensure that all students who fail to secure adequate GCSE passes in English and maths at 16 are now required to take those critical subjects on beyond that age are so important. That is also why we are absolutely delighted that we are recruiting a better cohort of teachers than ever before, to build on the achievements of the past.

A quote:

“The EBacc is very similar to the exam I sat in 1951…the School Certificate. It’s exactly the same, exactly!”

That was changed in 1951

“because it simply wasn’t broad enough for most children…I was part of a privileged elite. And the EBacc is a throwback to that.”

Those were the words of former Conservative Education Secretary, Lord Baker. Discuss.

I am happy to say that what was an academic education limited to a narrow elite in the 1950s is now being extended to more and more children. I am very sorry that the snobbish attitude that prevails on the Labour Benches—[Interruption.] It is interesting to see Labour Members uniting behind a view that academic education should be available only to a minority, and it is a unique historic trap into which they are falling by endorsing the idea that English, maths, science and modern foreign languages should somehow be denied to young people. What a pity that the party that once stood up for ragged-trousered philanthropists is now standing up for closed-minded reaction.

Despite the concerns that have been expressed about arts and creative subjects, is it not true that there is plenty of room in the curriculum for young people who are interested in studying those subjects, even while taking the full English baccalaureate suite?

Yes, and I find it curious that there are those who say, for example, that English literature is not a subject that encourages creativity. The assault on the subjects in the English baccalaureate betrays the most narrow of mindsets, whereby the only things that are creative are those which fall within a particularly narrow spectrum. I think that scientists are creative; I think that those who study physics are capable of creativity; I think that geographers are creative; I think that historians are creative. To have Labour Members attacking those subjects as somehow not being creative and not being appropriate for the 21st century is as revealing as the dog that did not bark in Sherlock Holmes’s story.

7. What plans he has for early intervention provision; and if he will make a statement. (137906)

Local authorities have a key role in securing early intervention provision to meet the needs of their communities. To support this, we are increasing the overall funding for early intervention, from £2.2 billion in 2011-12 to £2.5 billion in 2014-15. That funding will enable local authorities to support early intervention provision, as well as funding the early education for two-year-olds from low-income families, which evidence shows is one of the most important types of early intervention.

I am interested in those figures, because I do not think they are quite what they seem. If it is so important to have early intervention, why is the Secretary of State actually taking away more than £1 billion from early intervention in England? Why is he taking 41% in real terms—more than £4.4 million—from my local authority, the London borough of Redbridge?

I am a great fan of the hon. Gentleman; he does distinguished work in this House, so it is rare to see him lapse. I would remind him of two things: we inherited a blasted economic heath as a result of the depredations of the previous Government; and the figures for the amount that we are spending on early intervention rise for every year of this Parliament.

In view of the success of the pupil premium in targeting money for school-age children and on this important issue of early intervention, has the Department given any consideration to a form of nursery premium that would extend the benefits of that to younger children?

My hon. Friend is absolutely right: the pupil premium has been hugely successful in incentivising innovation and trying to ensure that children from disadvantaged backgrounds do better. It has also ensured that the balance of funding in education has moved towards disadvantaged children and disadvantaged areas. We are constantly looking at ways to ensure that the innovation and progress that the pupil premium has helped bring about are extended to more children at more ages.

The Secretary of State cites a figure of £2.2 billion for 2011-12, but by that point he had cut £600 million from early intervention in the previous year. I asked him about that in October; since then we have had the local government settlement, which includes a further cut of £49 million to early intervention. Is this not yet another example of how, as the former children’s Minister told the Select Committee last week, children and families are a “declining priority” for this Secretary of State?

I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for his point. I remind him that he and his colleagues would have more credibility in discussing public spending if they were to acknowledge the terrible mistakes made by the previous Labour Government that led to the desperate economic situation in which we find ourselves. The figures are—[Interruption.] Silence in class! Spending on early intervention has gone up from £2.2 billion to £2.36 billion to £2.39 billion to £2.51 billion. Even at a time of tremendous economic pressure, spending is increasing. I should have thought that that would be good news in anyone’s language.

