Speeches by Paffey.

“A couple of you mentioned what needs to happen or what we have to ensure is the case at the end—I do not imagine there will ever be an end to this, but certainly the end of this concerted effort to recruit. Would any of you like to share any thoughts on the progress so far on that and whether you are convinced that thi…”

“Forgive me, but for the sake of time we probably just need a brief response to this question. Melanie, you might be best placed to answer this: have the national professional qualifications improved since they were reformed a few years ago, and are they doing what is needed in terms of both recruitment and retention?”

“I declare an interest as the chair of the APPG for modern languages, so I have some involvement in this area. I really wanted to unpack what you are saying—that despite some interventions, shortages persist in physics and modern foreign languages, and there is this double whammy. We talk about boosting the domestic mar…”

“The exam boards that you regulate obviously exist in the context of the real world and its threats. One of those threats is the increasing number of cyber attacks on public sector bodies. The National Audit Office has deemed this to be a threat which is severe and advancing quickly, so I just wonder how confident you a…”

“Presumably this is part of your deliberations over online, on-screen assessments as well, as to how—with even greater vulnerabilities in such cases—you might replicate the same monitoring of first sight within a digital system.”

“You have mentioned the cyber awareness campaign. Are there any other things that you are doing to your processes—updating, changing, or transforming them—so that you can be sure you are maintaining the confidentiality and the security of exam papers and that you, as well as those you regulate, have a system that is fit…”

“At a recent constituency coffee morning that I hosted on the subject of public transport, some disabled passengers told me about the specific barriers they still face when they choose to travel by rail. Woolston station has step-free access to only one of its platforms, so those with limited mobility have to make a 20-…”

“Southampton is Europe’s leading cruise port and the second-biggest container terminal in the country. Our industry stands ready to invest millions in decarbonisation, but that is being held up by grid constraints at the Nursling supply point. Will the Minister meet me and local industry leaders to see how we can unlock…”

“I declare an interest as the chair of the APPG for modern languages, so I have some involvement in this area. I really wanted to unpack what you are saying—that despite some interventions, shortages persist in physics and modern foreign languages, and there is this double whammy. We talk about boosting the domestic mar…”

“Forgive me, but for the sake of time we probably just need a brief response to this question. Melanie, you might be best placed to answer this: have the national professional qualifications improved since they were reformed a few years ago, and are they doing what is needed in terms of both recruitment and retention?”

“A couple of you mentioned what needs to happen or what we have to ensure is the case at the end—I do not imagine there will ever be an end to this, but certainly the end of this concerted effort to recruit. Would any of you like to share any thoughts on the progress so far on that and whether you are convinced that thi…”

“Obviously everything that you have just said in describing the lie of the land at the moment is in the context of the Government’s commitment to recruit 6,500 teachers. Even if every single one of those 6,500 is recruited, to what extent will that meet the workforce need at the moment? Is that target sufficient, in oth…”

“The evidence from around the world suggests that, in places that have enviable language skills among their students, those students do not start at key stage 2, but right at key stage 1. Is that something you will look at?”

“We appreciate that you are keeping it under review. We will probably keep nagging you about it.”

“I have to declare an interest for this question: I am the chair of the APPG on modern languages. There is an idea that the EBacc saved modern languages, but they went down during the period. Do you share my concern that we still need an incentive of some sort to recognise that, with the current global challenges, inclu…”

“There is a disparity in how FE colleges are able to claim VAT based on how they are branded or categorised. A sixth-form academy in the west of my city can reclaim VAT costs, as can sixth forms that are part of schools, but an FE college and a stand-alone sixth form in the east of my city cannot reclaim their VAT costs…”

“Is that prioritisation the reason why, for example, you have decided to test reading fluency and comprehension, rather than writing, in year 8? You are expecting writing to be tested, but you are asking schools to do that.”

“Once they have done that, how will the Department be monitoring it to see whether the necessary and expected progress has been made?”

“Turning to the curriculum and assessment review, a number of recommendations were made by Professor Francis, some of which have been taken and some of which have not. One recommendation was that both English and maths be assessed in year 8; you have decided to assess English but not maths. Can you please explain your t…”

“The Committee recommended that that disparity be addressed, and the Department has chosen not to accept that recommendation. Can you explain why?”