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Mr. Cameron: The hon. Lady makes me intervene. She says that I pretend that civil servants in Whitehall know best. Is not she aware that her guidance, "Inclusive Schooling", which she has not mentioned, states:
That is the man in Whitehall. The guidance also states:
That guidance is causing the problem, so why will not she withdraw it?
Maria Eagle: I appear to have hit a raw nerve. I was considering the hon. Gentleman's policy of a moratorium, which would be centrally imposed and against the wishes of many local authorities. The hon. Member for Shipley talked about collocation of schools, as did the hon. Member for Newbury (Mr. Benyon), but that could not be done if there were a moratorium. The House and the Government would be imposing the moratorium from the centre, so that prescription would not be as efficacious as the hon. Member for Witney appears to think.
The hon. Gentleman raised the issue of the national audit of low incident SEN support services and provision. He asked in particular why the audit was not wider in scope, a point made by several Members, including the hon. Member for Kingston and Surbiton (Mr. Davey). There has been an exhaustive review of special schools, which reported as recently as March 2003. The findings of that independent working group were incorporated in our strategy for SEN, "Removing Barriers to Achievement", published a year later, following extensive consultation. In my previous role in the Government, I was a signatory to that document. There has been extensive consultation before and since with teachers, schools, pupils, parents, local authorities, the voluntary sector and others, although my officials tell me that Conservative Members did not contribute. Perhaps they should have done, because we could then have heard some of their ideas at the time at which the review for which they now call was actually going on.
22 Jun 2005 : Column 872
The Audit Commission raised its views on statementing and the success, or otherwise, of special education in its 2002 report. Work has been ongoing, so I am glad that the Conservative party and the Liberal Democrats have decided that it is about time that we had a review, albeit belatedly. However, work has been going on over the years and we have come up with our strategy, which we are now implementing.
We can all agree that it is a priority to ensure that all children reach their full potential and that the education system is a key determinant of our success in reaching such a goal. We can all agree that there is an emerging consensus that disabled children must have the same expectation of success and the same aspirations to develop to their full potential as any other children. If we do not ensure that that happens, we will be failing those people as a nation. We want them to take their rightful place in our society as the valuable citizens we all know them to be.
