Bridget Phillipson MP: speeches

Speeches

• 20 Apr 2026 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  It was fantastic to visit my hon. Friend and see at first hand the impact of our changes for children and families across her constituency. She is right that our current SEND system just is not working for children or families, and I encourage her constituents to share their thoughts with us through the consultation. However, we are not waiting to drive the change we know is desperately needed; just last week, I announced the first wave of investment in our Experts at Hand programme, which will make a huge difference in ensuring that children can get the specialist support that they need much more quickly.

• 20 Apr 2026 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  I recognise what the hon. Gentleman has said, because I have spoken to so many parents, families and children across the country who have been badly let down by a system that has not put children’s needs first. We are determined to change that through the once-in-a-generation SEND reforms that we are setting out. I am glad to hear that he held an event in his constituency, and I encourage all Members to make sure that parents, educators and others share their views as part of our consultation.

• 20 Apr 2026 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  I can give the hon. Lady my absolute assurance that, through the consultation we are running at the moment, we want to hear directly from parents, children and those working in education. The first event happened today across the country, and there will be events right across the country and online. I am pleased that Labour Members are speaking to their constituents to understand the changes we want to bring. I would, of course, be happy to discuss any aspect of the reforms with the hon. Lady, because I want to ensure we can build a system that delivers better outcomes for children and that stands the test of time, too.

• 20 Apr 2026 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  It has been a busy month since the last Education questions, so I will give the House a short update on what my Department has done since then to give our children the best start in life. We began opening 200 new Best Start family hubs, building on the proud legacy of Sure Start; we opened 500 new free breakfast clubs to save parents £450 and give children a great start to the day, and announced the next wave of school-based nurseries, as research showed that Labour has halved childcare costs for families; and we scrapped the two-child limit, putting Labour on course to lift a record number of children out of poverty. Labour is boosting family finances and children’s life chances.

• 20 Apr 2026 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  School leaders have my full support in taking action on issues such as violence. Of course there should be an expectation—a clear expectation—that action is taken where it applies to cases such as those the right hon. Lady set out, but I would just slightly caution her in talking about some of the details of those cases in the way that she has. We all have a responsibility to ensure we give full and accurate accounts of exactly what has taken place. I look forward to the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill allowing us to take further action to keep children safe at home and in their communities—wherever they are. We will not hesitate to act.

• 20 Apr 2026 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  My hon. Friend is absolutely right, and that is why people across Scotland should vote for Anas Sarwar and Scottish Labour. Last month I was in Scotland hearing directly from parents about the difference that lifting the two-child limit will make—measures that were opposed by the Conservatives, who would plunge hundreds of thousands of children back into poverty. There is so much more that we could do together if we had a Government in Scotland who were as determined to tackle child poverty as this Labour Government are. It is time for change and a new direction in Scotland.

• 20 Apr 2026 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  There is no more important responsibility than making sure our children are kept safe from harm. We will take forward any measures that arise out of the Southport inquiry to ensure we can do everything within our power to keep children safe, whether in school or in the home. We are already taking action to reform children’s social care—we are recruiting more social workers and the numbers are very high at the moment—but it is through our Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill that we are delivering the single biggest upgrade to child protection legislation in a generation. It should be on the statute book already, but the right hon. Lady and the Conservative party continue to block its progress.

• 11 Mar 2026 · Children in Poverty · Hansard source

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  My hon. Friend is right. We recognise the disproportionate financial strain on families with disabled children, who often face significantly higher costs for essentials. We heard that during the development of the child poverty strategy, through many of the children’s rights groups and other organisations that contributed to that work. Our child poverty strategy sets out a plan to lift over half a million children out of poverty by the end of this Parliament. Alongside that, we are taking specific steps to support children with additional needs, providing £200 million of investment to ensure that every Best Start family hub has a dedicated practitioner for children with special educational needs and disabilities.

• 11 Mar 2026 · Children in Poverty · Hansard source

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  Tackling child poverty is the moral mission of this Labour Government. Background should not determine what we can go on to achieve in life, but inequality and poverty are barriers to opportunity. We are investing in our children’s futures through a massive expansion of Best Start family hubs, childcare, breakfast clubs and free school meals, alongside the end to the two-child limit, and our child poverty strategy will deliver the biggest ever reduction in child poverty in a single Parliament.

• 11 Mar 2026 · Children in Poverty · Hansard source

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  I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for raising this area. It is why, through our SEND consultation that will cover England, we want to make sure that support is available to children much more quickly. Of course, formal diagnosis will continue to have an important role and families will seek that, but we should not be waiting for diagnosis to put in place the support that children need. That is why, through the big investment we are delivering in SEND—an extra £4 billion—we will make sure that children get the support when they need it and where they need it.

• 11 Mar 2026 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  Following International Women’s Day, this Government are taking another step towards a fairer Britain. We have published guidance for businesses encouraging them not just to report their gender pay gaps but to set out plans to tackle them, because reducing the gender pay gap is good for women and good for growth as well. We are expanding childcare, introducing new workplace protections, and implementing a landmark strategy to tackle violence against women and girls.

• 11 Mar 2026 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  I welcome the hon. Lady’s interest in this issue. Good progress has been made on developing the policy, and we will publish the Government’s response as soon as we can, as well as setting out next steps in respect of legislation that we will present. This was a key manifesto commitment, and we will deliver on it.

• 11 Mar 2026 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  What absolute rubbish. This is a serious issue. We know that there are people who want to pull our country apart, but I am proud that we live in a multi-ethnic, diverse and tolerant nation where we celebrate our shared values. It is right that we take action against anti-Muslim hatred in our country, as we take action on antisemitism, and we have set out further steps in that regard. It is completely unacceptable that anyone should face intimidation or harassment on the basis of their faith, but that is not in conflict with our fundamental belief in the right to freedom of speech.

