Bridget Phillipson MP: speeches 2025

Speeches

• 7 May 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  This Labour Government are determined to break the link between background and success, so that where someone is from does not determine what they can go on to achieve and so everyone has the chance to get as far as their hard work and talent will take them. It is important that we tackle the unacceptable gaps we see around access to employment and pay for people from minority ethnic communities and disabled people, too. That is why we are consulting on this, working with business, and we want to get this right.

• 7 May 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  I agree with my hon. Friend. This Labour Government are determined to ensure that all women have choices when it comes to balancing work and family life. That is why we are expanding access to childcare through new free breakfast clubs and new primary-based nurseries, and I am delighted that my hon. Friend’s constituents will benefit from one of those new free breakfast clubs.

• 7 May 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  The hon. Lady raises some incredibly important points and shines a light on the experiences of victims in her constituency. This Government are determined to halve violence against women and girls. That is why, as my hon. Friend the Minister for Safeguarding and Violence Against Women and Girls set out earlier, we are taking a range of actions right across Government. We are of course always happy to consider further areas where action is needed, so that all women and girls are able to live free from abuse and intimidation within our society.

• 7 May 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  The Government are taking decisive action to deliver our plan to make work pay, putting more money back into people’s pockets. The Office for Equality and Opportunity recently launched a public consultation on mandatory ethnicity and disability pay gap reporting, and a call for evidence on other measures to improve security at work for everyone and tackle unequal pay. We will work in partnership with business to deliver this Government’s plan for change.

• 28 Apr 2025 · Freedom of Speech: Universities · Hansard source

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  It was Labour that enshrined freedom of expression into law. That is why in January I announced plans to fix the Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Act 2023, making it robust and workable. Today I signed the commencement regulations to impose stronger free speech duties on higher education providers and the Office for Students from 1 August. We are taking common-sense decisions to fix the foundations of higher education and to deliver change for students.

• 28 Apr 2025 · Freedom of Speech: Universities · Hansard source

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  In setting out the Government’s position in the statement on Tuesday I was very clear that we accepted the Supreme Court judgment, and that is the right basis on which things ought to be taken forward. Through the commencement regulations, we have given tougher powers to the regulator. We have also reformed the regulator since July, with a much sharper focus on financial sustainability—something that I know is important to Members across the House.

• 28 Apr 2025 · Freedom of Speech: Universities · Hansard source

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  My hon. Friend will understand the limitations on what I can say in answer to his question because this was a decision by the Office for Students, which carries out independent regulatory functions. I would be happy to arrange for him to meet the relevant Minister, but only once legal matters have concluded.

• 28 Apr 2025 · Freedom of Speech: Universities · Hansard source

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  This is an important area, and this Government will always make sure that issues of national security come first. Measures are already in place to address foreign interference in the higher education sector, from vetting international students in sensitive areas of research to specific requirements around freedom of speech and expression. We continue to keep all these matters under review, and when we are in a position to do so I will of course update the House.

• 28 Apr 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  I join my hon. Friend in sending my best wishes to children in Scotland and across the UK as their exams get under way and thanking the brilliant staff working hard to support them. He is of course right about the many failures under the hopeless SNP Administration. Scotland deserves a new direction and a better education system and that will only come with Labour.

• 28 Apr 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  I am serious about protecting the rights of women and girls. That is why I ran a women’s refuge for children and women fleeing domestic abuse, fleeing male violence, fleeing some of the most unimaginable abuse that anyone could ever see. I need no lessons on the importance of such provision. The shadow Secretary of State asks a specific question, which I will answer. This is a sensitive area. We are talking about children’s wellbeing—often very vulnerable children who are experiencing stress. Although I recognise the importance of providing clarity and guidance for school leaders, we have to get it right. The Conservatives published draft guidance for consultation only a matter of months before the general election. It is right that we take stock following the full and final review from Dr Cass, which we accept should be the basis for how we take things forward.

• 28 Apr 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  We will set out our approach to the recommendations in the usual way, but I say to the hon. Gentleman that one of the very first acts of this incoming Labour Government was to accept the previous recommendation to fund the 5.5% pay award for teachers that had been sat on the desk of the Conservative Government.

• 28 Apr 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  I understand my hon. Friend’s concern. We are focused on putting universities on a firm footing. As the Under-Secretary of State for Education, my hon. Friend the Member for Lewisham East (Janet Daby), said, we will set out further reforms in the summer so that higher education delivers for students and the taxpayer. We had to make tough decisions to increase tuition fee limits in line with inflation for the next academic year, but I know that my hon. Friend the Member for Bradford East (Imran Hussain) recognises, as I do, the enormous economic value of universities in towns and cities right across our country. That is why we have reformed the regulator: to put universities on a much firmer footing for the future.

• 28 Apr 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  From that question, I do not think you would know who had been in government for the past 14 years, Mr Speaker. The Conservatives had ample opportunity to clarify the position. The ruling of the Supreme Court was that Labour’s Equality Act 2010 was the basis for its judgment confirming that biological sex should be the basis for provision of single-sex services. Alongside that, the Court was also clear that everyone in our country deserves to be treated with dignity and respect, and that trans people continue to receive protection in law. The Conservatives published guidance, in draft form, a matter of months of before the general election. It is right that we take this issue seriously and get it right. We do not need this shameless opportunism; this is about children’s wellbeing.