The Government are investing substantial additional resources in education—some £1,300 extra per pupil, or a 45 per cent. increase in real terms between 1998 and 2008. We want things to work for disabled children just as much as for their non-disabled peers. We are determined to ensure that the progress identified by Ofsted continues, so I hope that hon. Members on both sides of the House will support us in that endeavour.
Question put, That the original words stand part of the Question:—
The House divided: Ayes 176, Noes 349.
AYES
Adam Afriyie
Mr. Peter Ainsworth
Mr. Amess
Mr. Ancram
Mr. Bacon
Tony Baldry
Mr. Baron
Mr. Bellingham
Mr. Benyon
John Bercow
Sir Paul Beresford
Mr. Binley
Mr. Bone
Mr. Boswell
Peter Bottomley
Mr. Brady
Mr. Brazier
James Brokenshire
Angela Browning
Mr. Burns
Mr. Burrowes
Alistair Burt
Mr. Cameron
Mr. Gregory Campbell
Mr. Carswell
Mr. Cash
Mr. Chope
Mr. Clappison
Greg Clark
Mr. Kenneth Clarke
Mr. Clifton-Brown
Derek Conway
Mr. Cox
Mr. Crabb
Mr. Curry
David T.C. Davies (Monmouth)
Philip Davies
Mr. Quentin Davies
Mr. Djanogly
Mr. Dodds
Mr. Donaldson
Mr. Dorrell
Mrs. Dorries
James Duddridge
Mr. Duncan
Mr. Ellwood
Mr. Evans
Mr. Evennett
Michael Fabricant
Mr. Fallon
Mr. Mark Field
Mr. Forth
Mr. Francois
Mr. Gale
Mr. Garnier
Mr. Gauke
Mr. Gibb
Mrs. Gillan
Mr. Paul Goodman
Mr. Goodwill
Michael Gove
Mr. Gray
Chris Grayling
Damian Green
Justine Greening
Mr. Greenway
Mr. Grieve
Mr. Hague
Mr. Philip Hammond
Stephen Hammond
Mr. Hands
Mr. Harper
Mr. Hayes
Mr. Heald
Mr. Heathcoat-Amory
Charles Hendry
Lady Hermon
Mr. Hoban
Mr. Hollobone
Mr. Holloway
Mr. Horam
Mr. Gerald Howarth
Mr. Hunt
Mr. Hurd
Mr. Jack
Mr. Stewart Jackson
Mr. Jenkin
Mr. Boris Johnson
Mr. David Jones
Daniel Kawczynski
Miss Kirkbride
Mr. Greg Knight
Mrs. Laing
Mr. Lancaster
Mr. Lansley
Dr. Julian Lewis
Mr. Liddell-Grainger
Mr. Lidington
Mr. Lilley
Mr. Llwyd
Tim Loughton
Peter Luff
Mr. Mackay
David Maclean
Anne Main
Mr. Malins
Mr. Maples
Mr. Mates
Mrs. May
Miss McIntosh
Patrick Mercer
Mrs. Maria Miller
Anne Milton
Mr. Moss
David Mundell
Dr. Murrison
Mr. Newmark
Mr. Stephen O'Brien
Mr. George Osborne
Richard Ottaway
Mr. Paterson
Mr. Pelling
Mike Penning
John Penrose
Mr. Pickles
Adam Price
Mark Pritchard
Mr. Randall
Mr. Redwood
Sir Malcolm Rifkind
Mr. Robathan
Mr. Laurence Robertson
Mrs. Iris Robinson
Mr. Peter Robinson
Andrew Rosindell
Mr. Ruffley
Andrew Selous
Grant Shapps
Mr. Shepherd
Mark Simmonds
David Simpson
Mr. Keith Simpson
Mr. Soames
Mrs. Spelman
Sir Michael Spicer
Bob Spink
Mr. Spring
Sir John Stanley
Mr. Steen
Mr. Streeter
Mr. Graham Stuart
Mr. Swayne
Mr. Swire
Mr. Syms
Sir Peter Tapsell
Mr. Ian Taylor
Dr. Richard Taylor
Mr. Andrew Turner
Mr. Tyrie
Mr. Vaizey
Mr. Vara
Peter Viggers
Mrs. Villiers
Mr. Walker
Mr. Wallace
Angela Watkinson
Miss Widdecombe
Bill Wiggin
Mr. Willetts
Hywel Williams
Sammy Wilson
Ann Winterton
Sir Nicholas Winterton
Jeremy Wright
Mr. Yeo
Sir George Young
Tellers for the Ayes:
Gregory Barker and
Mr. Peter Atkinson
NOES
Ms Abbott
Nick Ainger
Mr. Bob Ainsworth
Danny Alexander
Mr. Douglas Alexander
Mr. Allen
Mr. David Anderson
Janet Anderson
Hilary Armstrong
