16/10/2011 The Politics Show South West


16/10/2011

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The waste was in Cornwall, as a judge changes the incineration

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plants. And will free schools provide more opportunity were more

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Apology for the loss of subtitles for 1492 seconds

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Hello and welcome to the Politics Hello and welcome to the Politics

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Show in the South West. This week has seen a dramatic development in

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the row over how to deal with Cornwall's waste crisis. On

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Thursday a High Court Judge made a decision which means the

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incinerator which is already being built in St Dennis no longer has

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planning permission. The judge ruled that the Local Government

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Secretary and his Planning Inspector have failed to properly

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consider the impact of the plans on two nearby wildlife habitats. Later

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we will be talking about the lessons councillors might learn

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from the judge's decision and what could happen next. But first this

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report. Every time you think you've reached

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the end of the story of a new incinerator for Cornwall there

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comes a new twist. In 2006 a fresh chapter begins as the French firm

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Sita is brought in to take away the rubbish. It wants to create a huge

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energy from waste plant in St Dennis but despite planners backing

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it but the county council, as it was then, says no.

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Cheers from the campaign bus. But no sooner have they got their

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voices back then Sita appeals and a public inquiry begins. The

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protesters know they are in for a long haul. The final decision is

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referred to the Secretary of State. Enter leader of Cornwall Council

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Alec Robertson who writes to ministers saying it is the least

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worst option. Remember he opposed it originally. Eric Pickles agrees

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the benefits outweigh the costs. And the incinerator is back on and

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heads are back in hands. Until that is they take on the council in the

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high court and win. The end? We're not so sure. While the village

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celebrates, the question is, what next? Cornwall Council, Sita and

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ministers will no doubt be examining the judge's words

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carefully. He said the government had not properly considered whether

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an environmental assessment had to be carried out before signing off

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the scheme. Initial work on an access road has

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stopped but doing nothing is not an option though, space in landfill is

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running out and every month's delay costs �1 million in landfill tax

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and haulage costs. Sita still believes it is the best

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solution for Cornwall but as you might have come to expect by now

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they have got their opponents. There are cheaper ways and more

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environmentally sustainable ways to deal with the waste. I think the

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council will get round the table and use some of the talent to come

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up with a long-term solution. The government is trying reform

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planning laws so local people have more influence and big

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infrastructure projects get built here. The courts have made the

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decisions and they've backed the villagers for now.

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I am joined by Dr Colin Trier, a waste management specialist. Should

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people be surprised? Yes, I think it is a surprising decision. Even

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if the section 28 that is being used has never been used

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successfully in this way so it is not an outcome that one can rely on

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to stand necessarily. Stephen Gilbert is calling

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councillors back round the table. How realistic is that? Leaving

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aside the contractual issues, which are big, it is completely passable,

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and I think that if the people of Cornwall were encouraged to work

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with the council grant the company to take on the challenge of going

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in a different direction, it will only work if everyone works

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together. But these are in almost - - but these are her gigantic

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obstacles. This is an alternative but people will have to work for it.

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I do not think that this objection is a one off. The government must

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be concerned that there is such a strong opinion against what is

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quite a primitive technology. And they're all -- and there are

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alternatives. Find you. -- thank you.

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A small independent Catholic school in Cornwall has become the first of

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its kind in the country to be awarded free school status by the

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Government. St Michael's Catholic Secondary in Truro hopes to expand

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as a result and move to a bigger building in Camborne. Like

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academies, free schools are funded directly by central government and

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they are independent of local authority control. The Government

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claims they will give parents more choice and provide competition

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which drives standards up. But critics say they will take money

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and pupils from existing schools, increase social division and lead

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to the break-up of the state system. It's hometime prayers at St

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Michael's Catholic Secondary school in Truro, and thanks is being given

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for the news this week of the green light in its bid for free school

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status. Critics are questioning the need, the impact on other schools

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and why taxpayers should be funding it, but these aren't concerns

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shared by some parents collecting their children. I think it is a

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superb idea and it will mean my children have an opportunity to go

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with other children that is ideal. It is really something that has

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been run on a shoestring and is now opened two more children so I am

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pleased about that. Calling itself an independent

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school with a difference, St Michael's currently educates around

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30 11-16 year olds, around half of which are here because of faith.