8. How many students are enrolled in university technical colleges; and how many he expects to be enrolled by September 2013. (137907)

Five university technical colleges are open that, once full, will educate more than 2,600 young people. Twelve more UTCs are preparing to open in September and interest in enrolling is very high.

I congratulate the Government on the progress in the expansion and implementation of UTCs, and particularly the work of Lord Hill, the former Minister. I am sure that we all wish him the best in his new position. I must confess that I hope that there will be a UTC in Watford before very long. Does the Minister agree that the time must come very soon when all students of the appropriate age group have access to UTCs? Does he also agree that UTCs are an excellent weapon in reducing the long-term unemployment of young people by providing the skills they need to get jobs?

I also pay tribute to the work of Lord Hill in this area and I note my hon. Friend’s representations on behalf of Watford. He is absolutely right that it is essential we provide the opportunity for all young people to access high-quality vocational education. He will be interested to hear that we are already well on the way to exceeding the Government’s target of 24 UTCs by 2014.

It is important that areas such as Bradford in west Yorkshire which have high levels of youth unemployment have access to initiatives such as UTCs. How will the Minister expand and promote the policy as quickly as possible so that areas such as Bradford and west Yorkshire can participate?

I entirely agree with the hon. Gentleman, who will be aware that a bidding round is being considered and that announcements will be made in the spring.

Despite improvements in recent years, educational attainment in North Lincolnshire is still not where we would like it to be. May I urge the Minister to do everything he can to ensure that the UTC application for Scunthorpe progresses?

We note carefully hon. Members’ representations about UTC applications in their areas. Obviously, I cannot comment on individual applications under consideration, but we note his support.

9. What steps he is taking to ensure that children with special educational needs receive a co-ordinated service across agencies. (137908)

Our proposed reforms will ensure that services work closely together to support children and young people with special educational needs, including a requirement for local authorities and the health service to commission services jointly. We are testing approaches to implementation across 20 pathfinders, including a local offer that sets out services available for all children and young people with SEN and a co-ordinated education, health and care plan for those with more complex needs.

I am grateful to the Minister for that reply. What is his Department doing to help provide joined-up and co-ordinated services specifically for children with special educational needs who are in care or being fostered?

Around 70% of children in care have some form of special educational needs so it is vital that we better co-ordinate the support that they receive, including in their foster placements. The pathfinders are looking specifically at improving working partnerships between education, health and social care in respect of looked-after children, as well as at the training needs of foster carers to ensure that we get much more co-ordinated support.

Additional needs funding will be routed through local authorities to all post-16 providers from September 2013. There is quite a lot of evidence in the colleges sector that local authorities have not got a grip on the number of our young people in their area who have additional needs. What will the Minister do to ensure that this does not get in the way of a smooth transfer next autumn?

The Department and the Education Funding Agency are working closely with local authorities and colleges. I have had discussions with the Association of Colleges, as well as a number of discussions with my right hon. Friend the Minister for Schools, to make sure that the transition is as smooth as possible and that the adjustments that need to be made are made in good time so that no child misses out as a consequence.

Twenty thousand pupils in Hampshire are educated in the independent sector, including children with special educational needs, yet those schools do not benefit from the same level of scrutiny by child protection boards as those in the state sector. Given the appalling case of sexual abuse and the recent tribunal ruling at a school in my constituency which specialises in teaching children with special educational needs, will my hon. Friend agree to meet me as a matter of urgency to discuss what measures can be taken to improve that situation?

I am happy to meet my hon. Friend to discuss that issue in more detail. Every school must have a child protection policy and the new Ofsted multi-agency inspection that comes in later this year will be a strong way of ensuring that there is a much more co-ordinated response to safeguarding and child protection, not just within schools but right across all agencies.

