Speeches by Voaden.

“It sounds like it is a lack of understanding of your circumstances and what your life was like, expecting you to be the same as every other child.”

“The question was just about school. What do you think supported you when you were at school and what do you think school could have done better?”

“In my constituency we did a survey of all the farmers to see whether the Government’s figures stood up. The Government claim that 73% of family farms will be unaffected by the change in tax relief, but 85% of the farmers who responded to our survey believed they would be affected, with an average inheritance tax bill o…”

“Will the Minister give way?”

“The Minister talks of the threats of the climate crisis and the need for us to meet our climate commitments, which is encouraging to hear. What steps are the Government taking right now to improve the energy efficiency of homes across the UK to help us reduce our dependence on oil and gas?”

“It is a pleasure to speak under your chairmanship, Dr Murrison. I rise to speak on behalf of the 477 people in South Devon who signed the petition, which is almost exactly the same as the number of farms in my constituency. It is clear from the number of people in this room and the number of people outside what the str…”

“I thank the Secretary of State for her statement, and on behalf of my constituents I thank her for giving people the opportunity to vote and give their verdict on the failing Conservative-run Devon county council, which has been badly failing our most vulnerable children for the past decade. Devon is a huge rural area,…”

“That is fine. It was on your concerns about the provisions covering independent institutions.”

“Twenty-two years ago, I became part of a club that no one wants to join: the young widows club. My husband Nick died of oesophageal cancer, and I was left with an 18-month-old baby and a toddler. Over the course of the next couple of years, I met dozens of young widows, including Beth, whose husband Simon had died of b…”

“We are now going to talk about teachers’ pay and conditions. First, I would like to ask you all what effect you expect the Bill’s requirement on qualified teacher status, and on pay and conditions, to have on recruitment and retention? We will start with Daniel.”

“I represent Totnes, and I assure you that you are speaking today for many, many parents I have seen. We have a huge home-education community who share your concerns. I think it is a question of trying to find the balance between not letting children get lost from the system and put at risk of danger, and not disparagin…”

“A final question for you, Clare—I know you have had lots of questions and we will move on in a minute. What are your concerns about the Bill’s provision covering independent educational institutions, which I believe Broadleaf falls under?”

“I think many people would be quite surprised that home educated children do not have access to exams.”

“Do you think it is appropriate that in a situation like Broadleaf, where you are guiding children towards GCSEs, children do not have access to GCSEs unless the parents can afford to pay? The state is not paying for them to be educated in one of its schools; it seems rather unfair that the parents then have to pay for …”

“I have another question for you, Clare. The Bill places a responsibility on local authorities to support parents who have decided to home educate their children. What support would be helpful to receive from local authorities? My supplementary question might guide your answer a little bit: what support could be provide…”

“Moving on to the national curriculum, what impacts do you expect the provisions in the Bill requiring academies to teach the national curriculum to have?”

“Thank you. My supplementary question is, what impact do you think there will be on schools’ ability to plug staffing gaps or bring in experience from other professions? You have touched a little bit on that, but does any of you have anything extra that you would like to say on whether academies should be restricted to …”

“We are now going to talk about teachers’ pay and conditions. First, I would like to ask you all what effect you expect the Bill’s requirement on qualified teacher status, and on pay and conditions, to have on recruitment and retention? We will start with Daniel.”

“Thank you. My supplementary question is, what impact do you think there will be on schools’ ability to plug staffing gaps or bring in experience from other professions? You have touched a little bit on that, but does any of you have anything extra that you would like to say on whether academies should be restricted to …”

“Moving on to the national curriculum, what impacts do you expect the provisions in the Bill requiring academies to teach the national curriculum to have?”