Speeches by Martin.

“For the record, NAHT—National Association of Head Teachers—was my previous employer, before I came to this place.”

“Q I have a question in two parts, but before I ask it, when we come to this Committee, we have to make declarations of interest. Can I confirm that you were the Conservative party candidate for Norwich South in the last election? David Thomas: Yes, that is correct.”

“Q I want to come back on two points that you made, one of which is on the flexibility around schoolteachers’ pay and conditions. We have the document on national schoolteachers’ pay and conditions, and there are personnel documents from local authorities, as there are from academies, that will add to those things. With…”

“Q I want to take a step back from where you would be involved. What do you think the impact will be of creating the duty of safeguarding partnership to make arrangements to establish a multi-agency child protection team? Jacky Tiotto: It is a long way back from us, but I was a director of children’s services before thi…”

“Yes. Sir Jon Coles: I suppose everything we do addresses trying to tackle the gap. We take on schools in areas of severe deprivation, places where schools have failed, where children are not succeeding. We look to turn those schools around. I guess my starting point for this is that we do already, in the overwhelming m…”

“Q I am sorry if this is a blunt question, but on 18 April 2022, you wrote an opinion piece for the Telegraph alongside Nadine Dorries, who was then the Culture Secretary. In that article, you said that the Conservative manifesto was “our manifesto”. Are giving evidence here today from your personal opinion or in your r…”

“Q With your experiences in mind, do you think it is right that local authorities that want to open new schools can currently only seek proposals for academies? Under the Bill, they will be able to invite proposals for other types of school. What implications do you think that will have for pupils? Ruth Stanier: We very…”

“Q It is clear that we need strong partnerships to stop children slipping through the cracks, which happens far too often. What do you think will be the impact of creating the duty of safeguarding for partnerships to establish the multi-agency child protection teams? What lessons must we learn? Dr Homden: I think we wil…”

“Q The Minister touched on admissions and I would like to widen that. Positive and best outcomes and the destination of children and young people should be at the heart of every Government mission on education, as it should be at any school trust or local authority. However, concerns continue to grow about the widening …”

“Q Keeping children safe and safeguarding are key priorities that you guys have a lot of expertise in. Many experts have talked about the widening attainment gap and the rising number of children out of school. Most of them are our most disadvantaged and vulnerable. What difference do you think the Bill’s provisions wil…”

“Q So, to answer my question, you are giving evidence as the commissioner. Dame Rachel de Souza: Always. I would not come to Parliament and do anything else.”

“Q What is the importance in the Bill of providing a clear legal basis for sharing information with the purpose of safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children? Paul Whiteman: We absolutely support that. A statutory duty for schools and educators to be consulted in that respect is necessary, and it will widen the …”

“Q How will the Bill support local partnerships? We heard from Sir Jon Coles, the Church of England, the Catholic Education Service and others about collaboration. How will the Bill support local partnerships to work together more effectively to prevent children from falling behind? Catherine McKinnell: My hon. Friend r…”

“One of them, just to come back on that, is around the cost of living and the housing elements. There were two students from my area that pay £10,000 a year for their accommodation and there are six students in that house. That is £60,000 a year. That is more than the maximum maintenance grant.”

“You noted getting kids in the door at university is one hurdle and then it is making sure their time at university is the best it can be. In talking to students at Portsmouth University and those at Portsmouth Sixth Form College, and I know this is around the country, there is an issue in how they decide for their futu…”

“Thank you, Secretary of State. I am going to the other end of the spectrum, which is early years, but it is something we know that if we get it right it has the best outcomes for young people. I have heard from my own constituency, from both settings and the employees within them, that despite the increase in entitleme…”

“In 2020 there was the introduction of the statutory override but, despite that, in 2022 and 2023 there were 101 overspent local authorities on their high needs budget. It has contributed to the cumulative deficit in the Dedicated Schools Grants, or DSGs. Many local authorities are concerned about their economic viabili…”

“There are concerns that military accommodation, which I have in my constituency, is not included in the Bill, but one of my main concerns is the immense cut in funding to that accommodation. The properties are in such a state of disrepair that the Government have had to go back and re-buy them. Does the hon. Gentleman …”

“Good-quality, secure and decent rentals should not be too much to ask, and I thank those landlords who do provide that in my city and beyond. I welcome the Government amendments to this detailed Bill, which will help residents in Portsmouth North to rent homes that are both secure and decent.”

“Prostate cancer costs the NHS around £93 million a year, but more than a third of those costs are avoidable through early diagnosis. Prostate cancer remains the only major cancer in the UK without a national screening programme. I understand that requesting screening can be a real obstacle to some men, so I give heartf…”