11. What plans he has for child care provision; and if he will make a statement. (137910)

Ensuring that children benefit from high-quality early education and child care is a key priority. This Government spend more than £5 billion per year. As a proportion of GDP, that is higher than Germany and as much as France, yet our parents pay some of the highest costs and child care workers in England receive lower salaries than those in comparable countries. There is much scope to reform our system to achieve higher quality and better value for money.

As the Minister says, the UK has some of the most expensive child care in the OECD. The Resolution Foundation tells us that a woman second earner working full-time on the minimum wage would bring home only £4 extra from that second role in her family, after paying child care costs and losing tax credits, and the Government hardly helped by cutting the child care element of the working tax credit, which hit 400,000 families. Is it not time that the Government got on and did something to help parents with those high child care costs?

As we announced in the mid-term review, we will help hard-working families with the cost of child care and we will announce measures on that in due course. As a country we spend more than £5 billion a year, more than countries such as Germany and the same amount as France, and we are not yet getting value for money. My other aim is to make sure that we use the money in our system much better to ensure that more money goes to the front line and that our hard-working child care workers in nurseries and our child minders receive more of the money coming from parents and the Government.

21. In the Minister’s focus on the quality of child care, will she not forget the value of parents and relatives looking after young children at home? (137920)

My role is to make sure that the child care provided in this country is of the highest quality and provides value for the money that the Government are putting in. My hon. Friend is right: many parents choose to look after their own children at home. That is important, too, but my role is very much to ensure that child care is of the highest quality.

Two expert advisers on child care, Professors Helen Penn and Eva Lloyd, have warned the Government about their child care plans. Does the Minister agree with Professor Lloyd that changing ratios would not reduce costs, but would result in “a reduction in quality”? Will the Minister publish the expert report that her Department commissioned nine months ago and take the advice of these experts who said, in effect, that she needs to go back to the drawing board?

I suggest that the hon. Lady speaks to her boss, who has advocated Danish and Swedish child care systems, both of which have higher ratios than we currently have in England. They also have higher salaries and higher levels of qualification.

We are looking at best practice in Germany, France, Denmark and the Netherlands to make sure that we end up with a system in which we pay child care workers more than the £6.60 an hour that they are getting at the moment. That is a legacy of the previous Government. We are paying those who should be highly paid professionals £6.60 an hour—barely more than the minimum wage.

13. What recent assessment he has made of the success of sixth-form colleges; and if he will make a statement. (137912)

Sixth-form colleges make an important contribution to the education of 16 to 19 year-olds. The latest data show that the sector is performing well in both student attainment and a range of valued-added measures. Nearly four fifths of sixth-form colleges are rated “good” or “outstanding” by Ofsted.

As the Minister has just said, sixth-form colleges are our most successful educational institutions, in terms of both quality of education and value for money. I suggest that the Government would do well by our young people and taxpayers if they sought to establish many more sixth-form colleges and ensured that those that we have are treated fairly and supported.

We will certainly go on strongly supporting sixth-form colleges. I believe that an all-party sixth-form college group will be formed in the near future with the hon. Gentleman as its chairman. I will be more than happy to meet him in his capacity as chair of that group.

There is only one school sixth form in my constituency; the rest of the sixth-form students go to Harlow college. Will my right hon. Friend ensure that the poorest pupils going to sixth-form and further education colleges have access to free school meals, as school students have?

As my hon. Friend will know, that is a long-standing injustice in how legislation treats students in colleges compared with those in schools. Obviously, resolving it would involve a considerable financial commitment, but I assure him that we are looking at it.

Will the Minister accept, however, that funding should be equal for sixth-form students regardless of the status of the establishment they go to? With that in mind, will he accept an invitation from me to visit Colchester sixth-form college—arguably the best in the country—to see how successful it is?

