Contributions
255 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDTuring SchemeFollowing the decision to leave the EU and the related end of our association with the Erasmus+ scheme, the last Government introduced the Turing scheme. The scheme has been the…18 Jun 2026 · 2d agoHANSARD Lifelong Learning: “University of the Air” White PaperIt is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir Desmond. I start by congratulating my hon. Friend the Member for Southport (Patrick Hurley) on securing this very timely…16 Jun 2026 · 4d agoHANSARD Lifelong Learning: “University of the Air” White PaperI completely agree. I will turn now to the Government’s actions, which will take the Open University to its next chapter, so that those opportunities are spread even more across…16 Jun 2026 · 4d agoHANSARD Children’s Social Care: Enduring Relationships StrategyI am blushing, Madam Deputy Speaker—the right hon. Member is very generous. There are politicians on all sides of this House who come to this place with a good cause and dedicate…04 Jun 2026HANSARD Children’s Social Care: Enduring Relationships StrategyI welcome it when councils create local offers, which includes the example that my hon. Friend mentions of council tax exemptions or discounts. It can also include support with…04 Jun 2026HANSARD Children’s Social Care: Enduring Relationships StrategyI thank my hon. Friend for getting Harlow into his question. It is a really good question to end on, because I want young people in care, care leavers and care-experienced people…04 Jun 2026HANSARD Children’s Social Care: Enduring Relationships StrategyI thank the right hon. Member for his question, and for giving me the job of doing the independent review of children’s social care in the first place; I would like to think he…04 Jun 2026HANSARD Children’s Social Care: Enduring Relationships StrategyBlackpool faces some real challenges, and I thank all the practitioners on the ground and the council for contending a situation where they have some of the highest rates of…04 Jun 2026HANSARDChildren’s Social Care: Enduring Relationships StrategyTransforming children’s social care is central to our mission to break down the barriers to opportunity. It is fundamental to ensuring that every child grows up safe, supported…04 Jun 2026HANSARD Children’s Social Care: Enduring Relationships StrategyThat is a great question, because it gets to the heart of how the system behaves when it finds a parent who is perhaps struggling with a substance misuse problem, or is in a…04 Jun 2026HANSARD Children’s Social Care: Enduring Relationships StrategyI thank my hon. Friend for her question, and I am delighted to extend my congratulations to Councillor Ali and the whole team at Luton, which is one of the pathfinder local…04 Jun 2026HANSARD Children’s Social Care: Enduring Relationships StrategyThe Government have prioritised this issue, with £2.4 billion of funding for the Families First programme over the next three years to get some up-front spending into the system…04 Jun 2026HANSARD Children’s Social Care: Enduring Relationships StrategyI thank the hon. Member for her questions and, again, for the spirit in which she has made her contribution. I also thank her for her leadership on this issue—she has spent a lot…04 Jun 2026HANSARD Children’s Social Care: Enduring Relationships StrategyI thank my hon. Friend, the Chair of the Education Committee, not just for those remarks, but for the Committee’s work over the last few years in keeping a focus on these issues.…04 Jun 2026HANSARD Children’s Social Care: Enduring Relationships StrategyI thank the hon. Member for the spirit in which he shared his remarks and the questions that he put to me. He is right to say that this issue requires serious and sustained…04 Jun 2026HANSARD Children’s Social Care: Enduring Relationships StrategyI thank my hon. Friend for her questions. We are announcing today that the Family Finding programme will be extended and taken further, and the aim is to have it rolled out across…04 Jun 2026HANSARD Children’s Social Care: Enduring Relationships StrategyWith permission, I shall make a statement on the Government’s progress to reform children’s social care. Transforming support for families and protection for children is central…04 Jun 2026HANSARD Children’s Social Care: Enduring Relationships StrategyMy hon. Friend and neighbour is right to highlight the leadership of Councillor Emma Williamson, who is herself care-experienced. She has brought that experience to political…04 Jun 2026HANSARDChildren’s Social Care ReformTransforming children’s social care is central to this Government’s mission to break down barriers to opportunity for all children. It is fundamental to ensuring that every child…21 May 2026HANSARDLifelong Learning Entitlement RegulationsI am today laying before Parliament the Lifelong Learning (Fee Limits) Regulations 2026, the first in a package of secondary legislation needed to implement the lifelong learning…18 May 2026