HC Deb 13 May 1996 vol 277 cc738-46

Motion made, and Question proposed, That this House do now adjourn.—[Mr. Streeter.]

10.12 pm
Mr. Greville Janner (Leicester, West)

I am grateful for the opportunity to raise in the House the horrendous problem of security in our schools. I have campaigned for many years and begged the Government to make available adequate resources for schools to provide security measures. They need these to counter the attacks made upon them, often daily, and to provide not only replacements for the goods and buildings that are destroyed but, more important, adequate security measures that do not have to be funded from schools' inadequate budgets.

There are 43 schools in my constituency and in the past financial year no fewer than 41 of them have been attacked by vandals, arsonists and burglars—many of them on several occasions. The cost of putting right the damage caused is estimated at more than £315,000.

In Leicestershire, the figures for arson have multiplied by six since the Government came to power. In 1979, there were about a dozen arson attacks on public buildings, including schools. In the past year, there were 72 such attacks. Schools and other public buildings are suffering from vandalism, burglary and other crime. Schools are forced to spend on security from budgets that should be used for teaching, for books and for other equipment because no adequate moneys are available to cover the cost of installing the preventive measures needed.

Despite the difficulty of obtaining figures, research undertaken for me by Pallavi Sharma and Tom Playfoot shows that secondary schools in my constituency fall into two categories. Schools in the first category have no private insurance and must pay 70 per cent. of the cost of repairs and replacements. Primary and special schools must pay 55 per cent. The second category is schools that participate in a private insurance scheme. They must pay 20 per cent. of the premium, with an excess of 70 per cent. for secondary schools and 55 per cent. for primary and special schools. They should have to pay nothing. There is no reason why schools should be forced to meet from their budgets the costs resulting from vandalism, burglary and arson.

Many schools in the most disadvantaged and vulnerable areas cannot even obtain insurance because the premiums are too high. They are left totally uninsured.

Schools that want to install closed circuit television, security fencing, alarm systems and locks must, in most cases, meet the whole cost themselves, or at least a substantial part of it. I ask the Government to pay the full amount from whatever budget may be available. If no budget is available, I ask the Government to make such funding a priority.

We are not talking primarily of awful tragedies such as the shootings in Dunblane—although that incident has thrown the whole problem into stark relief. We are talking about the everyday miseries of ordinary schools in my constituency and throughout the country. I have tried to obtain details of the cost, without success. The Department for Education and Employment says that such figures are not available. I give notice to the Minister that I shall be tabling a series of written questions to force the figures out of the Government. There is no reason why all local education authorities should not produce such figures, in the same way that Leicestershire has done for me.

Schools must compete with public buildings for a limited budget. Only four schools in my constituency received council moneys for security, and each school had to pay half from their own budget. In the past two years, Leicestershire education committee—starved of funds by Government measures—has received no money for school security. That is wrong. Schools should have proper security. Of course it is sad that such measures are necessary. We would all much prefer them not to be necessary. The reality is that with the cracking of the social system, the growth of deprivation and the causes of crime left unattended, schools must take security measures.

I certainly hope, after Dunblane, that the time will come when the Government ban handguns in people's homes, but that will not be enough. The smashing of schools and equipment, the stealing of equipment and the burning of schools cannot be dealt with by banning guns.

I offer the House a few examples. Barleycroft county primary school, an excellent school in my constituency, has a first-class head teacher, Philip Goulding, who at the age of 43 was attacked by five or six youths at the end of last year after he had caught one of them who had stolen a mobile phone from a car. He needed 16 stitches, he had a broken nose, cuts above both eyes, a trapped nerve and head and neck injuries. Over the past four years his school has had to spend £20,000 of its education budget on security measures. That is disgraceful; it should not be permitted.

There is an excellent special school with a brilliant head teacher, Rufus Gordon, whom I have known for many years. He wrote to the Secretary of State for Education and Employment on 29 January as follows: In the past three years I have lost my Science Teacher and was not allowed to replace her due to financial restrictions. That in itself is shocking enough. I have made my Deputy redundant, my Senior Mistress and Junior Teacher redundant, my Home Economics Teacher redundant, and my Languages and Support Teacher redundant. I have made Nursery Nurses redundant and Ancillary. I depend on hourly-paid teachers to stay afloat—that is, to cover the National Curriculum … There is no one else I can make redundant … There is no way we can maintain the payments on the closed circuit television—I have had to stop, in any case, paying our Premises Officer to come in on Saturday and Sunday to replace the video tape in the CCTV, as that was costing me £30 each weekend", which the school has not got.