I would be delighted to accept that invitation, and I assure my hon. Friend that we are acting to make sure that there is equal treatment of students regardless of which institution they are in between the ages of 16 and 19.

14. What plans he has to encourage the setting up of further academies. (137913)

The Department is working to ensure that as many good and outstanding state schools as possible have the opportunity to sponsor other schools. We have created a sponsor capacity fund to ensure that just such a change can take place.

I refer my right hon. Friend to the excellent progress being made by King’s Lynn academy. Will he join me in paying tribute to the principal Craig Morrison and his team, who have put in place a new reinvigorated ethos and put real pride into the school? Is it not an excellent example of why the academies programme should be rolled out and will he join me in visiting the school in the not-too-distant future?

It is always a pleasure to visit the county of Norfolk, particularly in my hon. Friend’s company, and I would be delighted to do so. In the past, educational standards in Norfolk simply were not good enough, but as a result of the transformational leadership of academy principals, things are at last improving. I commend, for example, the work undertaken by Rachel de Souza at the Ormiston Victory academy and the work that she is extending across the whole county, particularly targeting children in the most disadvantaged parts who need our reforms most.

By April this year, 40% of Bristol pupils will be taught in academies. One of the consequences of that has been the creation of rather fragmented services in school improvement, educational welfare and so on; 75%, I think, of the academies are buying those services in from the local authority, but not all of them are. What assessment has been made of the quality of both statutory and non-statutory safeguarding provisions in academies as a result of the change?

There was fragmentation in education in Bristol, with far too many children being educated outside the city and far too many of their parents feeling that they had to be educated privately. At last, educational standards in Bristol are being turned around, not least thanks to the inspirational leadership of academy sponsors and academy leaders such as David Carter of the Cabot Learning Federation. There is no evidence that child safeguarding is taken any less seriously in academies. All the evidence is that academies, in pastoral and in educational terms, outperform other schools.

Academies and free schools are making a real difference to educational attainment in this country. May I make the Secretary of State aware of an excellent bid for a new free school in east Reading that is truly worthy of Government support?

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for making that case. I find increasingly that Members in all parts of the House are supporting free school bids. Not so long ago, the shadow Education Secretary was saying that free schools were freaky schools; now, increasingly, free schools are the schools that every Member of this House wants in their constituency.

15. What progress he has made on ensuring the provision of a high-quality information, advice and guidance service in all secondary schools. (137914)

An excellent, broad education grounded in core subjects such as maths, languages and sciences is an important foundation for a successful career. That is why we have introduced the English baccalaureate to encourage students not to close off their options too early. We have also given schools a new duty to secure independent careers guidance, which will help students to make informed choices about the best study routes for them.

The Minister must know that children from more socially deprived backgrounds desperately need high-quality careers advice. All the evidence is that that careers advice is diminishing rapidly up and down this country. What is she going to do about that to help those young people?

I thank the hon. Gentleman for his question. As I have said, ensuring that more students are taking core subjects means that they will have better career opportunities later in life, and extending the opportunity to study maths and English beyond GCSE level for those who have not got a grade C means that they will get those important points. We have developed the National Careers Service, and the helpline has had 62,000 contacts with 13 to 18-year-olds, giving people these opportunities. We also ask schools to offer face-to-face advice. The key is that students get a good education; that is what will help them to compete in the world.

Tens of billions of pounds are spent on post-14 education alone, and the choices made by young people are crucial to their future and to that of the nation. The Education Committee’s report on careers advice and guidance will come out on Wednesday. Does the Minister agree that we must ensure that the right advice and guidance is in place, not only to help those most disadvantaged in our society but to ensure the most effective use of public funds?

Of course I will be extremely interested to see what the Select Committee report says on the subject. We do need good careers guidance, but we also need a system where students have an incentive to take subjects that will prove of value to them later in life. That is the whole point of the English baccalaureate.