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It's been running in this old Methodist chapel since 1998 and is

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funded via donations from parents, supporters, educational trusts and

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fundraising. The new free school will get cash per pupil directly

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from the Government, and the headteacher is expecting some

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controversy. I think it challenges us to look at ourselves and forces

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us to raise our game and do things better. We are a small school but

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we are trying to do great things in the area and we are offering that

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to anyone who wants to take part. I think, in time, people may come up

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with negative things to begin with but I think they will accept us.

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Outside direct local authority control free schools have the

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freedom to choose teaching hours, curriculum, holidays and how they

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spend their money, but St Michael's won't be going it totally alone.

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think there is a myth that a free school is completely free and does

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it -- does its own thing. But where the local authority comes in is

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that we have to provide transport and meals and other things and when

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it comes to admissions all of the parents who wish their parents - or

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her children to go to this school will have to apply to the local

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authority. -- children to go to this school will have to apply to

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the local authority. We have to follow the code and it must be non-

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selective. Faith schools may only recruit up to 50 % of their pupils

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once they are oversubscribed on a phased basis.

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The new school has approval to eventually expand to 300 pupils,

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that's 60 a year in class sizes of 20. So theTruro chapel will no

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longer be big enough and a move is on the cards to the old county

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grammar school in the centre of Camborne, metres from the train

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station and with a catchment of some of Cornwall's most deprived

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areas. This certainly seems to tick a Government box for free schools

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to offer improvement in social mobility but not everyone's

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convinced. We have got good schools already so it is not about driving

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up standards and I do not think that most parents here would want

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to send their children to a Catholic school. This is about the

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Government's hobby horse about free schools but they will not deliver

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better standards here. CLIP JUDE Those behind the successful bid say

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they've already had to prove And they say the relatively small

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numbers they're aiming at pose no threat to three nearby secondaries.

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This is not a new school. It exists in a different form elsewhere.

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Money will be taken out of local authority schools and given to a

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school that is not fully set up in the spirit of the free schools

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situation. The earmarked building currently houses a children's

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centre and it's hoped money raised from the council selling it back to

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the Government will fund a better purpose built replacement. But some

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doubts are being raised about quick timescales involved. There's a

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statutory consultation to be held and capital funding details to be

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finalised. It's probably fair to say some faith is still needed to

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get Cornwall's first free school fully up and running by next

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September. I am joined by three politicians who are geographically

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far flung. We have a Liberal Democrat MP for St Ives, an MP from

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West Devon, and a Labour peer and former Schools Minister in

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Westminster. Andrew George, you voted against the Academy Bill and

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a lot of your criticism seems to be similar to that made by the

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teaching unions. Do you still stand by that? Yes. I was concerned from

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a rural perspective that in a place like a Cornwall the introduction of

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competition into the education market place, particularly in the

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kind of places I was born and brought up, if you set up free

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schools in communities that presently struggle to keep one

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village school, it will undermine the fundamental structure of what

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should be integrated and enabled by the local authority, not controlled

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by local authority. Do you taken the view that free schools cream

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off the more affluent and more or academically able students from

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other schools? This free school in Cornwall is composed in one of the

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most deprived areas in the county and that might be the worst place

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to put one. If you were establishing them in areas where

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there were just one school you could be potentially damaging them.

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Everyone would want to ensure that we get the best education for all

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of the children. My concern was that, yes, some of these schools

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are could well be established in places where the most deprived

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cannot get to. There are feelings in the system and communities where

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some extra assistance is required so I think we should put in the

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kind of initiative that... On the front page of your manifesto, of

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course. Geoffrey Cox, do you accept this view that new three schools

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could well undermine existing schools in the South West? No, I do

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not see that. I c three schools as a driver of increasing standards,

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giving people a choice. I have a rural constituency and people come

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to me and say they do not have a choice and they have nowhere to go.

