Education and Inspections Bill

I have found the debate a bit bewildering: the Secretary of State has taunted Conservative Members with the reasons why Conservative Members should not vote for the Bill; Labour Back Benchers have tormented Liberal Democrat Members on why Liberal Democrat Members will not vote for it; and the local paper in Northern Ireland reports that Labour Whips are ““irritated”” that we might vote for it. We will vote for the Bill, even if Labour Whips stand at the Door of the Lobby and try to shoo us away, because we believe that the Bill is an important building block in improving educational provision for people in England. The right hon. and learned Member for Rushcliffe (Mr. Clarke) has pointed out that on a Bill such as this, where it is possible to achieve consensus, we should seek consensus across the party-political divide. It is disappointing that the Labour party has adopted a Sinn Fein approach—ourselves alone, with no one else supporting the changes. [Hon. Members: ““No surrender!””] Absolutely. We will support the Bill despite some of the concessions, which were unnecessary and are probably detrimental. When the Secretary of State introduced the White Paper, she made it clear that it was ““the next essential step”” in changing the education system for the better. Over the past weeks and months, however, we have seen her toss changes out of the front door, the back door, down the trap door and through the green door in the face of the baying old Labour rebels. Despite those concessions, the Bill contains enough to warrant our support. The Government are seeking to remove from schools in Northern Ireland what they are proposing for schools in England. In Northern Ireland, against the wishes not of a few party rebels, but of two thirds of the population and an overwhelming proportion of parents and teachers, the Government are seeking to impose a one-size-fits-all comprehensive system. Despite the fact that the Government are denying to the people of Northern Ireland what we want for them, we are prepared to support a Bill that will at least move towards it in England. The Bill is important because children deserve better than what they are getting at present. I recognise that the Government have spent considerably more money on education over the past few years. A 45 per cent. real increase in the budget is to be welcomed. However, it is not funding alone that creates change. I do not want to repeat the statistics that we hear bandied backwards and forwards between the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition at Question Time about what is happening to schools. We all know the statistics about the number of children who are being taught in failing schools and so on. Funding is not the only answer—there must be structural change. I believe that the structural changes in the Bill go towards tackling the mental block among the UK public that one cannot have a good education system unless it is solely provided by the state. We need diversity and we sometimes need to lift the deadening hand of local authorities from education provision. Several of the measures in the Bill are welcome. Giving children greater freedom to travel will help to improve social mobility. Allowing bad schools to shrink and good schools to expand will improve efficiency and provide incentives for change. Permitting schools to apply for trust status will bring greater expertise and resources—not just money, but other resources—into the system. Encouraging schools to have that autonomy will give good leaders the opportunity to make the changes that they know are needed to improve the situation in their own local area. The enhanced disciplinary powers for teachers are welcome, given that 41 per cent. of parents indicated in a recent survey that they are concerned about school discipline. I regret that the Minister still has a blind prejudice against academic selection, which is a cornerstone of matching pupils to the appropriate education experience. I find that incomprehensible. In Northern Ireland, selection has worked in terms of improving social mobility, improving standards, and getting more people from working class backgrounds into university. However, I take some joy from clause 40, which allows for auditions or oral or practical tests. That, to me, is selection of a sort; the Minister can call it what she likes. We will go through the Lobby to support the Bill. We hope that no more concessions will be made in Committee, that some of the weaknesses that have been identified will be addressed, and that some provisions will be strengthened to give youngsters a better chance of using the educational ladder to improve themselves.