Contributions
962 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDBreaking Down Barriers to OpportunityThe progress we have made on education is phenomenal. The legislation we have put in place has enabled us to make many of these improvements, but we remain committed to…08 Nov 2023HANSARDBreaking Down Barriers to OpportunityI will give way one more time to the hon. Lady.08 Nov 2023HANSARDBreaking Down Barriers to OpportunityWe have some initiatives in place. First, we are raising the starting salary to £30,000 for all new teachers across the country, and more in London. Secondly, we are increasing—in…08 Nov 2023HANSARDBreaking Down Barriers to OpportunityAs somebody who grew up in Liverpool, I have had many a fabulous holiday in north Wales. In terms of the education department, unfortunately Wales suffers from a poor…08 Nov 2023HANSARDBreaking Down Barriers to OpportunityI am happy to answer the hon. Gentleman’s question. I always want things to improve in Wales, and I very much care about the Welsh children. It is not my words; it is the OECD and…08 Nov 2023HANSARDBreaking Down Barriers to OpportunityI will; just give me a second. The hon. Gentleman might want to answer this point. One thing that Labour did do was set an arbitrary target of 50% of young people going to…08 Nov 2023HANSARDBreaking Down Barriers to OpportunityI will in a moment, honestly, but this is important. I want to address one of the key challenges we face, which is school attendance. Following the pandemic, we have seen a…08 Nov 2023HANSARDBreaking Down Barriers to OpportunityIt is an honour to open today’s King’s Speech debate on behalf of His Majesty’s Government. Education is the key that unlocks the door to opportunity. Get it right, and it is the…08 Nov 2023HANSARDBreaking Down Barriers to OpportunityThe right hon. Gentleman made a good point. Local authorities usually work with us to capacity plan for demographic changes, which often happen from time to time—they go up and…08 Nov 2023HANSARDRelationships, Sex and Health EducationEarlier this year, I wrote to schools to set out that schools can and should share curriculum materials with parents, in light of the current concerns in relation to materials…24 Oct 2023HANSARDTopical QuestionsThe hon. Lady talks about responsibility and accountability. When Labour were warned about RAAC—reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete—in 1997, 1999, 2002 and 2007, they did…23 Oct 2023HANSARDSchool FundingI take the error in the July notional national funding formula figures very seriously, but it is important to note that schools do not receive notification of their actual budget…23 Oct 2023HANSARDSchool FundingI am conscious of the pressures that many local authorities have faced on their high needs budgets. Nationally, high needs funding is set to increase by 60% between 2019-20 and…23 Oct 2023HANSARDSchool FundingIt is our intention to legislate, but I cannot give a date for that at the Dispatch Box. I will keep my hon. Friend informed.23 Oct 2023HANSARDSchool FundingThe Government introduced fairness into school funding. Under Labour, we got disproportionately inflated school budgets in places such as London, while constituencies such as mine…23 Oct 2023HANSARDPupil AbsencesImproving attendance is one of my top priorities. Our attendance hub now supports 800 schools, benefiting more than 400,000 pupils; 86% of schools subscribe to our attendance data…23 Oct 2023HANSARDSchool FundingThe introduction of the NFF will direct resources according to need. That has meant that funding has been redistributed to catch up with these changes. Those with the highest…23 Oct 2023HANSARDHoliday Activities and Food ProgrammeAs I mentioned, 685,000 children were helped just this summer. Our independent evaluation found that around two thirds of the 700,000 children attending overall live in some of…23 Oct 2023HANSARDHoliday Activities and Food ProgrammeWhen it launched, HAF was the first summer camp for hundreds of thousands of children—70% had never experienced a holiday club before—and this summer, 4,000 children benefited in…23 Oct 2023HANSARDHoliday Activities and Food ProgrammeThe holiday activities and food programme introduced by this Government is hugely important to families up and down the country and supported 685,000 children last summer. We know…23 Oct 2023