Author Archives: Dan Rogerson MP

Dan Rogerson MP

Dan Rogerson MP writes…How we reformed GCSEs

By Dan Rogerson MP | Wed 19th September 2012 - 8:55 am

I suspect there are precious few people out there who are not aware that Michael Gove wasn’t entirely happy with the current state of the GCSE system.

You’re probably also aware that when he first suggested he wasn’t happy with the current system, Nick Clegg, Joan Walmsley and I wasted no time in telling him that Liberal Democrats, a party who believe in social mobility, would not tolerate a return to a two tier education system.

What you may not be aware of is just how the two parties have been working since then to find a compromise that combines the shared …

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Posted in Op-eds | Tagged , , , , and | 11 Comments
Dan Rogerson MP

Dan Rogerson MP writes… Tackling disadvantage must start before school

By Dan Rogerson MP | Wed 30th May 2012 - 12:53 pm

Today Nick Clegg announced that the Government was extending the roll out of free Early Years education for all families who meet the free school meals criteria.

This means that the children of parents who are struggling to make ends meet and who rely on state benefits like Income Support or Child Tax Credits will now be entitled to free Early Years education from the age of two.

Sound familiar? That’s because Liberal Democrats in government have been consistently ensuring that one of the Coalition Government’s main priorities is closing the attainment gap between the poorest children and the better off.

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Posted in Op-eds | Tagged , , , and | 5 Comments
Dan Rogerson MP

Dan Rogerson MP writes… The crusade to protect the Cornish Pasty

By Dan Rogerson MP | Tue 3rd April 2012 - 12:11 pm

As the national political debate around the Budget moves on, one specific proposal is continuing to dominate both the headlines and my inbox – the so called ‘Pasty Tax’. The Chancellor’s proposals to change the VAT arrangements on hot food could see the tax being levied on pasties for the first time. The Treasury are currently consulting on the idea, and there remain some uncertainties that will need to be clarified.

I certainly understand the logic behind making sure that VAT is charged on hot food in places like large supermarkets to stop them undercutting local cafés and takeaways. But aside from the inevitable pasty puns in the press, there is serious concern across Cornwall.

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Posted in Op-eds | Tagged , and | 14 Comments
Dan Rogerson MP

Dan Rogerson MP writes… Welcoming more transparent school performance data

By Dan Rogerson MP | Mon 30th January 2012 - 10:54 am

Performance data for secondary schools was published last week, and there is an important difference between the latest figures and those that have been published in previous years. For the first time we are publishing separately the GCSE achievements of looked after children and children on free school meals at each and every school – the same group of young people who are eligible for the Pupil Premium.

With the Pupil Premium, funding is being specifically targeted at disadvantaged pupils, so that schools have the resources they need to make a difference. The new information will give us the opportunity …

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Dan Rogerson MP

Dan Rogerson MP writes… Welcoming help with water bills in the South West

By Dan Rogerson MP | Fri 2nd December 2011 - 2:56 pm

This week, as part of the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement, details of a Water Bills Rebate Fund were announced, with a £50 rebate to be provided on water bills for households in Cornwall and other South West Water areas from 2013-14. Along with fellow Liberal Democrats, I have long campaigned on getting a fair deal for bill payers in Cornwall after the botched privatisation under the Conservatives in the 1980s left us with the highest water bills in the country, and following 13 years of complacency about the issue under the last Labour government. As such, this rebate is fantastic news …

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Dan Rogerson MP

Dan Rogerson MP writes: the Pupil Premium is launched

By Dan Rogerson MP | Tue 14th December 2010 - 11:22 am

Yesterday the Government announced the details of the brand new Pupil Premium which will make available £2.5 billion a year to children from the most disadvantaged backgrounds by the end of this Parliament. In doing so the coalition is delivering one of the key Liberal Democrat manifesto policies.
Schools will now be able to work out exactly what they will be receiving from next April and how they will be able to use this to help their most disadvantaged children.

I have three young children and care passionately about fostering children’s potential early on. I know that there has been …

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Posted in Parliament | Tagged | 7 Comments
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