John McDonnell
Education debate
Mr. John Redwood (Wokingham): I wish to speak because I was very disturbedby the Chancellor of the Exchequer's announcement earlier today. It makesiteven more imperative that the Government take action on theover-regulationof the school sector and LEAs. I therefore welcome any initiative thatwilltry to reduce the burden of circulars, advice notes, instructions andregulations that emanate from the Department for Education and Skills.This has been a curious debate. The Government say that there is noproblem,but all the head teachers to whom I and other Members speak confirm thatthere is a problem. The Government then say, "Trust us. Don't worry. Webelieve in deregulation too. It must not be overdone. We will get on withalittle bit of deregulation, but not yet, not in this way, or in thisclause,or this legislation."
I urge the Government to think again, because they have unleashed adangerous set of ideas in the Chancellor's statement about how he wishestoget value for the larger sums of money that will be offered directly toschools and to LEAs. The regulations, the advice notes and codes ofconductwill presumably be integral to that.
We are told that those schools that do not perform or live up to theexpectations expressed in the advice notes and the circulars may besubjectto all kinds of torture coming from the centre. There may be directintervention at the school level. For example, the Government may wish toremove a head teacher or change or influence the board of governors.Alternatively, the Government may wish to override local democracy if theyjudge a whole local education authority to be inadequate ornon-performing.
They will then start a process that will usurp the local democraticprocess,with a view to trying to take over the management of the authority itself.By that route, they will have influence over a school. That is why we mustbe ever more critical of and sceptical about the many centralisingdirectives, codes of conduct and advice that come from the Government.
They will probably be used as a stick with which to beat schools and LEAs iftheGovernment do not like the way they are developing-whether they are good,bad or indifferent.
David Wright (Telford): Does the right hon. Gentleman therefore seriouslysupport failing schools?
Mr. Redwood: Of course I do not support failing schools. However, therearetwo ways in which they can be dealt with.
First, in the world that Ilike-itis partially available to the Government, and the provisions for thiscouldbe strengthened-parents would have a real choice. They would be able tosendtheir children to a better performing school and the poor performingschool might then get the message and would have to take action to correctitself.
Secondly, a democratically elected LEA would either take action or,throughthe ballot box, local people would make their preferences clear. Theywouldthrow out the council that presided over the failing school or schools andwould produce an alternative.
I do not like a Government who centralise so much by directive,instruction and code of conduct and who set up methods by which they will use thosecodes of conduct to judge or prejudge the schools and LEAs, with thepossibility that local democracy and democratic boards of governors wouldbeoverridden-even when the local community might think that the school wasgood but the Government, for one reason or another, decided that it wasbad.
I therefore urge the House, particularly in the light of today's chillingwords from the Chancellor-he does not seem to like local democracy ordemocratic school governors-to be even more wary of a Government who willnot reduce the number of centralising directives. They say that they wishto decentralise, but every action that they take centralises. They say thatthey trust teachers, LEAs and schools, but we heard from the Chancellortoday that they do not trust any of them and wish to challenge and judgethem by all sorts of methods. It is therefore vital that the House expressthe clear wish that there must be much less regulation and centralcontrol.
Mr. Miliband: This has been a notable debate. I am grateful for the manycongratulations on my birthday. However, I look forward to the day when,rather congratulating me on my birthday, the hon. Member for AltrinchamandSale, West (Mr. Brady) will congratulate...
