Question: You have just held a seminar on special needs education - what is wrong with the government's current strategy in this area?

Damian Green: I think that part of the problem is that we are in danger of losing too many of our special schools. What we want is a mixed economy where parents who believe that it is most appropriate for their children to go into mainstream education can pursue that option, but they are also given the option of sending their child to a special school.

It is vital that we preserve the expertise of the special schools. There is a danger of losing far too many of those schools and far too much of that expertise.

Question: What kind of curriculum changes should schools for children with special educational needs have to follow?

Damian Green: It is certainly something we are going to look at. In the special educational needs seminar we held recently, that was a point made by several participants We will be taking away all the ideas that came in that seminar and looking at them very hard. The case was made quite compellingly that we need to look at the curriculum that's offered in special schools.

Question: You have called for schools to have a greater say in the way their budgets are spent - do you agree with the policy of specialist schools in this context, given that the extra funding they receive tends to be specific to the subject in which they are best?

Damian Green: Yes, I have no problems at all with specialist schools and I'm in favour of diversity of schools.

The point I'm making, which applies to all schools, is that far too much of their money is now directly controlled by the DfES. At the moment heads have to bid for money to spend in certain ways that have been approved by the minister. But I believe that, broadly speaking, head teachers and governors know how to spend money better in their schools than politicians sitting in Whitehall. What I want to do is simplify the structure to give more freedom to the schools to decide how to spend their money.

Question: You have also called for schools to have more control over the disciplining of pupils - won't this create a disjointed approach?

Damian Green: I think schools will know what the parents want and will be able to respond better.

Therefore it may well be that schools respond in different ways, but it seems to me that, within a broad framework, it should be up to the schools to decide how to best impose discipline in their schools. Schools will find it much easier to impose discipline and reduce the risk of exclusions in the long run if it's accepted that inside the school gates the head teacher's word is law.

For too long the Government has undermined the authority of head teachers, and that's why we're seeing the increase in disciplinary problems that we have in far too many schools.

Question: You have criticised the current appeals process for exclusions for being too legalistic and costing too much for schools - how in your opinion could it change to allow parents the option to appeal?

Damian Green:There should only be an appeal if there has been something wrong in the process. We should also aim for a much simpler system that doesn't have professional legal advice on either side. At the moment you're finding cases that can cost up to £20,000 and there are now solicitors who specialise in this particularly narrow part of the law. A lot of money is being siphoned out of schools to be spent on legal bills, and I think everyone would agree that this money would be better spent on books, equipment and teachers.

Question: Who should carry the financial burden of the appeals process, if not the schools?

Damian Green: Well, what I want to do is simplify it so there isn't a financial burden. That's the way I would deal with that problem.

Question: There are plans in the education bill for teachers to be disciplined for failing to report possible child abuse - is this the right way forward?

Damian Green: I think it's important to send a signal that if anyone, if a teacher in particular, has any suspicions at all of child abuse, that attention should be drawn. There have been some terrible and tragic cases where many adults didn't do anything about what in retrospect were fairly clear child abuse problems. The amendments to the education bill make it clear what teachers need to be looking out for, and they will help to avoid these terrible problems being repeated in the future.

Question: Would you not agree that hospitals and transport are higher on voters lists of priorities than schools at present, and that this suggests that the government might be doing something right in this area?

Damian Green: I am not sure. I think things go up and down, depending on which public service is doing worst that week. It's certainly true that there are huge problems in health and transport as well but I think the reaction to, for instance, Estelle Morris talking about some schools she wouldn't touch with a barge pole, shows that there is tremendous public worry about the state of our schools.

And this concern is justified because of the clear problems in areas such as discipline, truancy, teacher morale and the exam system. Many of the basic and the most important issues in our schools are, in too many cases, going wrong and people are very worried about that.

Question: What is your opinion of recent press reports that Tony Blair is employing teachers from a private school to tutor his children?

Damian Green: I am not commenting on Tony Blair's children - it is a private matter for him and his family.

Question: So do you not think it is an issue of public interest, or that it is a media witch-hunt?

Damian Green: I am not going to comment on this issue.