§ 2. Mr. BrandrethTo ask the Secretary of State for Education what representations he has received from the Queen's English Society on the teaching of spoken English; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. PattenI have received no direct representations from the Queen's English Society, but I know that the society was one of the bodies whose evidence the National Curriculum Council took into account in framing its recent recommendations for changes to the national curriculum English, which I warmly welcome.
We believe that the proposals that we published for consultation on 15 April will help to ensure that pupils develop confidence and competence in their use of spoken English, and, more generally, will raise expectations and standards in the subject, which is critically important.
§ Mr. BrandrethDoes my right hon. Friend agree that the Queen's English has nothing to do with accent and everything to do with communication? Is he aware that recently the business community has reckoned that problems with literacy and numeracy are costing industry some £4.8 billion a year and that business is crying out for the Government to do something about literacy, numeracy and communication skills for our young people?
§ Mr. PattenI agree entirely with my hon. Friend's points, made with his characteristically clear diction, in standard English throughout. My hon. Friend is quite right. We have been told by the adult literacy and basic skills unit that the cost to industry of young people going in without adequate skills and without being able to express themselves is between £4 billion and £5 billion a year. I hope that hon. Members on both sides of the House can agree that it is critically clear that, when youngsters leave school and make job applications, they are able to make those applications in clear written English and that they are able to answer questions in interviews in the 636 clearest possible way. That is why the speaking of standard English is so important and why I welcome the views of the society.
§ Mr. Tony LloydIs the Secretary of State aware that those of us who were never learnt to speak English proper certainly do not lack the intellectual ability to discern that in these issues, as in many others, the Secretary of State is a complete Gombeen—that is an Irish expression—and nor do we lack the ability to communicate those issues? When we have a Secretary of State—I appreciate that he is a little nervous today—who tells the House about "a education" and "Mr. McAvoy who I met in my office", he is in no position to begin to educate young people up and down the country on the benefits of standard English or, indeed, any other way of communicating properly and adequately in the English language.
§ Mr. PattenNot for the first time in answering the hon. Gentleman's questions, I am completely confused because of his failure to put them clearly. All that I can say is that it is critically important for all of us to be able to express ourselves as clearly as possible, as the Hansard report of what I have said will make clear tomorrow and as anyone who is listening will have heard. I hope that the hon. Gentleman shares with me—I did not understand the Irish expression that he used—the necessity for anyone applying for a job, whether they are 16, 17, 18 or any age, to express themselves clearly in standard English. That is why standard English and the recommendations of the National Curriculum Council are so important.