Funding and Schools Reform

Part of Opposition Day — [6th Allotted Day] – in the House of Commons at 6:39 pm on 17 November 2010.

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Photo of Kevin Brennan Kevin Brennan Shadow Minister (Education) 6:39, 17 November 2010

I have not enough time, I am afraid. Well, I might give way in a minute.

One can accept that the Secretary of State, with his challenged grasp of numbers, might be beguiled by the Chancellor, with all his confusing charts and tables-that is perfectly possible-but how can we explain the reaction of his Liberal Democrat chum in the Department? How does the Minister of State, Sarah Teather, respond to this absorption of the supposedly additional flagship pupil premium into a schools budget that has been reduced per head in real terms? Answer: she brags about it. She will have trouble bragging about it when she starts trying to explain to head teachers in Brent Central why their budgets have been cut despite the introduction of the so-called pupil premium. She will have to use all the expertise that she has built up over the years in preparing dodgy bar graphs for Liberal Democrat focus leaflets.

We can all imagine the scene. Brent head teacher: "But my budget has gone down! Where is the pupil premium?" The hon. Member for Brent Central: "Let me just show you this bar graph. It clearly demonstrates that although you have less money, you have more money than you would have had if we had cut the budget more deeply. You have therefore benefited from the pupil premium." Brent Head Teacher: "Oh, well, that's all right then." Come off it! The hon. Lady must think that head teachers in her constituency were born yesterday. It is a con. When the final budget figures land on head teachers' desks across the country, it will take more than a few dodgy bar graphs from the hon. Lady and a few flowery flourishes from the Secretary of State to con professional school leaders into swallowing this nonsense.

It is no wonder Mr Ward walked out when the Secretary of State admitted that this was simply an increase in cash terms. [Hon. Members: "Stormed out!"] Stormed out, indeed. According to the hon. Gentleman's website, he fights for schools in his area. I believe it, after his reaction to the Secretary of State's announcement to the House. I know that the Minister who will be winding up the debate loves a bit of poetry, so I will give him some Yeats. It was a case of

"I will arise and go now" when the hon. Member for Bradford East heard what the Secretary of State had to say.