Contributions
1,629 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDCoronavirus BillFirst, I pay tribute to civil servants across Government, who have worked incredibly hard to put this legislation together. I welcome the content of the Bill and the work that the…23 Mar 2020HANSARDDraft Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector (England) Regulations 2020It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Ms Nokes. The Opposition welcome these regulations, which are an example of good regulation that will protect tenants in their…17 Mar 2020HANSARDTopical QuestionsLike many parents up and down the country, I am looking at my phone every five minutes to see whether my daughter has got the place at her first-choice secondary school that we…02 Mar 2020HANSARDSchool Exclusions4. What steps he is taking to tackle the increase in school exclusions.02 Mar 2020HANSARDMinisterial CodeAs a former senior civil servant who served under various Ministers in both Labour and Conservative regimes, I find it hard to express how unprecedented the actions of Sir Philip…02 Mar 2020HANSARDSchool ExclusionsThe Minister knows that school exclusions have increased by 70% since 2012, and he knows that children have not become 70% naughtier in that time. Something is going wrong with…02 Mar 2020HANSARDRough SleepingI thank the Secretary of State for advance sight of his statement. Rough sleeping is not inevitable in a country as decent and well off as ours. The cost of a decade of austerity…27 Feb 2020HANSARDRough SleepingThat is particularly insulting to the hundreds of our armed forces veterans who are sleeping rough, who this Government have abandoned despite their years of service to our…27 Feb 2020HANSARDSchool ExclusionsThe Minister is giving some good examples of individual schools, but does he accept our fundamental premise that the 70% increase in school exclusions, and some of the societal…26 Feb 2020HANSARDSchool ExclusionsI beg to move, That this House has considered school exclusions. It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Bone, and it is super to see the Minister and shadow…26 Feb 2020HANSARDSchool ExclusionsThat is absolutely right, and the peaks and troughs in the numbers of school exclusions pretty much mirror those for knife crime. We need to understand why those things are…26 Feb 2020HANSARDSchool ExclusionsI know that the Minister is always very obliging in agreeing to meetings, so I am sure he will do that. My hon. Friend makes a good point about the Evening Standard campaign; it…26 Feb 2020HANSARDSchool ExclusionsI apologise for speaking again. Does the hon. Gentleman therefore believe that children have become 70% naughtier since 2012? Does that account for the 70% increase in exclusions?26 Feb 2020HANSARDSchool ExclusionsTo some extent, we are not disagreeing. I do not think anybody is suggesting that we ban school exclusions or that they are not a really important tool. I do not think I have met…26 Feb 2020HANSARDSchool ExclusionsIn 1997, the Labour Government inherited record numbers of permanent exclusions. The level in 1996-97 was about 12,000 a year, but by the time the Labour Government left office in…26 Feb 2020HANSARDSchool ExclusionsVery quickly—gosh! I was hoping to read out a couple of quotes from the hundreds of people who sent in amazing responses, but I do not have time, which is a great shame. I will…26 Feb 2020HANSARDSchool ExclusionsDoes the hon. Gentleman therefore think that young black men from deprived backgrounds are the worst and deserve their higher rates of exclusion from schools—the poorer young…26 Feb 2020HANSARDSchool ExclusionsMy hon. Friend has anticipated something I was going to say later, which is that many organisations are pushing against the tide and trying to address those difficult issues.…26 Feb 2020HANSARDHousing SupplyFlats have a crucial role to play in meeting housing demand, especially for first-time buyers. In London, the price gap between a flat and a house is more than £160,000, but the…24 Feb 2020HANSARD Office Block Conversions: EssexIt is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir Graham. I will stick to the subject. I congratulate the right hon. Member for Harlow (Robert Halfon) on securing the debate.…13 Feb 2020