Mr James Pawsey: Rugby's St. Cross hospital has a catchment area of around 110,000 people. I wish to reassure immediately all those of my constituents who are watching and listening to this debate that St. Cross hospital will not close. Recently, however, serious concerns have surfaced about the quality of some of the clinical services. That has resulted in the board of the Rugby NHS trust, at its meeting on...
Mr James Pawsey: I am able to confirm, following a meeting between my hon. Friend the Minister of State and the chairman of the West Midlands NHS trust, that a casualty and minor injuries unit will operate 24 hours a day. It was interesting that the Royal College of Anaesthetists' report stated: Rugby NHS trust lost recognition for training in March 1995. There are currently no trainees in anaesthesia in...
Mr James Pawsey: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement on the amount of standard spending assessment allocated to Warwickshire county council in each year since 1993. [17014]
Mr James Pawsey: I thank my hon. Friend for his comprehensive answer, which clearly shows that spending on education will rise and that spending on the fire service will go up by about £800,000, or 8 per cent. Despite those substantial increases, does he agree that it is time the outdated, clumsy SSA procedure was abandoned for something fairer and more intelligible?
Mr James Pawsey: Is my right hon. Friend aware of the enormous confusion among the public about the future of grammar schools? Will he therefore make early arrangements for a debate centred on the future of those schools, particularly because of the contradictory remarks made by Opposition Members? He will be aware that, 16 months ago, the hon. Member for Sheffield, Brightside (Mr. Blunkett) said that grammar...
Mr James Pawsey: I was dismayed by the implications of the exchange between my hon. Friend the Member for Sheffield, Hallam (Sir I. Patnick) and the Minister. It seems that substantial funds are being diverted from the classroom and the teacher to the bureaucrats in council offices. That must be to the substantial disadvantage of the children of Sheffield. Does my hon. Friend agree that it is now time to...
Mr James Pawsey: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what plans has he to make an official visit to China to discuss United Kingdom-Sino relations. [13957]
Mr James Pawsey: I am grateful to my right hon. Friend for his advice about the meeting on Friday. Does he agree that one way to improve our already reasonable relationship with China would be to increase the number of Chinese students able to study in the United Kingdom? Will he therefore do his utmost to place on the agenda for Friday's talks an increase in the number of scholarships available to Chinese...
Mr James Pawsey: Does my right hon. Friend agree that, although homework is important, what counts is what is taught and the methodology that is used in schools? Does she agree that we have shown leadership in education, but all the education reforms that we have introduced have been opposed by Opposition Members, both Labour and Liberal Democrat?
Mr James Pawsey: This has been a particularly interesting debate. I shall deal first with the speech of the hon. Member for Wakefield (Mr. Hinchliffe). The Education Act 1996 does not define corporal punishment. I have, therefore, followed the precedent that has already been established. The hon. Gentleman made a great point about reasonable punishment. The essence of new clause 5 is reasonable punishment. A...
Mr James Pawsey: I beg to move, That the clause be read a Second time.
Mr James Pawsey: I shall briefly, and somewhat unusually, say what the new clause is not about. It is not about beating, thrashing, flogging or any of the other emotive phrases so beloved by those who oppose corporal punishment. New clause 5 is about discipline in schools and caning. It is, at all times, about reasonable punishment. 7.15 pm For some time, I, like many hon. Members, have been concerned about...
Mr James Pawsey: The hon. Gentleman clearly knows much about the subject and I congratulate him on the strength of his intervention. He makes a valid point and I am grateful to him. Express permission from the parent would allow the school to cane the child instead of excluding him. Without that permission, caning could and would not take place. In response to a parliamentary question that I tabled on 13...
Mr James Pawsey: I am sorry that I gave way to my hon. Friend, whose intervention was not worthy of his intellect.
Mr James Pawsey: No. I shall give way in a moment, but I want to make some progress. Recently, I received a booklet produced by the Commission for Racial Equality, entitled, "Exclusion from School: the Public Cost". It sets out in considerable detail the cost involved in permanent exclusions, and maintains that one permanent exclusion, starting in 1994–95 and extending into 1995–96, would cost £5,134 a...
Mr James Pawsey: Let me make it absolutely clear that my advocacy of corporal punishment owes nothing at all to hard cash. It is based on the truism that a pound funding exclusion is a pound less for schools—a pound less that we might use in the classroom. I believe, therefore, that exclusions can be regarded as a misuse of scarce resources. That argument would apply most especially if a viable...
Mr James Pawsey: My hon. Friend makes a strong point, and I am grateful to him.
Mr James Pawsey: I shall give way presently. I invite the House to consider for a moment the impact of both temporary and permanent exclusions. Clearly, there will be a substantial impact on the individual child. Exclusions substantially damage the child, who is being deprived of a reasonable education. Several of the members of Standing Committee D, which considered the Bill for well over 40 hours, are...
Mr James Pawsey: I accept that a blanket provision, for the period of a child's school life, is simply not on. I now give way to my hon. and persistent Friend.
Mr James Pawsey: The answer to my hon. Friend's first question is certainly yes. I have in front of me The Sunday Telegraph of 3 November 1996. The headline clearly says, "Bring back the cane, say voters" and the article tells us that 68 per cent. support corporal punishment. That 68 per cent. includes parents who are prepared to let their children receive corporal punishment.
