Today in Parliament, St Albans MP Anne Main presented her application to hold a debate in
the House of Commons on school funding. Mrs Main previously held a debate in the smaller
Westminster Hall chamber on this issue and today made the case for it to be debated on the
floor of the House of Commons.
Mrs Main’s campaign for the debate has gathered 43 signatures from MPs of all parties who
support her application for a debate. Anne said she was “delighted with the support” for her
application as normally Backbench Business applications get between 10 and 15 signatures.
Anne was joined by Lucy Powell (L, Manchester Central), Will Quince (C, Colchester) and Tim
Loughton (C, East Worthing and Shoreham) to make the case for the debate in front of the
Backbench Business Committee.
The Committee were extremely supportive of the application and even suggested a longer
debate than was originally applied for. The Committee will now liaise with the Government
in order to secure time for this debate in the next few weeks.
Following the debate, Mrs Main said, “The level of support from across the House for this
application shows the strength of feeling in the country about our schools. I have met with
local head teachers and parent groups and I understand the pressures schools are facing as
a former teacher myself. I think we saw today that this pressure is being felt in schools right
across the country.
“This campaign is not about party politics. It’s about getting the system right and the funding
in place to help all of our children get the education they deserve. We have to increase the
support for our teachers and make sure schools have the money to support all pupils,
especially those with SEN or behavioural problems.
“I will continue to stand up for the schools in St Albans and it is clear that other MPs from all
over the country will be doing the same. As I said during the committee hearing, it’s up to
the government now to listen to the concerns raised during the debate and find as much
support as we can for our schools in the Spring Statement.”
