Part of Oral Answers to Questions — Children, Schools and Families – in the House of Commons at 2:30 pm on 30 November 2009.
Rob Flello
Labour, Stoke-on-Trent South
2:30,
30 November 2009
Following the previous Schools Minister's extremely helpful Intervention to help save Trentham high school, would the current Schools Minister like to visit my Constituency to see for himself the problems associated with the so-called Springfield academy site? At the same time, perhaps he would like to visit Trentham high and my colleagues in other parts of the city to see what is happening in those schools.
Ministers make up the Government and almost all are members of the House of Lords or the House of Commons. There are three main types of Minister. Departmental Ministers are in charge of Government Departments. The Government is divided into different Departments which have responsibilities for different areas. For example the Treasury is in charge of Government spending. Departmental Ministers in the Cabinet are generally called 'Secretary of State' but some have special titles such as Chancellor of the Exchequer. Ministers of State and Junior Ministers assist the ministers in charge of the department. They normally have responsibility for a particular area within the department and are sometimes given a title that reflects this - for example Minister of Transport.
An intervention is when the MP making a speech is interrupted by another MP and asked to 'give way' to allow the other MP to intervene on the speech to ask a question or comment on what has just been said.
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Annotations
Nicky Davis
Posted on 2 Dec 2009 12:24 pm (Report this annotation)
I am pleased to see that my constituency MP has raised this issue in the House of Commons. As a parent (governor) of a child at Trentham High School and a Save Trentham High Action Group campaigner, I am grateful for the help of Rob Flello and Jim Knight in securing our school.
As a continuing non-party political activist and member of the Community Schools Action Group and 'Springfield' Action Group, I am convinced the plan for an academy on the so called 'Springfield' site amounts to educational vandalism and community wrecking; bulldozing a hole where Berry Hill High School and Mitchell High School are, depriving the communities in and around the Bucknall area of Stoke-on-Trent central of any local high school in their community and snatching away the 'village green' from the Adderley Green community.
What is wanted and needed is for Berry Hill and Mitchell to merge to a new school on the Mitchell site - it's obvious - only the leader and cabinet in our council won't see it. We must get this right for ALL our young people and communities in the city.
I would welcome a visit by Vernon Coaker to our fine city, to see our schools and talk to residents with a passion for their communities.
Margaret Lowe
Posted on 3 Dec 2009 11:19 pm (Report this annotation)
Perhaps the minister may like to take the opportunity of visiting the 4 schools - and see how merging Mitchell High School with Edensor Technology College and Berry Hill High School with St Peters High School would be a bad idea - they are miles apart. Much better to merge Mitchell High School with Berry Hill High School within the community in a new school. This would leave Edensor Technology College to merge with Blurton High School in their new academy, and St Peter's, which is always over subscribed, to take the current 6th Form College site. This makes more sense. Please come and visit us and see what we are talking about. The Council don't listen and haven't a clue where the schools are - they just picked them by looking at a map!