Charlotte Atkins
Mr. Ian Austin
Mr. Bailey
Vera Baird
Norman Baker
Ed Balls
Gordon Banks
Mr. Barron
John Battle
Hugh Bayley
Margaret Beckett
Miss Begg
Mr. Beith
Sir Stuart Bell
Mr. Benton
Roger Berry
Mr. Betts
Liz Blackman
Dr. Blackman-Woods
Mr. Blizzard
Mr. Blunkett
Mr. Borrow
Mr. Bradshaw
Tom Brake
Mr. Breed
Kevin Brennan
Annette Brooke
Lyn Brown
Mr. Nicholas Brown
Mr. Russell Brown
Mr. Des Browne
Mr. Jeremy Browne
Chris Bryant
Ms Buck
Richard Burden
Colin Burgon
Mr. Burstow
Lorely Burt
Ms Butler
Mr. Byers
Mr. Byrne
Dr. Cable
David Cairns
Mr. Alan Campbell
Mr. Ronnie Campbell
Mr. Caton
Colin Challen
Mr. Chaytor
Mr. Clapham
Ms Katy Clark
Paul Clark
Mr. Tom Clarke
Mr. Clegg
Mr. Coaker
Ann Coffey
Harry Cohen
Michael Connarty
Frank Cook
Mr. Robin Cook
Rosie Cooper
Yvette Cooper
Jeremy Corbyn
Jim Cousins
Mr. Crausby
Mary Creagh
Jon Cruddas
John Cummings
Mr. Jim Cunningham
Tony Cunningham
Mr. Darling
Mr. Davey
Mr. David
Mr. Davidson
Mrs. Dean
Mr. Denham
Mr. Dhanda
Mr. Dismore
Jim Dobbin
Frank Dobson
Mr. Donohoe
Mr. Doran
Jim Dowd
Mr. Drew
Angela Eagle
Maria Eagle
Clive Efford
Mrs. Ellman
Jeff Ennis
Paul Farrelly
Tim Farron
Lynne Featherstone
Mr. Frank Field
Mark Fisher
Jim Fitzpatrick
Mr. Flello
Caroline Flint
Barbara Follett
Mr. Don Foster
Mr. Michael Foster (Worcester)
Michael Jabez Foster (Hastings and Rye)
Dr. Francis
Mike Gapes
Barry Gardiner
Andrew George
Mr. Bruce George
Mr. Gerrard
Dr. Gibson
Sandra Gidley
Linda Gilroy
Mr. Godsiff
Paul Goggins
Julia Goldsworthy
Nia Griffith
Nigel Griffiths
Mr. Grogan
Andrew Gwynne
Mr. Hain
Mr. Mike Hall
Patrick Hall
Mr. David Hamilton
Mr. Fabian Hamilton
Mr. Hanson
Ms Harman
Mr. Tom Harris
Nick Harvey
Mr. Havard
John Healey
Mr. Heath
John Hemming
Mr. Henderson
Mr. Hendrick
Mr. Heppell
Stephen Hesford
Ms Hewitt
David Heyes
Keith Hill
Meg Hillier
Mrs. Hodgson
Kate Hoey
Paul Holmes
Mr. Hood
Mr. Hoon
Phil Hope
Kelvin Hopkins
Mr. Horwood
Mr. George Howarth
Dr. Howells
Mr. Hoyle
Simon Hughes
Chris Huhne
Mrs. Humble
Mr. Hutton
Dr. Iddon
Mr. Illsley
Mr. Ingram
Glenda Jackson
Mrs. James
Mr. Jenkins
Ms Diana R. Johnson
Helen Jones
Mr. Kevan Jones
Lynne Jones
Mr. Martyn Jones
Mr. Joyce
Sir Gerald Kaufman
Ms Keeley
Alan Keen
Ann Keen
Mr. Keetch
Ruth Kelly
Mr. Charles Kennedy
Jane Kennedy
Mr. Khabra
Mr. Khan
Mr. Kidney
Mr. Kilfoyle
Jim Knight
Dr. Kumar
Norman Lamb
Mr. Laxton
Mark Lazarowicz
Mr. Leech
David Lepper
Tom Levitt
Mr. Ivan Lewis
Martin Linton
Tony Lloyd
Mr. Love
Ian Lucas
Mr. MacDougall
Andrew Mackinlay
Mr. MacShane
Fiona Mactaggart
Mr. Mahmood
Mr. Malik
Judy Mallaber
John Mann
Rob Marris
Mr. Marsden
Mr. Martlew
Mr. McAvoy
Steve McCabe
Kerry McCarthy
Sarah McCarthy-Fry
Mr. McCartney
Siobhain McDonagh
Dr. Alasdair McDonnell
John McDonnell
Mr. McFadden
Mr. McFall
Mr. McGovern
Mrs. McGuire
Shona McIsaac
Ann McKechin
Rosemary McKenna
Mr. McNulty
Mr. Meacher
Alun Michael
Mr. Milburn
Edward Miliband
Andrew Miller
Mr. Austin Mitchell
Laura Moffatt
Chris Mole
Mrs. Moon
Mr. Moore
Margaret Moran
Jessica Morden
Julie Morgan
Mr. Morley
Kali Mountford
