Contributions
1,361 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARD Children and Families: Cross-Government StrategyMy hon. Friend is absolutely right. Another thing that our young people have missed out on is having fun and gaining the confidence to meet new friends. They gained that in…14 Jul 2021HANSARDChildren from Disadvantaged Backgrounds: Geographic Equality of OpportunityEvery child, no matter what their background, should have access to world-class education that opens up opportunities for their future. Our pupil premium is targeted at schools…07 Jul 2021HANSARDChildren from Disadvantaged Backgrounds: Geographic Equality of OpportunityMy hon. Friend is absolutely right—sex abuse is not acceptable. The Government are taking action through the child sex abuse strategy and the violence against women and girls…07 Jul 2021HANSARDChildren from Disadvantaged Backgrounds: Geographic Equality of OpportunityMy hon. Friend is absolutely right. High-quality early years education is important, which is why the Government have invested over £3.5 billion every year for the past three…07 Jul 2021HANSARDChildren from Disadvantaged Backgrounds: Geographic Equality of OpportunityWe are considering the recommendations of the Select Committee on Education very carefully, and all the evidence shows that high-quality teaching is the single most effective way…07 Jul 2021HANSARDEducationMany Members have spoken of the record funding that is going into our schools, and before this virus hit, we committed to the biggest school funding boost in over a decade. That…06 Jul 2021HANSARDEducationMany Members have spoken of the record funding that is going into our schools, and before this virus hit, we committed to the biggest school funding boost in over a decade. That…06 Jul 2021HANSARDChildren from Low-Income Families: Education SupportNo. I have taken many interventions, and I am going to speak about the holiday activities and food programme. It provides healthy food and enriching social activities and has been…30 Jun 2021HANSARDChildren from Low-Income Families: Education SupportLet me just make this point: one of the most important things that we can do for children’s reading skills is invest in their early education. This Government introduced the…30 Jun 2021HANSARDChildren from Low-Income Families: Education SupportLet me come exactly to those points. Let us look at what children on free school meals are achieving today compared with what they were achieving a decade ago. Last year, one in…30 Jun 2021HANSARDChildren from Low-Income Families: Education SupportIt is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Hollobone. I congratulate the hon. Member for Slough (Mr Dhesi) on securing this important debate. Children from lower-income…30 Jun 2021HANSARDChildren from Low-Income Families: Education SupportNo, because I want to respond to the hon. Member for Glasgow North West (Carol Monaghan) about the issues that she raised regarding rural broadband and broadband access across the…30 Jun 2021HANSARDChildren from Low-Income Families: Education SupportOn the subject of the holiday activities and food programme, it is really important that the hon. Gentleman’s constituents understand that we run it for four weeks, for four days…30 Jun 2021HANSARDChildren from Low-Income Families: Education SupportI thank the hon. Lady for quoting those words back to me. I say again that we are hugely grateful to Sir Kevan for his work in helping pupils to catch up and recover from the…30 Jun 2021HANSARDChildren from Low-Income Families: Education SupportLet us look at the detail of what the hon. Gentleman says. I mentioned the NELI programme, which is working in 40% of the schools in the country. We have offered it to any school…30 Jun 2021HANSARDChildren from Low-Income Families: Education SupportI would be delighted if the hon. Lady sent me a copy of the report. We know that early language skills are so important. Indeed, of the £1 billion catch-up package that we…30 Jun 2021HANSARDChildren from Low-Income Families: Education SupportI will take some interventions in a minute, but there are some important points that I need to make. Back in 2013, when we assessed them, it was only one in two children. To put…30 Jun 2021HANSARDChildren from Low-Income Families: Education SupportA few other Members mentioned free school meals, including the hon. Members for Leicester East and for Hampstead and Kilburn (Tulip Siddiq). This Government have extended the…30 Jun 2021HANSARDChildren from Low-Income Families: Education SupportThe hon. Lady has said this again and again, and it is simply not true. Let us look at the facts, okay? This Government, when I became the Minister for children, and over the past…30 Jun 2021HANSARDChildren from Low-Income Families: Education SupportThe holiday activities and food programme, which we had already been trialling for three years, is going live across the country this year. It was a manifesto commitment to…30 Jun 2021