Bridget Phillipson MP: speeches 2024

215 published records · newest first.

Speeches

4 Nov 2024 · Topical Questions · Hansard source
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The hon. Lady is right to identify that this is an area where we must do more, and do it better. I hear, as she doubtless does, from teachers and support staff that they want additional training and support in this crucial area, and we will ensure that it is part of our SEND reform.
4 Nov 2024 · Topical Questions · Hansard source
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The Conservative party has learned absolutely nothing and parents will not buy it. We were faced with some very tough choices because of the £22 billion hole in the public finances, as the right hon. Lady, the former Chief Secretary to the Treasury, knows all too well— [ Interruption. ] We are fixing the foundations and rebuilding our schools.
4 Nov 2024 · Topical Questions · Hansard source
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I am grateful to my hon. Friend for raising that important issue, about which there was a lack of thinking by the previous Government on how we do this properly and seriously. Challenges come with demographic change, but there are opportunities too. That is why we have announced more primary-based nurseries in empty classrooms, and we can think about doing more around additional support and provision for children with special educational needs and disabilities, in particular.
4 Nov 2024 · Topical Questions · Hansard source
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Ensuring that there is the right level of provision for and identification of SEND in the early years is an essential part of our review of the early years system and of the reform that is required.
4 Nov 2024 · Topical Questions · Hansard source
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It was a pleasure to visit my hon. Friend ahead of the election—and what a brilliant champion he is for Burnley and his constituents. I would be very happy to visit again. As part of setting out our commitment to further education, at the Budget we put in place an additional £300 million, alongside £300 million of capital funding for our colleges.
4 Nov 2024 · Topical Questions · Hansard source
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I am sorry to disappoint the right hon. Lady, but we will be talking about the Conservatives’ 14 years of failure for a very long time indeed.
4 Nov 2024 · Topical Questions · Hansard source
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We know that having a well-supported, highly qualified teacher at the front of the class makes the single biggest difference to children’s life chances, but it is also crucial that we tackle issues around workload and pay. That is why I was delighted that we were able to bring in a fully funded 5.5% pay award for our teachers, to recognise their brilliant hard work on behalf of our children, our families and our country.
4 Nov 2024 · Topical Questions · Hansard source
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We are focused on driving up standards for our children, the length and breadth of our country, by providing more teachers and improved school budgets, and by ensuring our children do not go to school in crumbling buildings, unlike the Conservative party, which made sure that our children went to school in buildings that were literally propped up.
4 Nov 2024 · Topical Questions · Hansard source
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The hon. Gentleman is right to raise his concern, as so many have this afternoon, about the state of the system for supporting children with SEND. It is not working, and we know it needs reform, but committing an extra £1 billion into the system at this crucial time was an important first step. We face choices on how to take this system forward, and how to make it less adversarial and more focused on better life chances for our children. One of the first steps I took was to refocus the work of the Department for Education on children with SEND.
4 Nov 2024 · Topical Questions · Hansard source
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We expect the additional funding to go directly to providing provision for children and young people. We will set out wider plans about the issues the hon. Gentleman raises in due course.
4 Nov 2024 · Topical Questions · Hansard source
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I am grateful to my hon. Friend for the work that she leads on behalf of this House on the Education Committee. Our child poverty taskforce is absolutely focused on this area. We will listen to and engage directly with families across the UK, including those who have children with SEND. As she identifies, child poverty blights the life chances of far too many, and that must change.
9 Oct 2024 · Impact of Energy Costs on Disabled People · Hansard source
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We understand that energy bills are a concern for many people. We believe that the only way to protect bill payers permanently, including disabled people, is to accelerate the green transition to home-grown clean energy. We continue to work closely with energy suppliers to ensure that vulnerable customers are supported.
9 Oct 2024 · Impact of Energy Costs on Disabled People · Hansard source
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Discussions are ongoing across government, including with my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology. There are wider opportunities and challenges that technology presents us, and we want to ensure we get the balance right.
9 Oct 2024 · Impact of Energy Costs on Disabled People · Hansard source
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Equality analysis was released in September, and the Government carried out our statutory duties in doing so, but I recognise the wider concerns that the hon. Member raises, especially around the additional costs faced by many disabled people. That is why the Minister for Energy Consumers, my hon. Friend the Member for Peckham (Miatta Fahnbulleh) recently met suppliers to address some of these issues. I encourage all those who need extra support to sign up to the priority services register.