• 11 Mar 2026 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  My hon. Friend is right: women often spend years being dismissed, being misdiagnosed, or just not being listened to. That is unacceptable, and we are determined to tackle it. In order to improve early diagnosis of the condition, we continue to roll out community diagnostic centres, and our renewed women’s health strategy, which we will publish soon, will focus on speeding up diagnosis and treatment of both mental health and gynaecological conditions, including endometriosis.

• 11 Mar 2026 · Promoting Equality · Hansard source

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  We face a serious challenge about the big numbers of young people who are not in education, employment or training, and we are committed to tackling that. That is why Alan Milburn is leading a review for this Government of what more we can do to support young people, why we have launched our schools White Paper, why we are investing in further education and why we are expanding new routes into apprenticeships. I would say that this problem did not emerge overnight: it has developed over many years, and the Conservatives would do well to reflect on the contribution that they made to the shocking numbers of young people who are NEET.

• 11 Mar 2026 · Promoting Equality · Hansard source

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  Yes. Tackling child poverty is not just a moral imperative; it is an investment in our country’s future and in our own economic security. That is why we are determined to give every child the best start in life. The Conservatives might not like that: on their watch record numbers of children were pushed into poverty but this Labour Government will lift half a million children out of poverty.

• 11 Mar 2026 · Promoting Equality · Hansard source

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  Our recent “Every Child Achieving and Thriving” White Paper sets out our ambition to raise standards for all children and to halve the disadvantage gap between poorer children and their peers at the end of their secondary school career, to make sure that where someone is from does not determine where they end up. We are expanding free school meals and scrapping the two-child limit to lift half a million children out of poverty—that is the difference a Labour Government make.

• 2 Mar 2026 · School SEND Provision · Hansard source

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  Yes, I am happy to give my hon. Friend that commitment. We will ensure that every secondary school, and a similar number of primary schools, have that kind of support, and we will work with local authorities to set up specialist bases. As part of our £3.7 billion high-need capital investment, we will create 60,000 new specialist places nationwide to make sure that more children get the specialist support they deserve. I encourage parents and staff in his constituency and across Cannock Chase to share their views during the consultation period.

• 2 Mar 2026 · School SEND Provision · Hansard source

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  We will set much clearer overall expectations of local authorities, not least given the huge grant funding investment to bring down their deficits. With that money must come better outcomes for children. That is also true of the independent specialist sector. Although it offers much fantastic provision and caters well for children with complex needs, I am afraid that we cannot continue along this path of allowing money meant for education to be sucked into fuelling the profits of private equity.

• 2 Mar 2026 · School SEND Provision · Hansard source

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  I agree with my hon. Friend. This is about how we can deliver more support earlier to a much larger number of children than is the case at the moment: EHCP-like support without the fight to get that EHCP. There is already brilliant practice out there, showing the best of what can be achieved when schools work together with parents. We saw that last year when I visited Golborne All Saints Catholic primary in her community—a real beacon of what can be achieved. We want to see more of that, and the extra investment will make that possible in more schools and in more parts of the country.

• 2 Mar 2026 · School SEND Provision · Hansard source

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  Yes, and I encourage the hon. Lady to share with her constituents not just our SEND consultation but the draft profiles that we have established for specialist provision packages, which will be developed by an independent national panel with health and education expertise. I encourage her constituents to look at that and share their views, so that we can deliver a better support system, including for children with the most complex needs, who are being badly let down by a system that is just not working.

• 2 Mar 2026 · School SEND Provision · Hansard source

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  I am grateful to my hon. Friend; I know he brings real expertise in this area. I completely understand the point that he makes and that parents have made, given the lack of confidence they have in the system after years of failure, but we are determined to put this right and turn the situation around to make sure that there is more flexible, earlier support available for children. Settings will have a duty to create individual support plans and deliver high-quality provision, drawing on national standards. If schools are not following the plan, it will be clear and obvious. Parents should seek to resolve that directly with the school. Where that does not work, we are strengthening the school complaints process, with independent SEND expertise on the panel. I encourage parents and staff across my hon. Friend’s community to share their views to ensure that we get this right.

• 2 Mar 2026 · School SEND Provision · Hansard source

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  Our new SEND system will deliver a fully inclusive mainstream education, supported by £4 billion of investment. This Labour Government are tackling one of the thorniest problems that the previous Government left behind, with compassion, investment and reform. Children with special educational needs will access targeted and specialist support through a clear national framework, with individual support plans and stronger education, health and care plans for children with complex needs. We will work with education and health staff to prioritise early intervention and cross-service collaboration to ensure better outcomes for children nationwide.

• 2 Mar 2026 · School SEND Provision · Hansard source

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  This is significant extra investment of £4 billion, above and beyond what schools have already been told will be coming their way. In so many of the areas that the hon. Lady mentions, such as breakfast clubs and the expansion of free school meals, we are putting significant extra investment into ensuring that all children can achieve and thrive. We know that so many of the barriers that children face to thrive in education go well beyond the school gate, and our Government are tackling them.

• 2 Mar 2026 · Service Children · Hansard source

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  I want to take this opportunity to acknowledge events in the middle east over the weekend following recent developments involving Iran. The safety of British nationals and our armed forces personnel right across the region is our priority, and we pay tribute to our brave servicemen and women. Service families make extraordinary sacrifices for our country, as the right hon. Gentleman knows well. The Department for Education proudly supports service children, including those in his constituency around Catterick and elsewhere, through targeted funding and clear guidance to schools. Service pupil premium provided £26 million this financial year. These measures address challenges arising from service life so that all service children can achieve and thrive in education.