T1. If he will make a statement on his departmental responsibilities. (137923)

More than 5,000 schools across the country are closed today as a result of adverse weather conditions. Thanks to changes that this Government have made, no school that ensures that it is open will be penalised if individual students cannot make it to school on that day. I hope that as a result more and more schools will recognise that while the decision on whether to remain open or closed is a matter for the head teacher, everything can and should be done to ensure that all children get access to a good education.

After the revelations about Jimmy Savile, Cyril Smith and other appalling cases, is it not time for the Secretary of State to stop dragging his feet over personal, social, health and economic education, causing its teaching over the past two years to decline, and instead to help equip our young people to better resist the efforts of predatory paedophiles?

The hon. Lady is absolutely right that given their scale the recent revelations about the extent of child abuse and child grooming are uniquely worrying. In a speech that I gave to the Institute for Public Policy Research just before Christmas, I outlined a series of steps that my Department has taken, and will take, in order to deal with this.

T2. Given the evolving role of school governors, especially in performing accountability measures, and bearing in mind how Ofsted is focusing on school governors and their role in ensuring that higher standards are found in schools that have thus far not managed to achieve them, does the Secretary of State agree that we need to focus on skills and, in particular, the role of the chair? (137924)

I thank my hon. Friend for the work that he has done on how to improve school governance. It matters hugely and one of the successes of the academies programme has been to raise the quality of school governance. I agree that, while it is important that the community feels that its voice is represented on governing bodies, the single most important thing is the skills and capabilities of the governing body.

Last week, the former children’s Minister, the hon. Member for East Worthing and Shoreham (Tim Loughton), said that the children and families agenda is a “declining priority” for this Government. The response from a senior official in the Department was to describe the hon. Gentleman as “lazy” and “incompetent”. The code of conduct for special advisers and civil servants precludes them from making such personal attacks. Will the Education Secretary investigate to determine whether a breach of the code has occurred and, if one has, will he take all necessary disciplinary action?

I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for making that point. It gives me an opportunity to affirm the importance of child protection and of ensuring that this Government take all the steps needed to make sure that no child is placed at risk and to—[Hon. Members: “Answer the question.”] I think the first part of the question was about child protection and I regard that as the most important part, which is why we have taken steps to ensure that child protection is and remains a top priority. It is, of course, the case that leaks are a part of political life, and I tend to regard them all with equanimity.

T3. Does my right hon. Friend agree that we need to give head teachers and individual schools far greater autonomy over teachers’ pay, to allow them to reward, recruit and retain good teachers? (137925)

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for making a very important point. Changes to the way in which we pay and reward teachers will ensure that good teachers are rewarded better and that those schools in disadvantaged areas which, thanks to the pupil premium, are receiving more money will have the chance to get the high-quality teaching that their children deserve.

T4. Hetton school in my constituency was due to be rebuilt under Labour’s Building Schools for the Future programme. The school was then accepted on to this Government’s new scheme, but its head has now been told that, due to financing issues, the rebuilding will be delayed by another year. Will the Secretary of State explain the reasons for that? (137926)

I am grateful to the hon. Lady for her question and will investigate the specific case that she mentions. Sadly, the Building Schools for the Future programme had to be terminated, not least because of the inefficiencies within the scheme. The priority schools building programme will ensure that schools are repaired at less cost to the taxpayer and in a more effective way. If there has been any slippage in the particular case that the hon. Lady has brought to my attention, I will look at it and write to her.

T6. Today, the all-party group on archives and history has formally published its report, “History for all?” One of its principal recommendations is to consider whether there should be a British history qualification at 16 that would teach the broad chronological span of British history. Will the Secretary of State seriously consider this report and meet a cross-party delegation of MPs to discuss its findings? (137928)

It is an excellent report and I would love to meet a cross-party delegation of MPs to tease out the implications of some of its brilliant recommendations.