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There is one secondary school. There must be some strategic

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oversight, but offering real choice and diversity, and I see no reason

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why they should have a damaging impact on existing schools.

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night, just to clarify Labour's position. Ed Balls said this was a

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socially divisive policy end Andy Burnham said he would not -- and

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Andy Burnham said he would not approve three schools. The noises

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from the Shadow Cabinet recently seemed to think that three schools

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might be fine as long as they do their job properly. I suspect

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Michael Gove were not disagree with that. In some communities, three

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schools may be successful air and not damage neighbouring schools. --

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free schools. It would be wrong for a government to try to close them

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down and that case. What government and oppositions have to do is look

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at the systemic effect and when you look at the three other countries

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that have tried this, United States, Sweden and Chile, you have had

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successful schools and failing schools. They have had no systemic

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standards and I think Andrew is right. Competition is not really a

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reality in these sorts of areas. It is a luxury to think that we can

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afford extra places, surplus places, just for these I have got --

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ideological reasons. This feels like a policy dreamt up here in

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London and trying to make it work in regions like the South West. It

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might look -- work in urban areas but not then roll ones. Labour is

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giving a grudging acceptance? rural ones. It is not sensible for

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an incoming government to close so accept -- successful schools. If

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the schools are working then you should keep them open. But one

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thing that is really missing in all of this is that it is far and for

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parents to set up three schools but if they go wrong they have got no

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one to go to -- three schools. They have no one to go to accept the

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second day at -- Secretary of State. Jeffrey, this is a serious issue.

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We could end up with most of the schools with a local authority

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control. What we want are more good schools. Good schools are producing

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good standards. If they are good schools then that is a good thing

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and it will drive up standards in the existing schools. I think the

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blanket uniformity of the days when the monolithic state provision was

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the only solution are long gone. Labour were trying this idea or

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similar ideas under the previous government and we are taking it

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further forward. Let's try it. What people are wanting his innovation,

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imagination, that is what we want to see. -- wanting his imagination.

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You can have that with the previous academies. The local authority

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consistently failed to help a school, I saw this in my time as a

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minister, we needed a better ministers with better leadership.

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More intervention, more intervention, more government

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control. What we want to see our independent, three schools, where

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they pass the necessary tests of confidence. If they are good

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schools, what is wrong with more good schools? The higher risk is

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that you will build lots of extra schools on top of the ones that are

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needed with no accountability locally and no guarantee of success

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just because it is a free school, and that does a mean it will work.

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Some work and some gold. I think it is worth saying that free schools

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will be part of a monolithic centralised state. They will be

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funded, monitored and regulated by the young people's learning Agency.

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Independent schools are currently monitored. They are able to

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flourish using their own initiative and innovation. That is what we

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want to see. Parents want to see choice and higher standards. This

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will be the engine of that. We have so migrate independent schools in

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this country and we have some small failing ones as well. All of the

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secrets of success of a good school system anywhere in the world is

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that you have a good amount of autonomy and they worked together.

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You also have collaboration. My worry about three schools in some

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of these communities is that they will not work with the neighbouring

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communities and they will expel pupils who are not getting on and

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others will have to deal with the problems. That is fantasy. The

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children are completely -- complaining loudly about government

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intervention. Constantly interfering in what teachers can do.

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It is one of the most delegated school systems anywhere in the

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world, here in England. I think we will have to leave it there. Thank

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That is almost all from the South West bar the news that the region

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is now officially home to Westminster's top dog. Wilberforce,

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who belongs to Neil Parish, the Conservative MP for Tiverton and

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Honiton, has won the annual Parliamentary Dog of the Year

:45:14.:45:24.
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Competition. It is great for him, isn't it? He won and it didn't have

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much to do with me. He is a great dog with huge character. I am

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