Mr. Mudie
Greg Mulholland
Mr. Mullin
Meg Munn
Mr. Denis Murphy
Mr. Jim Murphy
Mr. Paul Murphy
Dr. Naysmith
Dan Norris
Mr. Mike O'Brien
Mr. Olner
Lembit Öpik
Sandra Osborne
Albert Owen
Dr. Palmer
Mr. Plaskitt
Mr. Pope
Stephen Pound
Bridget Prentice
Mr. Prescott
Dawn Primarolo
Gwyn Prosser
Dr. Pugh
Mr. Purchase
Bill Rammell
Mr. Raynsford
Mr. Andy Reed
Mr. Jamie Reed
Mr. Alan Reid
Mrs. Riordan
John Robertson
Mr. Geoffrey Robinson
Mr. Rogerson
Mr. Rooney
Paul Rowen
Mr. Roy
Chris Ruane
Joan Ruddock
Christine Russell
Joan Ryan
Martin Salter
Mr. Sanders
Mr. Sarwar
Alison Seabeck
Jonathan Shaw
Mr. Sheerman
Clare Short
Mr. Simon
Alan Simpson
Mr. Singh
Mr. Skinner
Mr. Slaughter
Mr. Andrew Smith
Ms Angela C. Smith (Sheffield, Hillsborough)
Jacqui Smith
John Smith
Sir Robert Smith
Anne Snelgrove
Sir Peter Soulsby
Helen Southworth
Mr. Spellar
Dr. Starkey
Ian Stewart
Dr. Stoate
Graham Stringer
Ms Gisela Stuart
Andrew Stunell
Jo Swinson
Mark Tami
Ms Dari Taylor
David Taylor
Matthew Taylor
Sarah Teather
Mr. Thomas
Ms Thornberry
Mr. Timms
Paddy Tipping
Mr. Touhig
Jon Trickett
Mr. Truswell
Dr. Desmond Turner
Mr. Neil Turner
Derek Twigg
Keith Vaz
Joan Walley
Lynda Waltho
Claire Ward
Mr. Wareing
Mr. Watson
Mr. Watts
Steve Webb
Dr. Whitehead
Malcolm Wicks
Mr. Alan Williams
Mark Williams
Mr. Roger Williams
Stephen Williams
Mr. Willis
Jenny Willott
Mr. Wills
Mr. Winnick
Ms Rosie Winterton
Mike Wood
Mr. Woodward
Mr. Anthony Wright
Mr. Iain Wright
Dr. Tony Wright
Derek Wyatt
Richard Younger-Ross
Tellers for the Noes:
Mr. Ian Cawsey and
Gillian Merron
Question accordingly negatived.
22 Jun 2005 : Column 876
Question, That the proposed words be there added, put forthwith, pursuant to Standing Order No. 31 (Questions on amendments), and agreed to.
Mr. Deputy Speaker forthwith declared the main Question, as amended, to be agreed to.
That this House believes that special schools play a vital role in meeting the needs of children with learning difficulties, acknowledges that parents may want mainstream or special schools for their children and notes that under the current statutory framework they have the right to express a preference for either; welcomes the Government's commitment to improving the range and quality of provision for children with special educational needs through its special educational needs strategy, Removing Barriers to Achievement, which followed wide consultation and a separate review of the role of special schools; rejects the call for further reviews and a moratorium on closures of special schools, since this would stifle reorganisation of local provision to meet changing patterns of need and halt the development of effective collaboration between mainstream and special schools; welcomes the Government's audit of provision for low incidence needs since it will contribute to more effective planning; and welcomes its determination to ensure that all children with SEN are able to realise their potential, wherever they are taught.
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