Harpreet Uppal MP: speeches

Speeches

• 12 Jun 2025 · SEND Funding · Hansard source

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  I thank the right hon. Member for Beverley and Holderness (Graham Stuart) for securing this important debate. This issue affects families in Huddersfield and across the country. I recently met SEND parents from Huddersfield to hear their experiences of the system. They are trying to do the right thing, and to get the right support for their children, but too often the system works against them. They told me that the system is difficult to navigate, especially the process of gaining an EHCP and any subsequent appeals processes. I also heard from parents who were struggling to access home-to-education transport, or who were not able to get their children into school due to poor mental health or it being the incorrect educational settings. These stories are not one-offs. This is happening to too many families across the country, and it is clear that something has to change. I welcome the work of local support services, such as Kirklees Information, Advice and Support Service, which offers free and impartial advice, but it is dealing with a growing number of inquiries. In Huddersfield, we see growing demand for specialist support, but the funding is not keeping pace with that demand. Local services are stretched, schools are under pressure, and families are left to navigate a complex and often frustrating system. Last week, I visited the fantastic Southgate school, a specialist school for children with complex special educational needs. I spent time with its amazing pupils and teaching staff. The teaching and support staff are passionate about their work, but they spoke to me about the increasing complexities that they are dealing with, and their struggle to access all the emotional and mental health support that they need for their pupils. The transition to post-16 support is a particular issue. They also asked me to raise the need to look again at the pay scale for support staff, who are valued members of the team. The issue of pay is impacting retention. As the right hon. Member for Beverley and Holderness has said, there is a postcode lottery. Whether a child gets the help that they need often depends on local resources, not their actual needs. We need to take into account wider need, deprivation and the complexity of children’s circumstances. I welcome the Government’s recent moves to improve SEND provision. They include: injecting an additional £1 billion into services; investing £740 million in adapting classrooms and building specialist facilities; and restructuring the Department for Education to put SEND at its heart. Local authorities like Kirklees council need the tools and resources to respond properly to the challenges. Without a sustainable funding formula, local authorities will struggle to provide timely solutions. Schools want to do the right thing, as do councils, but they are often forced to make impossible choices, and that leaves families to pick up the pieces. We need a long-term plan that gives certainty to local areas and puts the voices of parents, carers and children at the heart of decision making.

• 28 Apr 2025 · School Costs and Employer’s National Insurance Contributions · Hansard source

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  I recently met student councillors Aadam, Olivia, Adam and Remy at Fixby junior and infant school. They gave me a guided tour of the school and highlighted how the playground was long overdue for an upgrade, but the school is facing increasing costs to resurface it. On behalf of the student council, can I ask the Minister what additional funding and support is available so that pupils can access high-quality play areas?

• 11 Feb 2025 · Youth Provision: Universal and Targeted Support · Hansard source

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  I am sure the Minister has heard my hon. Friend’s point. The Children’s Society’s “Good Childhood Report” shows that 15-year-olds in the UK have the lowest life satisfaction of young people across 27 European countries, based on programme for international student assessment data from 2022. Despite the financial outlook, there are many incredible organisations working in my constituency to support our young people, including Positive Stepz, Conscious Youth, Central Stars youth club, Team KickStart, Yorkshire Community Development, Empower, Boxpower and Temple Well-Being.

• 4 Feb 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  When I visited Birkby junior school, I saw that tackling climate change and pollution is one of its key priorities. Does the Minister agree that setting a strong nationally determined contribution at COP29 and committing to an ambitious clean power target is important in demonstrating that the Government are intent on tackling climate change, especially at a time when other global leaders are not?

• 23 Jan 2025 · ECO4 and Insulation Schemes · Hansard source

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  My constituents have unfortunately faced a double whammy of not only having had defective cavity wall insulation installed, but being pursued by law firms such as SSB for adverse legal costs. Consumers were badly let down, and we need to ensure that does not happen again. Will the Minister assure us that this will not happen again under future programmes, such as the new warm homes plan? On pipelines, are the Government working cross-departmentally to ensure that we have the right skills and training for future programmes? We want to ensure confidence in the system.

• 22 Jan 2025 · Engagements · Hansard source

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  Q9. Huddersfield royal infirmary has recently reduced its elective waiting list from a high of 4,000 to just 20. Will the Prime Minister join me in paying tribute to NHS staff at my local hospital? Will he ensure that the NHS learns from the HRI’s innovative approaches, such as the use of AI for scans and its partnership with the University of Huddersfield’s national health and innovation campus? When the Prime Minister does his hospital tour, may I also invite him to Huddersfield to see the transformative work being done?