I hope that the Minister, too, is shocked by this. I hope that she understands the outrage among teachers in my constituency and will now at last provide the money to cover these costs.

I have a soft spot for special schools such as the Western Park school and the Emily Forte school, which was set ablaze a short time ago. But I hope that the money for security will be forthcoming for all the schools in my constituency, not just these two.

With all these miseries besetting our schools, what do the Government intend to do? I pay tribute to the Secretary of State who was kind enough to come to my constituency at my invitation and meet teachers and head teachers, but nothing has happened since. The nearest to anything happening has been the preparation of a report which, by the sort of amazing coincidence for which this House is renowned, is due to appear tomorrow. The Secretary of State has been kind enough to provide me with a copy of it, but I cannot refer to it in this debate. I hope, Madam Speaker, to raise the matter as a point of order, because it is wrong, when there is a forthcoming Adjournment debate on a particular subject, to issue a written answer to a parliamentary question the next day so that there is no chance to debate it.

I hope that the report will be favourable to my views and that it will accept what is patently obvious to everyone but the Government: that schools, teachers and pupils are suffering because there are no adequate security arrangements that schools can make without cutting into their budgets.

It is not enough simply to issue a report. As Chairman of a Select Committee I have seen many reports issued, pigeonholed, commented on and then die the death. That will not do in this case. If it turns out that the report agrees with me, I hope that the Minister will undertake tonight immediately to implement measures to end this awful situation.

We all know how much the schools are suffering, but I wonder whether the Government understand that the greater the disadvantage in an area, the greater the suffering for the school. If there is vandalism, burglary or arson at a school in a well-off area, the teachers can bring together parents who can, and do, chip in and help the school to replace the losses and, often, to put in security measures. I appeal to the Under-Secretary on behalf of the disadvantaged schools, in areas where the parents do not have the money to do that and, much as they would wish to, cannot help. I appeal to the Under-Secretary on behalf of areas with broken homes and broken schools, where there is vandalism, arson and burglary and where the police, even with the few extra who will be put on—that is all it will be—cannot hope to cope.

I know that I speak with the full backing of the teachers, the parents and the Leicestershire police, who are under great strain. I beg the Under-Secretary to understand that the teachers want to teach and they want the resources to teach. The letter that I have read out to her from the Western Park school shows a state of affairs that should not be allowed to exist in a civilised country—certainly not in one in which the funds could be made available if the Government wished to do so. I hope that the Government will now give security in schools proper priority and that the Under-Secretary will produce for us tonight a constructive reply to a plea that is made in the greatest of good faith, on behalf of people who badly need the help that only the Government can provide.

10.26 pm
Mr. Keith Vaz (Leicester, East)

It is typical of the generosity of my hon. and learned Friend the Member for Leicester, West (Mr. Janner) to offer his Leicester colleagues the chance to make a brief contribution to the debate. I wish to pay tribute to him for the way in which he has championed this cause. I first met my hon. and learned Friend 20 years ago, when I was a student with his son at university. I came to the House at his invitation to have a look at the proceedings. I knew then of his reputation for fighting hard on behalf of his constituents, and tonight we have seen a tour de force and an example of the passion and the commitment that he gives to his constituents of Leicester, West. He will be missed after the next election, because, as the House knows, he has announced his retirement.

My hon. and learned Friend has raised a crucial issue and he has put forward, in the most eloquent and passionate terms, the concern of teachers, parents and ordinary citizens about vandalism in schools in Leicestershire. I do not want the House to think that such incidents happen only in Leicestershire. Of course, it is a national problem, and my hon. and learned Friend has merely highlighted it on a local basis.

I wish to add my voice to my hon. and learned Friend's and to stress the need for the Under-Secretary to come up with firm proposals in her reply. I, too, would like to know what is in the report that the Secretary of State will publish tomorrow. I hope that the Minister has seen a copy; my hon. and learned Friend said that he had seen a copy. It is vital that we do not just get promises and warm words, but that we have some positive action to ensure that schools are supported. As my hon. and learned Friend said, they suffer greatly because of the cuts in budgets that they have had to endure after 17 years of the Government.

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Education and Employment (Mrs. Cheryl Gillan)

indicated dissent.

