---
# System prepended metadata

title: Stevenage Labour Party National Policy Forum Meeting - 15 June 2020

---

# Stevenage Labour Party National Policy Forum Meeting - 15 June 2020

## Notes from policy discussions 
[The education system after coronavirus](#the-education-system-after-coronavirus)
[Economic recovery and renewal after coronavirus](#economic-recovery-and-renewal-after-coronavirus)
[The Health and Social Care system after coronavirus](#the-health-and-social-care-system-after-coronavirus)
[Coronavirus and the future of local government](#coronavirus-and-the-future-of-local-government)
[Championing internationalism in the post coronavirus world](#championing-internationalism-in-the-post-coronavirus-world) 



---


## The education system after coronavirus


### "What should Labour be calling for in the area of education?" 
- Resources for home schooling kids/safe reopening, support for working parents 
    - Extra funding for teachers and support staff for smaller class sizes 
    - Additional resources for home schooling - B
- Post-corona: working with unions to ensure schools remain safe for children to return in an orderly fashion when it's safe 
- Expansion of childrens services beyond schools 
- Scrap Ofsted ;) 
- Scrap academisation, take schools back into local authority control
- Review exams with an eye to minimising / scrapping / replacing them with meaningful assessments 
- Extended free school meal provision throughout the school holidays as a basic service (after the pandemic) 
- What about colleges and universities? 
    - Signifcant issues in further education due to the financial problems 
    - FE should be re-nationalised but needs to be done in a socialist manner 
    - Big disparaties in university funding - dependence on international students and MPhil students is exploitative
    - Students missing out on connections and life experience that university offers 
University places should be free and fully funded, irrespective of where the student is from.

- Common curriculum up to 16
    - Interesting idea to develop! 

- Support for post-18 education 
    - How do we support current year 13 students? 

- Campainging against the continued marketisation of the education system
- RE: Denmark, would be more like the school system, but needs to have a complete reorganisation of how education is invested in and managed in the UK 


When I say in a more "socialist manner" - I mean run in the interests of FE workers, not bureaucrats.

### "Who would these policy ideas benefit?" 
-  
### "How would we show this was a good policy?"
-  



---


## Economic recovery and renewal after coronavirus


### "What should Labour be calling for in the area of economic recovery and renewal?" 
- Put your notes here!
### "Who would these policy ideas benefit?" 
- Put your notes here! 
### "How would we show this was a good policy?"
- Put your notes here! 



---

## The Health and Social Care system after coronavirus


### "What should Labour be calling for in the area of health and social care?" 
- Put your notes here!
### "Who would these policy ideas benefit?" 
- Put your notes here! 
### "How would we show this was a good policy?"
- Put your notes here! 



---


## Coronavirus and the future of local government

### "What should Labour be calling for in the area of local government?" 
- Really dire time for local government 
- Poorest and the least able that will bear the brunt 
- Need to be fighting for proper funding for councils
- Josh one of our members has submitted this: https://www.policyforum.labour.org.uk/commissions/labour-fight-the-council-cuts

- Hold government to account on funding for local authorities 
- Excuse to crush local democracy on the grounds of efficiency?
- Political education on the role of local government! 
- POWER OF GENERAL COMPETANCE 
    - Councils are allowed to do whatever they want unless it's illegal for them to do so 
### "Who would these policy ideas benefit?" 
- Put your notes here! 
### "How would we show this was a good policy?"
- Put your notes here! 



---


## Championing internationalism in the post coronavirus world

### "What should Labour be calling for in the area of internationalism?" 
- Put your notes here!
### "Who would these policy ideas benefit?" 
- Put your notes here! 
### "How would we show this was a good policy?"
- Put your notes here! 