Contributions
281 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDSchool Rebuilding Programme: SeftonWe inherited the reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete—RAAC—crisis and years of decay in the school estate. Labour is investing almost £20 billion in the school rebuilding…22 Jun 2026HANSARDApprenticeshipsUnder this Government, apprenticeship starts by young people are up. We are going further and investing an additional £1 billion to support 50,000 more young people into…22 Jun 2026HANSARDApprenticeshipsMy hon. Friend is a fierce champion for apprenticeships and technical education. I am happy to meet him to discuss those matters further. The Minister for Skills, my noble friend…22 Jun 2026HANSARDSchool Rebuilding ProgrammeDespite those delays, I can confirm that the school will be considered for the school rebuilding programme, despite those avoidable delays. I thank my hon. Friend for his…22 Jun 2026HANSARDFurther Education PathwaysAs detailed in “Post-16 pathways: implementation plan”, we are creating coherent pathways, aligning learning with the skills that employers need and improving progression. New…22 Jun 2026HANSARDApprenticeshipsI think we should look at what people do, not what they say. This is a Government who are reversing the decline; apprenticeship starts by young people reduced by 40% under the…22 Jun 2026HANSARDTuring 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 2026HANSARD 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 2026HANSARD 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 2026