Mr. Vaz

It is no good the Under-Secretary shaking her head. It is true that the schools are suffering because of the high rate of crime, which has doubled since the Conservatives have been in office.

I have just had a conversation with Mr. Jones, who is a teacher at Charles Keane college. My hon. and learned Friend knows it well, because people from both our constituencies attend it. Mr. Jones told me that last night there was a burglary at Charles Keane college. The burglars stole the telephone keyboard, which is essential to the functioning of the school, which will have to replace it out of its budget.

We want some action from the Under-Secretary and a positive response to the excellent campaign led by my hon. and learned Friend.

10.29 pm
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Education and Employment (Mrs. Cheryl Gillan)

I congratulate the hon. and learned Member for Leicester, West (Mr. Janner) on securing an Adjournment debate on such an important subject. I am sad to hear that he has announced his retirement. I am sure that the House will be a poorer place without him. The hon. and learned Gentleman is renowned, most notably for his buttonholes. I note that he is not wearing one tonight. I hope that that is not the result of anything that I have done.

The hon. and learned Gentleman shares a concern about security in schools with many other Members. I am pleased that he allowed his hon. Friend the Member for Leicester, East (Mr. Vaz) to contribute to the debate. The hon. and learned Gentleman and the hon. Gentleman join many colleagues throughout the House, including my hon. Friend the Member for Rutland and Melton (Mr. Duncan), the Secretary of State for Health, my right hon. Friend the Member for Loughborough (Mr. Dorrell), my hon. Friend the Member for North-West Leicestershire (Mr. Ashby) and my hon. and learned Friend the Member for Harborough (Mr. Garnier), to name but a few in the area around the hon. and learned Gentleman's constituency who are interested also in school security; as, indeed, we all are.

As the hon. and learned Gentleman rightly said, the timing of tonight's debate is both fortuitous, in the sense that the report of the working group on school security is to be published tomorrow, and unfortunate because, of course, I cannot tonight give more than a flavour of the group's recommendations. A flavour, however, I shall give at this stage. I do not think that the hon. and learned Gentleman has too long to wait. Indeed, given the late hour, it will not be long at all before the report is published. I hope that the hon. and learned Gentleman's curiosity will be fully satisfied.

School security is a problem that concerns us all, as parents, as members of the local community and certainly as politicians. Vandalism and arson damage the fabric of schools, the morale of their staff and pupils and the effectiveness of teaching and learning.

The Government are entirely at one with the hon. and learned Gentleman in our concern for schools suffering from such crimes. He kindly referred to the visit of my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State to Braunstone Hall school in Leicester last year, to discuss school security matters with local head teachers. In a recent exchange with the hon. and learned Gentleman, I expressed my great sadness over the arson attack faced by Emily Forte school in his constituency. It was a great sadness and I reiterate my remarks on that earlier occasion.

I know also that the hon. and learned Gentleman and the rest of the House shared the country's shock and grief at the recent tragic events at St. George's school in Maida Vale and at Dunblane. Those events were all the more horrific because of the traditional place of schools at the heart of their communities. Schools naturally want to be open and welcoming to pupils, to parents and to the local community. They are often centres for wider education and leisure activity locally. They seek to be encouraging of education generally, and to draw parents and the community into supporting the education of local children. Those characteristics benefit and enrich our villages, towns and cities. They should be valued and protected.

Nevertheless, it is natural that recent events should have raised questions about whether that accessibility exacts too high a price; whether schools now need to secure themselves more rigorously against threats from outside.

Despite the emotional impact of the incidents that we are discussing, there is general agreement that attempting to turn schools into fortresses is not the right response. There is a need to strike a balance between access and security. It is to the credit of heads, teachers and school governors throughout the country that they are determined to avoid a siege mentality. Such determination should be applauded and supported.

That response should not be taken as an excuse for inaction. It is clear that there are limits to what can sensibly be done to prevent events as extreme as the horrific killings in Dunblane, but there are effective and practical measures that can be taken to protect staff, pupils and premises, without turning schools into fortresses.

I have already referred to the working group on school security, which my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State established immediately following the fatal stabbing of head teacher Philip Lawrence. In the wake of his tragic death, its remit was to consider what more should be done to help to ensure that schools are safe places for their staff and pupils.

