‘We Have This Problem Every Time’: Speaker Lindsay Hoyle Shuts Down Gillian Keegan

Education secretary Gillian Keegan has been chastised by the Commons speaker for giving lengthy answers that may have been a “ploy” to stop scrutiny from MPs.

Lindsay Hoyle told the education secretary to be “punchy” with her responses as she fielded questions in the house.

As Keegan was discussing exams in the aftermath of the crumbling school buildings crisis, the speaker said: “We’re having this problem every time. If it’s (topical questions), they’re meant to be short and punchy. I’ve got to get these members in and all you’re doing is stopping the members not getting in, and if that’s the ploy, it’s not going to work.”

At the height of the problem last year, Keegan became notorious after she said she had done a “fucking good job” over the scandal.

The minister also claimed that others “have been sat on their arse” while she has been dealing with the crisis.

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‘What Planet Are They On?’: Tory Minister Slammed Over Private School Fees Claim

A Tory minister has been criticised after claiming the cost of sending a child to private school can be the same as a family holiday abroad.

Education secretary Gillian Keegan made the comments as she attacked Labour’s plan to remove the private school sector’s charitable status.

Speaking in the Commons, Keegan said: “Most of our private schools aren’t like Eton or Harrow – they’re far smaller and they charge a lot less.

″Many cost the same as a family holiday abroad and there’s plenty of parents who choose to forego life’s luxuries to give their children these opportunities.”

Shadow education secretary Bridget Philipson pointed out that average private school fees are around £16,000 a year – eight times the average cost of a foreign holiday.

“It’s not just Rishi Sunak that hasn’t got a clue,” she tweeted. “What planet are this lot on?”

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16 Year Olds Are Old Enough To Decide Gender Change, Education Secretary Says

The Education Secretary has suggested that 16 year olds are old enough to decide to change their gender.

Gillian Keegan knocked back suggestions that 16 was too young, saying: “I was making decisions for myself at 16.”

It comes after Rishi Sunak moved to block Scottish reforms of the gender recognition process passed by Holyrood.

The new law would make it easier for trans people to change gender by reducing the time the process takes and lowering the age at which it can happen to 16.

Asked if she would be content for children in schools at 16 to say whether they want to change their gender, Keegan told Sky News: “We have to be very sensitive to children. We are actually going to publish some guidance and consult because it is a very tricky area to get right.

“It has to be age-appropriate, but children have to be supported as well.”

Pressed on her personal view, the minister was asked if 16 was too young.

“No I don’t actually. “I was working at 16, I was paying tax at 16, I was making decisions for myself at 16,” she replied.

“But it’s not really about what I think, it’s how we make sure we get that right balance of supporting children, but also making sure that what they’re getting taught in schools is age-appropriate.”

Labour leader Keir Starmer said he has “concerns” over Scotland’s gender recognition law because he considers 16 to be too young to decide to change gender.

Yesterday, the UK government took the unprecedented step of blocking Scotland’s gender reforms from becoming law.

It is the first time Westminster has used the power since devolution came into being nearly 25 years ago.

Scottish secretary Alister Jack wrote to Scottish first minister Nicola Sturgeon to inform her that he was making a so-called “section 35 order” vetoing the bill which was passed at Holyrood before Christmas.

It followed advice from government lawyers that the bill would cut across the UK-wide Equality Act.

In a statement, Jack said: “Transgender people who are going through the process to change their legal sex deserve our respect, support and understanding. My decision today is about the legislation’s consequences for the operation of GB-wide equalities protections and other reserved matters.”

Responding to the news, Sturgeon accused the UK government of “a full-frontal attack” on the Scottish parliament.

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