Contributions
1,148 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARD Children’s Future Food ReportThe hon. Lady makes her point powerfully, as she has done in the past. She is right—we have to look at every lever available to make sure that we nudge school leaders towards the…27 Jun 2019HANSARD Children’s Future Food ReportI am very much of the mindset that we should share best practice throughout the four nations, and I intend to visit to Scotland to look at what is being done there and to share…27 Jun 2019HANSARD Children’s Future Food ReportI congratulate the right hon. Member for Birkenhead (Frank Field) on securing this important debate and thank all colleagues who participated in the inquiry, including the hon.…27 Jun 2019HANSARDTopical QuestionsWe are investing up to £26 million in the introduction and improvement of stable breakfast clubs in more than 1,700 schools. The hon. Gentleman is right to point out that the…24 Jun 2019HANSARDTopical QuestionsI will happily meet the hon. Lady and, of course, her colleague, but I remind her that SEND funding has risen to £6.3 billion. We recognised the pressures on the system, which is…24 Jun 2019HANSARDSpecial Educational Needs and DisabilitiesI do; all children should have the ability to reach their potential, which is why we introduced the reforms in the first place in 2014. We are beginning to see really good…24 Jun 2019HANSARDSpecial Educational Needs and DisabilitiesThere are clearly funding pressures on the system, which is why we have announced £250 million in additional funding to take the funding to £6.3 billion. We are in the middle of a…24 Jun 2019HANSARDSpecial Educational Needs and DisabilitiesThe hon. Lady would have been fair if she had also acknowledged that we launched a review of school exclusions, led by Edward Timpson. The Children and Families Act 2014 secures…24 Jun 2019HANSARDSpecial Educational Needs and DisabilitiesThe 2014 special educational needs and disabilities reforms were the biggest in a generation. Care Quality Commission SEND inspectors provide evidence of progress at a local…24 Jun 2019HANSARDFree ChildcareI am sure the hon. Lady will agree with me and the whole House that the organisation that should be responsible for quality should be independent from Government, and that…24 Jun 2019HANSARDFree ChildcareI absolutely agree with my right hon. Friend. The parents whom I have met and with whom I meet regularly tell me that it has made an enormous difference. Parents who hardly saw…24 Jun 2019HANSARDFree ChildcareThe numbers are important in this case and the 600,000 children benefiting from the 30 hours in the first two years means 600,000 families who have been able to go out to work. Of…24 Jun 2019HANSARDFree ChildcareClearly, the programme aims to make sure that parents who are working are able to receive the entitlements. Of course, we deliver entitlements for two-year-olds for the most…24 Jun 2019HANSARDFree ChildcareI thank the hon. Gentleman for his supplementary. We do keep a close eye in monitoring the provider, the market and of course the cost base. Under the early years national funding…24 Jun 2019HANSARDFree ChildcareThe 30 hours’ entitlement has been a real success story for this Government, with an estimated 600,000 children benefiting in the first two years of the programme.24 Jun 2019HANSARDUN Convention on the Rights of the ChildAs the hon. Lady knows, we have increased funding for children with special educational needs and disabilities by £250 million, taking it to £6.3 billion. We have also introduced…24 Jun 2019HANSARDUN Convention on the Rights of the ChildWe work closely with other Departments. In fact, the permanent secretary of the Department for Education has written to all other permanent secretaries to make sure that we…24 Jun 2019HANSARDUN Convention on the Rights of the ChildI am grateful to the right hon. Gentleman, who helped to make sure those pilots happened. We are investing £9 million in holiday activities and food programmes. This summer,…24 Jun 2019HANSARDUN Convention on the Rights of the ChildMay I add my congratulations, Mr Speaker, on your 10 years in the Chair? The consultation will be published very, very shortly.24 Jun 2019HANSARDUN Convention on the Rights of the ChildI am sure colleagues have enjoyed the bevy of sport over the weekend, especially the tennis, but I think we would all want to congratulate the Lionesses on winning 3-0 against the…24 Jun 2019