• 9 Dec 2024 · Primary School Breakfast Clubs: Impact · Hansard source

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  I welcome the decision to introduce breakfast clubs, which will have an amazing impact on pupils in my constituency and everywhere else. Will the Secretary of State tell us a little about the logistics of rolling out the programme throughout the country, and how quickly that can be done?

• 4 Nov 2024 · Income Tax (Charge) · Hansard source

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  Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker. It is a privilege to deliver my maiden speech in this very important Budget debate. It is the honour of my life to represent my home town of Huddersfield. I would like to start by paying tribute to my predecessor, Barry Sheerman, who served the people of Huddersfield for 45 years. I am sure that he will not mind me saying that he was the Member of Parliament for longer than I have been alive. I particularly commend Barry for his role as the Chair of the Education Committee, for his instrumental campaign to improve seatbelt laws, and for his work on air quality and clean energy. He also worked with local mum Stacey Rodgers to improve gas safety after the sad death of her young son Dominic by carbon monoxide poisoning. Barry leaves a lasting legacy of public service. Huddersfield has long been a town of innovation, resilience and diversity, with young people looking for opportunities, workers fighting for better conditions and wages, local businesses supporting growth in the local economy, and families seeking security and hope for their children. For centuries, Huddersfield was renowned across the world for its production of high-quality textiles, standing as a national symbol of innovation, hard work and prosperity. When my dad first arrived in west Yorkshire from India in the 1960s, he went to work in the textile mills, and he spent most of his career as a weaver at the Huddersfield firm C&J Antich & Sons. The “made in Huddersfield” brand in textiles continues to represent excellence. I could not make this speech without mentioning Dixons Milk Ices—not ice cream, but milk ices. For generations, this family-run business has been raising Huddersfield’s children and adults on its iconic milk ices, and that includes me. Huddersfield is home to many sporting triumphs. The famous meeting at the George Hotel in 1895 led to the creation of the greatest sport: rugby league. We are deeply proud of that heritage and of our Huddersfield Giants. Between 1923 and 1926, Huddersfield Town football club was one of the first clubs to be crowned league champions in three successive seasons—yes, Madam Deputy Speaker, this was ahead of Arsenal. More recently, Huddersfield native Caden Cunningham celebrated a silver medal at the Paris Olympics. We are very proud of him. Our renowned Huddersfield Choral Society and Lawrence Batley theatre reflect the town’s deep cultural heritage. The Huddersfield and Deighton carnivals light up our town on an annual basis, and it has been great to see Huddersfield Mela back too. Our interfaith forums bring together people of all faiths and none, as do our churches, gurdwaras, mosques, temples and community buildings. Of course, we are the birthplace—shared with Colne Valley—of Harold Wilson. His statue stands proudly in front of Huddersfield’s spectacular train station to remind us of the difference that a man from Huddersfield made as Prime Minister: the creation of the Open University; the white heat of technology; the abolition of the death penalty; and social reforms in education, health and housing, and in gender and race equality. We have a lot to be proud of. But I also know from speaking with residents on the campaign trail that Huddersfield, like many towns across the country, faces challenges, and there is no doubt that our town centre needs a bit of TLC. I was therefore delighted that last week the Chancellor announced commitments to secure funding for the trans-Pennine upgrade, Huddersfield open market and the Penistone line. I know that the previous Government shared in that. Construction is also under way to improve our town centre, alongside the national health innovation campus of the University of Huddersfield. Our potential is huge, but that growth has to be felt in all corners of Huddersfield. It has to be about skills as well as infrastructure, and the people of Huddersfield must be front and centre. I am therefore delighted that we are increasing the minimum wage and seeing increased funding for our NHS. It is also important that we finally fix our social care system. My late mum was a care worker, and I saw the difference that she made every day. We must now fight for her colleagues—[Hon. Members: “Hear, hear.”]—to ensure that they have the pay and conditions that they deserve; I had to pull myself together there. I am glad that this is a priority for our Labour Government. Teenagers and young people across Huddersfield and the country have been dealt a tougher hand than previous generations. We must work to halve knife crime and youth violence, but beyond policing the focus should be on creating positive environments where young people can grow and thrive. The youth guarantee will be really important. I will work with local organisations such as Positive Steps and Conscious Youth, which do fantastic work on the ground. As I speak about children and young people, I am also thinking of children in Gaza, Ukraine and Sudan. We must use every tool in front of us to ensure that young people in all countries affected by war and conflict are able to grow up in peace. My journey to this House is one that speaks to the values of opportunity and fairness. Like many in Huddersfield, my family worked hard to give me the chance to succeed. At Fartown high school, my teacher Mrs Perry pushed me and my ambitions, and a Labour Government helped me on my way. I am determined to repay that debt.