T5. The Secretary of State has spoken eloquently of the need for academic subjects to be taught in poorer communities, so why is Keele university in north Staffordshire seeing its allocation for secondary teacher core training cut by 100% in history, 100% in geography and 100% in English? Will he give me an assurance that the new teaching regime will not distort teacher supply geographically, so that areas such as Stoke-on-Trent are not deprived of well trained, well motivated teachers? Why this snobbery? Don’t Stoke kids deserve the best? (137927)

I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for raising this issue. I read his column in the Stoke Sentinel on precisely this issue, with admiration both for his passion and for the quality of his prose. I assure him that we will absolutely ensure that, across the country, teachers who are well trained will be placed in the schools that need them most. That is why we have reformed pay and conditions—there is still silence from the Labour party on whether or not it supports our changes—and why we have made changes to teacher training through the school direct programme. Let me offer the hon. Gentleman a meeting with the head of the Teaching Agency, Charlie Taylor. After that meeting, if he is not impressed by Charlie and his commitment to helping the poorest children do well, I am afraid that nothing will convince him.

T7. I am sure that Ministers will be aware that Holocaust memorial day will take place this week and that the work of the Holocaust Education Trust has been commended by this and previous Governments. Are they also aware that the Lord Merlyn-Rees memorial lecture will take place this evening here in Parliament—in the Attlee suite—at which the former Foreign Secretary, the right hon. Member for South Shields (David Miliband), and Mr Danny Finkelstein of The Times will speak? I hope that Ministers will implore their constituents and colleagues to attend. (137929)

I look forward to listening to both the right hon. Member for South Shields (David Miliband) and Mr Finkelstein of The Times this evening. Let me place on record my gratitude to the last Government for instituting state support for the Holocaust Education Trust, and particularly to my predecessor as Secretary of State, the right hon. Member for Morley and Outwood (Ed Balls), for the courage and commitment that he showed to the fantastic work of the HET. I extend my congratulations also to its chief executive, Karen Pollock, who is an inspirational public figure and richly deserved her recent recognition in the honours list.

T8. I have just come from an excellent event hosted by Newham council called “Every child a musician”. It is a scheme that was launched in 2010 to give all children from whatever background access to a musical education. It has been rigorously evaluated by the Institute of Education, and Professor Graham Welch has stated that evidence already exists of“a link between progress in EcAM and progress in writing and English.”Can the Secretary of State explain, therefore, why arts subjects will not count towards the English baccalaureate? (137930)

I congratulate Newham council on its leadership, and I congratulate all those involved in music education, who have been supported in London by the Mayor through the scheme that he has introduced to ensure that more children have access to instrumental tuition.

Darren Henley’s report on music education was greeted as probably the best report on the subject that had been written, and enacted by any Government, since the dawn of time. I am grateful that there is such widespread recognition of our commitment to school music.

T9. Some 18,000 young people and teachers have had the opportunity to visit Auschwitz thanks to the wonderful work of the Holocaust Education Trust. Does my right hon. Friend agree that we should commend those who are organising events across the country to commemorate the awful evil of the holocaust, and that it is important that all young people learn the lessons from the past so that it is not repeated in the future? (137931)

I absolutely agree, and at a time when we are seeing the effects of prejudice and anti-Semitism on the rise—all of us will have been watching news programmes over the weekend horrified at the re-emergence of murderous prejudice in north Africa and the middle east—we will all affirm the vital importance of the work that the Holocaust Education Trust continues to do.

Youth services are being wiped out up and down the country. Why will the Secretary of State not collect the data from local authorities and ensure that they meet their statutory duty to provide a sufficient youth service?

The hon. Lady will know that there are duties on local authorities to ensure that there is adequate provision of the services that she mentions. We work closely with many youth services, and I spoke at the National Youth Agency only last week about the innovative and creative practices that are now developing in a lot of areas, which are delivering excellent services for young people. That includes the £240 million capital investment that we have recently put into myplace centres, which are benefiting many of the poorest parts of our country.

