Business of the House

Part of the debate – in the House of Commons at 11:31 am on 8 July 2010.

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Photo of Glenda Jackson Glenda Jackson Labour, Hampstead and Kilburn 11:31, 8 July 2010

May we have an urgent debate-I stress the need for it to be urgent-on Building Schools for the Future? Following on from the question posed by Adam Afriyie on the necessity for evidence-based decisions, may I say that what has become increasingly clear is that the Secretary of State for Education has never presented to this House, either in debate on in a statement, any kind of proof that his decisions were based on evidence, either of the economic need or of the educational need? Absolutely no detail has been provided, so one is left with the feeling that there is no Building Schools for the Future programme. This has caused enormous disquiet across the whole country, not least in my constituency. May I just point out to the Leader of the House that the people who are suffering most for the inequity and incompetence of the Secretary of State are our children? Our children are this country's future, so it behoves this Government to afford proper time to this House to examine whether there is indeed a Building Schools for the Future programme, because the Secretary of State has markedly failed to convince any of us.