Bridget Phillipson says Kent schools to 'absolutely' get funding
The education secretary has said schools in the South East will "absolutely" get the funding required for new buildings and maintenance.Bridget Phillipson and the Chancellor Rachel Reeves paid a visit to a school in Kent on Thursday to announce an additional £20bn to expand the Schools Building Programme over the next decade.But the secretary of state did not identify which schools in the South East would be joining the expanded programme, saying: "We'll work through all of that process... we want to make sure we're identifying the schools that have the greatest need."Opposition politicians in the area accused her of not understanding the pressures on schools.
Wrotham School, near Sevenoaks, was selected by the previous Conservative government to join the scheme in 2021, and work on the new buildings is due to finish in 2027.Its teachers say funding announced by the Labour government has secured the future of the re-build.Asked whether she could guarantee schools in the region would be part of the new programme, she replied: "Absolutely, we'll make sure that the South East gets the funding that's required in order not just to rebuild schools, but also to put money into maintenance at the schools that are already there, but need extra support too."
More than 500 schools are part of the existing Schools Building Programme. The government says the funding announced on Thursday will allow the re-build of a further 250 schools.The announcement is part of the 10 Year Infrastructure Strategy, which sets out the government's long-term plan for economic, housing and social infrastructure.It comes after last week's Spending Review, in which the chancellor was criticised by some South East politicians for "ignoring" the region.
'Deprivation and need'
The deputy leader of East Sussex County Council, Nick Bennett, said: "I don't think she got lower than Milton Keynes."I'm not sure they've really got some of the pressures around deprivation and need around health and social issues that there is in [Sussex]."Responding to criticism the South East is being neglected, Phillipson said the government wanted to see "good, strong growth right across the country".She said she wanted to see "brilliant opportunities for our children and job opportunities being created"."That's why we'll make sure that there are great new schools being rebuilt in the South East and right across England," she added.
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BBC News
12 minutes ago
- BBC News
Assisted dying bill due for final Commons debate ahead of crunch vote
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The vote in a few hours' time will be a make or break moment – as it decides if this attempt to change the law will continue on to the House of Lords, or if it will come to an end. Update: Date: 08:45 BST Title: Get in touch Content: How are you being affected by the issues in this story? You can contact us in the following ways: Update: Date: 08:40 BST Title: Badenoch: I will be voting no Content: Alex PartridgeBBC Westminster Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch said the assisted dying bill, due to be voted on in its final stage by MPs, is a 'bad bill' and has 'not been done properly'. On Thursday, Badenoch said she had previously been supportive of the idea but 'this is not how we should do legislation like this' and doesn't believe the 'NHS and other services are ready'. While emphasising that her party has made it a free vote - when MPs can vote according to their conscience, rather than along party line - she says 'I will be voting no and I hope as many Conservative MPs as possible will be supporting me in that'. Update: Date: 08:35 BST Title: Bill now in 'stronger place' after changes, Labour MP says Content: We've just heard from Labour MP Jack Abbott, who says he'll now be voting for the assisted dying bill after originally voting against it back in November. Abbott tells BBC Radio 4's Today programme he joined a committee scrutinising the proposal following the vote last year and he now feels the bill is in a "stronger place" after it underwent a series of changes. Originally, a High Court judge would have to approve each request to end a life but this requirement has now been switched to a three-person panel - whose members, Abbott says, would need to receive training on coercion to ensure applicants are not pushed to undergo the process. The Ipswich MP says the changes are helping widen "the safety net" to ensure Parliament delivers on a "safe and compassionate" bill helping terminally ill people end their life. He adds the vote is likely to be "close". Update: Date: 08:28 BST Title: Labour MP opposing bill over 'lack of safeguards' Content: Josh Fenton-Glynn, the Labour MP for Calder Valley, is planning on voting against the bill and tells the BBC he supports assisted dying in principle, but thinks the bill lacks safeguards to protect against both family and medical coercion. "I'd like to see a good assisted dying bill, but unfortunately this isn't one," he tells BBC Radio 4's Today programme. Asked what concerns him, Fenton-Glynn says his background in social care and local council work means his is aware of the financial pressures caring for people exerts on both relatives and organisations. 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Markus Campbell-Savours, Kanishka Narayan, Paul Foster and Jonathan Hinder said the bill had been "drastically weakened" since last year's vote. In a letter to colleagues, they warned that safeguards in the bill were "insufficient" and would "put vulnerable people in harm's way". Read more about the growing number of MPs changing their mind of assisted dying. Update: Date: 08:13 BST Title: Who is Kim Leadbeater, the Labour MP behind the bill? Content: Kim Leadbeater became the Labour MP for Batley and Spen in 2021, after winning a by-election in the constituency by just 323 votes. She is the sister of the constituency's former MP Jo Cox, who was murdered by a right-wing extremist in 2016. She campaigned on issues such as increasing the safety of MPs and tackling online abuse. However, the cause she is now most known for is leading the campaign for assisted dying. 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The bill defines the co-ordinating doctor as a registered medical practitioner with "training, qualifications and experience" at a level to be specified by the health secretary. It does not say which drug would be used. It would be illegal to coerce someone into declaring they want to end their life, with a possible 14-year prison sentence. Update: Date: 07:57 BST Title: MPs set to vote on assisted dying bill Content: The bill was put forward by Labour MP Kim Leadbeater Welcome to our live coverage, as the assisted dying bill returns to the Commons for its third reading, and a vote which could either see it fail or move to its next stage in the House of Lords. The assisted dying bill is a proposed law that would allow some terminally-ill adults expected to die within six months to seek help to end their own life in England and Wales. In November, MPs voted in favour of the bill, meaning it had moved a step closer to becoming law. Since then, the bill has been making its way through the House of Commons to be scrutinised, discussed and amended. If passed in the Commons, the bill will go through five stages in the House of Lords and further rounds of voting. If it is not approved, the bill will not go on to become law, making today a decisive moment for this landmark legislation. Some amendments are expected to be voted on first this morning, before a debate on the bill as a whole begins. We'll bring you the key developments from the debate in the Commons, so stay with us.
Daily Mail
17 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
BREAKING NEWS Pro-Palestine protesters 'break into Brize Norton and damage two military planes with red paint' in huge security breach
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The Guardian
39 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Assisted dying bill faces crunch vote in House of Commons
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