9 Oct 2024 · Impact of Energy Costs on Disabled People · Hansard source
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The hon. Lady will recognise the difficult state of the public finances that we inherited and the tough choices that were necessary to stabilise our economy. Those decisions were not easy. My hon. Friend the Minister for Energy Consumers is leading on much of this work to ensure we secure a fairer deal for all consumers, because we want to ensure that all support is targeted at the most vulnerable groups who need support this winter.
9 Oct 2024 · Impact of Socio-economic Disadvantage on Future Earnings · Hansard source
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The Government are committed to breaking the link between young people’s backgrounds and their future success. I am proud to lead our opportunity mission across government, through which we will ensure that every child thrives in education and achieves their ambitions in work and later life, no matter what their background.
9 Oct 2024 · Impact of Socio-economic Disadvantage on Future Earnings · Hansard source
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My hon. Friend is a real champion for her constituents and for coastal communities, and I recognise that different communities have distinct challenges. Work is already under way to ensure that where someone is from does not determine whether they can succeed, but I would be happy to discuss that further with my hon. Friend.
9 Oct 2024 · Impact of Socio-economic Disadvantage on Future Earnings · Hansard source
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I am afraid I did not catch all of the hon. Gentleman’s question, but I am happy to discuss it with him further. I have met my counterparts in Northern Ireland. I recognise our shared challenges and want to ensure that we work constructively across the devolved Governments on areas of concern.
9 Oct 2024 · Impact of Socio-economic Disadvantage on Future Earnings · Hansard source
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We are looking carefully at what more we need to do to ensure that all care-experienced young people receive the support they need. We know that outcomes are often incredibly poor, and we recognise the disadvantage that care-experienced young people face. We are looking at what more we can do through legislation and beyond to ensure that all young people get the support they deserve. I will ensure that my colleague from the Department for Education, the Minister for Children and Families, is in touch with the hon. Lady.
9 Oct 2024 · Impact of Socio-economic Disadvantage on Future Earnings · Hansard source
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Yes, I give my hon. Friend that assurance. We will work closely with devolved Governments to make sure that we are all pulling together to break down the barriers that too many of our young people face. That is why the work on child poverty that the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions and I are leading on is so crucial. We know that child poverty is an issue that blights too many lives across the UK.
9 Oct 2024 · Topical Questions · Hansard source
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I thank the hon. Lady for raising such an important issue, on which all Members across the House want to make progress. Officials are working on further plans, which we will set out very shortly, but we will be keen to work with her and colleagues across the House to make sure that we eradicate new HIV and AIDS infections.
9 Oct 2024 · Topical Questions · Hansard source
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This Black History Month, I would like to reiterate that people’s race or ethnicity should never be a barrier to opportunity. We are enhancing rights through upcoming legislation on race and disability, equality, employment rights and banning conversion practices. To deliver that important work, we are reforming the Equality Hub to create the office for equality and opportunity in the Cabinet Office. There is much to do, working within and beyond Government, to create opportunity and promote equality across the UK.
9 Oct 2024 · Topical Questions · Hansard source
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I assure the right hon. Lady that we are absolutely determined to encourage our women and girls to take part in sport and physical activity—something that falls off all too often as girls reach their teenage years. In my work in the Department for Education, through the curriculum and assessment review, we are looking at what more schools can do, and going beyond that, we are working with sporting bodies to deliver more.
9 Oct 2024 · Topical Questions · Hansard source
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I pay tribute to my hon. Friend for all the campaigning work that she has done in this crucial area in the face of the tragic loss of Valerie Forde. We must do everything we can to ensure that all victims of violence against women and girls receive the support that they need. I will make arrangements for her to discuss further with a Home Office Minister what more we need to do, particularly around police training and standards.
9 Sept 2024 · Topical Questions · Hansard source
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As we start the new academic year, I want to say thank you to all staff working across education, and to wish all learners the best for the year ahead. It will be the mission of this new Government to break down barriers to opportunity, so that where a person is from does not determine what they can go on to achieve, and so that every child has the best start in life. We launch our mission against a backdrop of many inherited challenges: a childcare pledge without a plan for delivery; a crumbling schools estate; a school attendance crisis; large attainment gaps; and falling apprenticeship starts and training opportunities. I am determined to turn this around. We will drive high and rising standards across education, from early years right through to adult learning.

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