The group brought together representatives of all the main interests in school security: head teacher, teacher and support staff associations; school governors; voluntary aided, grant-maintained and independent schools; local education authorities; parents; the police; and Government Departments. We are immensely grateful to the group's members for their efforts in drawing up the report so quickly and with such care. I am sure that the hon. and learned Gentleman will read it with interest, as it bears on much that has been said tonight—if, indeed, he has not already had a sneak read earlier.

Without wanting to pre-empt the detailed recommendations, I can confirm that the group has made a range of positive and practical suggestions, covering issues such as the role of governors, local education authorities and school staff in maintaining and improving security; the availability of advice and guidance on security-related matters to schools and others with an interest; the law relating to troublemakers in and around schools; and funding for security improvements. The Government's response will be in equally positive vein: indeed, we have already acted on early recommendations from the group.

First, we have taken firm action to counter the menace of people carrying knives and other weapons in schools. The Offensive Weapons Bill, which is currently before Parliament—promoted by my hon. Friend the Member for Sutton and Cheam (Lady Olga Maitland)—has been amended: it now makes it an offence to carry a knife or other offensive weapon on school premises, and we are extending to those premises police powers of search for such weapons. The press has focused on the application of the measure to pupils, but it is at least as much concerned with weapons carried by intruders.

Secondly, following recent consultation, we are adding school security to the list of items on which school governors must report annually to parents. That will help to highlight and reinforce the important role of governors in maintaining and improving security in their schools. I have already mentioned that the school security working group has considered funding matters. There are already sources of funds that could, depending on LEAs' and schools' priorities, be used to pay for improved security. LEAs receive formula capital allocations for improvement and replacement work in county and voluntary controlled schools; equivalent support for grant-maintained schools is channelled through capital formula allocations from the Funding Agency for Schools for England. Voluntary aided schools can receive support through the minor works programme and the voluntary rationing scheme.

In the current year, the schools renewal challenge fund will provide the bulk of central Government capital funding for improvement and refurbishment of LEA and voluntary aided schools. The criteria for the scheme, published last week, indicate that projects that include measures to improve the security of school premises will be particularly welcome. Schools have also been able to bid to the Home Office for funds from the closed circuit television challenge competition, worth £15 million in the current financial year. The working group has taken all those existing sources into account in considering its funding recommendations.

The hon. and learned Gentleman has argued vigorously that the current arrangements are not adequate, and that funds should be allocated specifically to improving school security. I believe that, when he sees our response to the group's report, he will be reassured about the Government's determination to play their proper part in supporting action to improve school security.

Mr. Janner

I appreciate what the Minister has said very much. Can she give an indication of when the Government will respond to the report's recommendations?

Mrs. Gillan

The hon. and learned Gentleman is jumping the gun. I have said that we are publishing the report tomorrow, and that I believe that he will join us in welcoming the Government's response. He can press me, but I am afraid that he will get no further tonight: he will have to wait until tomorrow.

The report is not, and should not be, the last word on school security. Specifically, important lessons may arise from Lord Cullen's public inquiry into the Dunblane tragedy. The Government will of course consider carefully any further issues that that inquiry raises, but school security should not be an issue to be considered only in the wake of individual high-profile incidents which, however shocking, reveal only a partial picture of the problems faced by most schools. To be effective, school security measures must be based on a regular and realistic assessment of the day-to-day risks faced by schools in different areas and in conditions that will vary over time. It is important that all people concerned remain alert to new needs and to changing circumstances. Protective measures are relevant only if they enable school staff and pupils to work and to study in safety.

That must be a continuing priority for all people with a part to play. It is one to which the Government are fully committed, and I refer the hon. and learned Gentleman especially to the Department's guidance to schools on security issues, which covers crime prevention in schools, intruder alarm systems, closed circuit television, security lighting, school glazing and vandalism, graffiti removal and control, lockers and secure storage and "Schoolwatch UK", a video on the main criminal threats faced by schools.

The Government are fully committed to the security of the UK's schools. I was sorry that, even though the hon. and learned Gentleman and the hon. Member for Leicester, East spoke on this subject with such emotion, I yet again failed to hear the amount of money that may be forthcoming from the Labour party in this matter. Again, no spending pledges were made, but there was merely a plea for more money.

Mr. Janner

Wait until we are elected.

Mrs. Gillan

That will be the day.

I congratulate the hon. and learned Gentleman on securing the debate and I hope that, tomorrow, he will be big enough to welcome the report warmly, and the Government's response.

Question put and agreed to.

Adjourned accordingly at twenty minutes to Eleven o'clock.