Speeches by Wilson.

“I think the right hon. Gentleman thinks I am arguing that we should abolish faith schools. I have not made that argument. He is saying that this is not how we have done things in this country, but since the coalition and before, we have had a 50% faith cap. All the amendment seeks is clarity in legislation that that 50…”

“I rise to speak in support of new clause 10, adding the Liberal Democrats’ support for putting equal protection into law for children. I do not understand why we would have a different level of protection for adults versus children. They are the most vulnerable children in our society. The Children’s Commissioner and t…”

“I beg to move, That the clause be read a Second time. I rise to speak to the new clause, tabled in my name and in the name of a number of my colleagues. Briefly, it goes without saying that, on all sides of the House, we are horrified by child sex abuse and what Professor Alexis Jay uncovered through her seven-year-lon…”

“Other than the Government Whip, the hon. Member for Lewisham North, I am the only London MP in the room. There has been a lot of discussion about London schools and the challenges that we have, and one of the reasons why I have been listening quietly is that I have a lot of sympathy for both sets of arguments that have…”

“I am listening carefully to the right hon. Gentleman’s excellent speech. Amendment 48 does not seek to prevent faith schools from opening. It would simply apply the cap to any type of school—academy, maintained, voluntary aided or whatever. For me, the main driver for that safeguard is social cohesion and ethnic divers…”

“I beg to ask leave to withdraw the motion. Clause, by leave, withdrawn. New Clause 2 Provision of free school lunches to all primary school children “(1) Section 512ZB of the Education Act 1996 (provision of free school lunches and milk) is amended as follows. (2) In paragraph (4A)(b), after ‘year 2,’ insert ‘year 3, y…”

“Briefly, I very much support the ambition in this new clause. After all, it was the Liberal Democrats, in Government, who introduced universal infant free school meals; we have always had the long-term ambition of extending that to all primary school children. However, I recognise the cash-constrained environment that …”

“I appreciate what the Minister is saying. I agree with her that this is not a silver bullet. This will not suddenly improve the system. This is about transparency and accountability where, as my hon. Friend the Member for St Neots and Mid Cambridgeshire pointed out, there are some councils that are missing the targets …”

“T4. The area around Heathrow has breached nitrogen dioxide legal limits for years now, so what assessment has the Environment Secretary made of the impact on air quality of both the additional flights and the additional vehicles travelling to and from Heathrow as a result of a third runway?”

“It was me who asked about UTCs. In her answer, is the Minister suggesting that UTCs will be required to follow the full national curriculum, even if they have a very specific technical specialism?”

“On clause 44, Liberal Democrats have long supported the position that a failing school, or one that Ofsted has identified as requiring intervention, should not automatically be made an academy. That is our long-standing policy position, so when the Bill was published I welcomed that measure. However, I felt the need to…”

“I beg to ask leave to withdraw the amendment. Amendment, by leave, withdrawn. Clause 45 disagreed to.”

“I warmly welcome the provision in clause 47. The Liberal Democrats have long called for far greater co-operation between local authorities and schools on admissions and place planning. This is even more important now as we see falling school rolls, which is a particularly acute problem in London. It is the case in othe…”

“Amendment 47 would, very simply, make the Secretary of State’s recommendations on pay and conditions a minimum for all schools, whether maintained or academy schools, as the Secretary of State and Ministers have now confirmed was their intention with the Bill. I note that, since I tabled this, new schedule 1 has been t…”

“I beg to move amendment 47, in clause 45, page 104, line 17, at end insert— “(za) in subsection (1)(a), after ‘the’ insert ‘minimum’”.”

“The hon. Lady posed a question and answered it herself, so I shall move on. My amendment 95 is perhaps made redundant by yesterday’s announcements, but amendment 96 talks about parliamentary oversight. That comes back to the fundamental point that I made in the Chamber yesterday, which is that we will end up passing th…”

“I think it is unfair because, as I have pointed out, we saw the most damaging cuts, and the lack of keeping up with inflation—in terms of schools funding—from 2015 onwards. As Liberals, it is core to our DNA to champion education, because we recognise that that is the route out of poverty and disadvantage for everyone.…”

“I will give way only if it relates to the clause and the amendments, because I fear we have veered on to school funding, as opposed to academy orders.”

“I think we are diverging somewhat from the clause and the amendments.”

“In a moment. I will make this point, because I wanted to pick up on it in the oral evidence session when people were asking questions about attainment, but we ran out of time. The pupil premium was a Liberal Democrat front-page manifesto policy in 2010. That was implemented and it has helped disadvantaged pupils. After…”