Displaying items by tag: Queen's Speech

The Government, setting out its plans in the Queen’s Speech on Wednesday, has not announced any legislation for education. This means dropping their most high-profile proposed reform - the expansion of selective education in England. The controversial plan to stop free lunches for all infants is also absent. This takes away the biggest source of extra funding promised for schools in the Conservative manifesto. The re-written plans now call for ‘every child to go to a good or outstanding school’ - but with the recognition that any changes will depend upon being able to command a majority. Four teachers’ unions expressed disappointment about the lack of new funding, saying that schools were ‘sending out begging letters to parents’. One head teacher said, ‘The government said that it had heard the message from the electorate. It's high time they acted to put things right and fund schools in a way that every child deserves.’

Plans for a counter-extremism commission were announced in the Queen’s Speech, but campaigners urged the Government to pause its plans and consult widely. The speech did not mention any plans for an equality oath, or Ofsted entering Sunday schools and youth clubs, but the Government continues to advocate both these strands of its counter-extremism strategy. Defend Free Speech, which includes the Christian Institute, the National Secular Society, and Index on Censorship, cautioned that the new commission will simply be a scapegoat for ‘when things go wrong’. Its statement said, ‘The Government has yet again said it will bring forward unnecessary and intrusive legislation to counter so-called non-violent extremism. Not only will civil liberties be damaged, but we will all be less safe. For years, government lawyers have tried to come up with a watertight legal definition of who is and is not an extremist. The chances of finding one that does not criminalise those with traditional or challenging views such as people of faith, outspoken academics or anti-fracking campaigners seems highly remote.’

Theresa May is pressing ahead with holding a Queen’s Speech to set out her plans for government, while negotiations continue with the Democratic Unionist Party about the nature of its support for her minority government. A senior Conservative source said that there was broad agreement with the DUP on the principles of the Queen's speech, but there is as yet no formal ‘confidence and supply’ deal which would tie the DUP into backing the government on key pieces of legislation. The four areas of agreement are strengthening the union; combating terrorism; delivering Brexit; and delivering prosperity across the whole country. However, some aspects of the Conservative manifesto, including scrapping free school lunches, expanding grammar schools, and means-testing winter fuel allowance for pensioners appear unlikely to be included.