• 28 Apr 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  Today in places such as Leicester, Birmingham, County Durham, Gloucestershire, Worcestershire and Northumberland, some of the last of our 750 early-adopter schools will launch their free breakfast clubs. We are now providing 180,000 pupils with the best start to their school day, boosting parents’ work choices and children’s life chances. Evidence shows why that matters so much: when schools introduce breakfast clubs, behaviour improves, attendance increases and attainment grows. It also gives parents 30 minutes of free childcare every day to juggle work and family life. That is why we will cement those freedoms and that opportunity through the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill, delivering on our plan for change.

• 28 Apr 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  The hon. Lady will know that we have confirmed £50 million for ’25-26. Further considerations will be for the spending review. We have made changes in order to maximise the number of children who can access the fund. In addition to the funding that is provided there, we are also trialling kinship allowances, investing more in foster care and investing another £0.5 billion in providing local authorities with the support they need to provide preventive services. I agree that it is important that vulnerable children who have been through the adoption system and beyond get the support that they need to thrive.

• 28 Apr 2025 · SEND Funding · Hansard source

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  I could not agree more, and I pay tribute to my hon. Friend and the other members of her Committee for the important work that they are doing through their inquiry on this matter. We look forward to hearing more from them in due course. My hon. Friend is entirely right: just days before the local elections, the comments of the hon. Member for Clacton (Nigel Farage) will have sent shivers down the spines of so many parents throughout the country. His comments were completely irresponsible and totally wrong. This Government are focusing on better outcomes for all children, including those with SEND.

• 28 Apr 2025 · SEND Funding · Hansard source

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  I am grateful to my hon. Friend for his passion and interest in this subject. Let me also congratulate him on his efforts in yesterday’s London marathon: he is not only a brilliant advocate for children, but a fantastic runner. He is right to say that this Labour Government have inherited a terrible mess when it comes to support with children with SEND. We want all children to have the support that they need in order to achieve and thrive, and as part of the wholesale reform that we will deliver, we will listen to parents, children, stakeholders and schools to ensure that we get the system right for children and deliver better outcomes, and that issues such as those identified by my hon. Friend are a thing of the past.

• 28 Apr 2025 · SEND Funding · Hansard source

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  This Labour Government inherited a lose, lose, lose SEND system, in the words of the Tories’ last Education Secretary, but we have invested an additional £1 billion in high needs budgets and £740 million to pave the way for pupils with SEND to achieve and thrive in mainstream schools. Just last week in Derbyshire, I met families with experience of the SEND system who had been badly failed by the Tory county council. This Labour Government know that the SEND system needs far-reaching reform to deliver better life chances for all our children.

• 28 Apr 2025 · SEND Funding · Hansard source

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  I know that the hon. Gentleman cares deeply about this issue, and brings real passion and determination to trying to ensure that all children, including those with SEND, are given the support that they require. For the purpose of wider reform, I will look carefully at the funding issues that he has identified and also at the issue of broader support. Parents have the right to request wraparound holiday childcare places, and we updated the relevant guidance this year. We want to ensure that all children receive the support that they need, and that applies to childcare for SEND children aged up to 18.

• 28 Apr 2025 · SEND Funding · Hansard source

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  The right hon. Gentleman brings real expertise to this issue, and I know that he also cares deeply about ensuring that we get the system right for children with SEND. Our allocations were made on the basis of the funding formulas that were already in place. We intend to look carefully at all these matters as part of our wider reform of the SEND system, but, as the right hon. Gentleman will appreciate, they are complex, and it is important for any change to be made in a way that is responsible and focused on better outcomes for children.

• 28 Apr 2025 · Construction Skills Training · Hansard source

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  Construction skills are essential to rebuild Britain as part of our plan for change and to deliver 1.5 million homes. This Labour Government are cutting red tape and reforming English and maths requirements to deliver 10,000 more apprenticeships a year and prioritising investment, with £625 million in additional spending to boost construction skills and train 60,000 additional skilled construction workers this Parliament—that is more foundation apprenticeships, more industry placements and support for further education, as well as 10 new technical excellence colleges specialising in construction skills across England.

• 28 Apr 2025 · Construction Skills Training · Hansard source

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  The hon. Lady raises an important point about that reclassification. Through the construction announcement we made ahead of the spring statement, we created a capital pot for employer-led and match-funded projects to ensure that we are really working to deliver some of the programmes that are needed. We are also investing more in further education—again through boosting teaching in this area—and making sure that young people have access to industry placements, which we know are crucial in making sure that they succeed, especially in areas like construction.

• 28 Apr 2025 · Construction Skills Training · Hansard source

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  I have visited Gateshead college to see the fantastic work it does on digital skills, but I know that it has also developed innovative, flexible apprenticeships for careers in building design and construction, which I hope can be replicated elsewhere. I would be happy to meet my hon. Friend and perhaps to visit Gateshead college to learn more about what it is doing on construction.

• 22 Apr 2025 · “For Women Scotland” Supreme Court Ruling · Hansard source

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  I believe that this ruling provides much-needed clarity. I do recognise the Chair of the Select Committee’s concern about ensuring that all people are treated with dignity and respect, including trans people. My expectation is that the EHRC, in the development of the code of practice and the guidance, will engage with a range of stakeholders with different views, and will then set out that work in full.

• 22 Apr 2025 · “For Women Scotland” Supreme Court Ruling · Hansard source

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  On the two areas that my hon. Friend asks about, trans people absolutely retain important protections in law, and the ruling of the Supreme Court puts that beyond doubt. To the question about ensuring that trans voices are heard, it will be important that the EHRC engages with a range of voices as part of its consultation in developing the code of practice that will be required to provide further clarity. I am confident that that will happen.