T10. In recent years, more premature babies, who are being born even earlier, are surviving in good health, albeit that they start school with development that, when measured from their birth date, is delayed. Will the Minister consider fresh evidence, especially about severely premature summer-born babies, and give their parents the final say on when they start school? (137932)

We are certainly prepared to consider that further. My hon. Friend will know that in the simpler code that was introduced on 1 February 2012, we clarified some aspects of the admissions situation and made parents’ rights on deferral much clearer. The Department is also meeting parents who are affected by such issues to consider any further changes.

Earlier, the Under-Secretary of State, the hon. Member for South West Norfolk (Elizabeth Truss), hinted again about changes to child care. A week or so ago there were major trails in the Sunday papers about imminent announcements. Has she been thwarted in her ambitions by members of the Government who do not wish to see women back in the workplace and contributing to the Government’s tax take?

We will shortly announce proposals on child care. As I mentioned earlier, we are not getting value for money for the £5 billion that we spend. In the mid-term review, we said that we would put forward a new offer for working parents. At the moment, our parents pay more than those in virtually any other OECD country, after 13 years of Labour creating a system that does not work. We are going to fix it.

We heard earlier about the success of Northamptonshire in introducing academies. We have not been as successful in Staffordshire, and one reason for that has been peer pressure by headmasters on those headmasters who want to establish academies. What steps can the Department take—if any—to encourage headmasters to have a little bit more courage to go ahead and take that step?

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for that question. I fear we have reached a tipping point in the number of schools that have become academies at secondary level, with more than 52% of pupils now educated in academies. As a result of that, even in local authorities where there are perhaps one or two more small c conservative head teachers, I believe that the overwhelming evidence of the benefits that academies bring will ensure that we see more schools going down that path.

I know that the Secretary of State shares my determination to improve social mobility. Will he therefore support my constituent, Damien Shannon, who has been prevented from taking an MSc place at St Hugh’s college Oxford simply because he cannot lay his hands on £21,000 immediately? How does that help social mobility?

May I take this opportunity to pay tribute to the right hon. Lady’s commitment to social mobility and the work she has done in encouraging internships in this House? I shall look as quickly as I can into that case and discuss it with the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.

I look forward to the Minister’s proposals for improving outcomes for children with special educational needs. However, for those parents who are still forced to use the tribunal process, the delay before they get to that tribunal is considerable and can lead to additional pressure and for too long leave children without the education they need. Will he agree to discuss the matter with the Department, and seek to improve those outcomes?

I know my hon. Friend has a lot of experience in his family of these issues, and we are working hard to ensure that we move away from the adversarial nature of our system which means that far too many cases end up in a tribunal. We have looked carefully at the report from the Education Committee and will be responding shortly with—I hope—answers that it will find helpful.

At Christmas, officials from the Department for Education held a party at which they were encouraged to wear silly hats and not remove them until they had identified what cuts they wanted to make. Another official blogged that he would like a barge on which to sail between the different offices outside London. The one he could not reach was Darlington, which is under threat of moving to Newcastle. Does the Secretary of State see how insulting that is to 450 of my constituents who might be losing their jobs?

The hon. Lady has made a good case for the continuation of Department for Education provision at Mowden hall in Darlington. It is important for us all to recognise that the work of civil servants engaged in the DfE review has been typical of the committed work they do across the Department to ensure that we have better services for less money. I am looking forward to working with her to ensure that we examine the case for either Darlington or another location in the north-east providing an even better service for all children in the future.

Last but not least, George Eustice.

In light of the report by the right hon. Member for Birkenhead (Mr Field) earlier in this Parliament, will the Secretary of State say what steps he is taking to improve the parenting skills of parents who have children under the age of three?

We are currently undertaking three pilots to see how parenting classes can enhance the capacity of parents from a variety of backgrounds to provide children with the support they need. I am particularly open to innovation in that field, and those three pilots should help us to decide the best way to move on.