Contributions
962 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDTopical QuestionsI am delighted that the Leader of the Opposition has finally recognised education, because every other speech he has given did not mention it at all. The education of our children…27 Feb 2023HANSARDTopical QuestionsAbsolutely. We take the condition of schools very seriously, and we will be publishing data. We have collected a lot of data on schools—1.2 billion lines of data—and every time a…27 Feb 2023HANSARDTopical QuestionsObviously I cannot comment on bids, but I thank my hon. Friend for meeting me to discuss his ongoing campaign to open a new sixth form in Bolsover. I share his passion for wanting…27 Feb 2023HANSARDTopical QuestionsLet me take the opportunity to thank all those working in this sector. I know they do incredible work, and it is difficult with the spike in inflation and the rising cost of…27 Feb 2023HANSARDTopical QuestionsThe recent violent incident in the vicinity of Thomas Knyvett and the incident in Medway were absolutely abhorrent. Children’s safety and wellbeing is the Department’s highest…27 Feb 2023HANSARDTopical QuestionsYes, I am committed to seeing what we can do to improve that, and I will definitely meet my hon. Friend.27 Feb 2023HANSARDTopical QuestionsI will do even better than that. We are introducing family hubs, which have a lot more utility and will be much more useful to those who need them.27 Feb 2023HANSARDTopical QuestionsI am very happy to congratulate Stoke-on-Trent City Council and the many other councils that have made that turnaround possible. That is very important, as we build on the work of…27 Feb 2023HANSARDTopical QuestionsI am quite surprised that this question did not come up earlier. On Tuesday of last week, the Government made a serious offer to the leaders of the National Education Union and…27 Feb 2023HANSARD Lifelong Learning (Higher Education Fee Limits) BillI beg to move, That the Bill be now read a Second time. Everyone has a different reason for being passionate about education, but most of us can point to that time in our lives…27 Feb 2023HANSARD Lifelong Learning (Higher Education Fee Limits) BillSubject to the consultation, there will be. I think that there are some age limits at the top end in the student loan scheme today.27 Feb 2023HANSARD Lifelong Learning (Higher Education Fee Limits) BillAbsolutely. I can assure the hon. Gentleman of that, as someone who went to a comprehensive school in Knowsley, a deprived white working-class area. Most of my schoolmates did…27 Feb 2023HANSARD Lifelong Learning (Higher Education Fee Limits) BillAbsolutely. It is important that lifelong learning continues to be accessible to many people. Sadly, we have heard of cases where people are not diagnosed during their time in…27 Feb 2023HANSARD Lifelong Learning (Higher Education Fee Limits) BillYes, there have been occasions when some people may have felt that the value of the course they were on did not match the aspirations or expectations they had on their way into…27 Feb 2023HANSARD Reform of Children’s Social CareWith permission, Mr Deputy Speaker, I would like to make a statement about how we plan to reform children’s social care. My first visit in this role was to a children’s home in…02 Feb 2023HANSARD Reform of Children’s Social CareI thank my hon. Friend for his comments and for the important work that he and his Committee will be doing in this area. I am sure we will be happy to work with them. I am full of…02 Feb 2023HANSARD Reform of Children’s Social CareI think I made it clear that this is the start of the journey, to lay the foundations for wider whole-system reform. Many people have had good intentions in this area. Many…02 Feb 2023HANSARD Reform of Children’s Social CareObviously the size of the investment that Josh MacAlister set out was bolder, but it was a five-year plan. What we are doing is laying the foundations, with two years’ spending,…02 Feb 2023HANSARD Reform of Children’s Social CareMy hon. Friend has a great deal of experience in this area and he puts his finger on one of the core problems when siblings are involved. It is about trying to ensure that the…02 Feb 2023HANSARD Reform of Children’s Social CareI regret the hon. Lady’s tone, because everybody cares about children’s lives; everybody in this House cares to do their best for the most vulnerable children in our society. We…02 Feb 2023