Janet Daby MP: speeches

Speeches

• 16 Jun 2026 · Health Bill (First sitting) · Hansard source

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  Q Dr Benneyworth, you mentioned protected disclosures, and you said that individuals or organisations may have a fear of reprisals. Would you like to say anything more on that? What would you like to see from the CQC or in the Bill? Dr Benneyworth: Yes, absolutely—we have seen that in so many of our investigations. It can often be exacerbated by different parts of the system working together. To give you an example, we looked at mental health in-patient settings. There is national guidance that says that people should not use risk assessment tools around self-harm, but when we looked we found that, on the ground, everyone was using these tools. We asked why that was, and we were given two reasons. One was that the IT systems were set up such that you could not move past the front screen without ticking one of the risk assessment boxes, and the other reason was that people were fearful about being in front of a coroner and asked about risk assessment tools, so we took action on both those fronts. Another thing that we see is about speaking up. There are definite inequalities at play when people are speaking up. We have seen significant racial discrimination. We wrote a report about temporary workers. We find that people working as locums or agency staff often feel a lot less able to speak up if there are patient concerns. If you are black or from other global majority groups, to be able to speak up is even harder. On the back of that, we made a recommendation to the National Guardian’s Office, and it has done a lot of work with temporary workers, looking at how we can improve their ability to speak up. We still have a huge way to go on culture generally, but particularly on discrimination and the inequalities that we see in every one of our investigations.

• 16 Jun 2026 · Health Bill (Second sitting) · Hansard source

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  Q Sally, you have said a bit on this already, but could you say a bit more about how the single patient record could change and improve day-to-day experiences of the health and social care system, and the safeguards that you might be concerned about? Sally Burlington: As I understand it, the safeguards around data sharing remain in place under the Bill—they do not change. The part of the single patient record that is really attractive to our world is that people will not have to repeat themselves to every professional they meet; they will not have to tell their story again and again or be retraumatised by explaining the detail of what they have been through. The potential advantages are there, but there are obviously concerns about data protection and how data is used. It is incumbent on us all to take those seriously, think them through and make sure that safeguards are appropriately implemented locally and in all the institutions that have access. That is probably a matter less for the Bill and more for the implementation and supporting regulations, but we and other partners will be keen to be a part of that process to make sure that the safeguards are appropriate.

• 23 Mar 2026 · Hatzola Ambulance Attack · Hansard source

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  Alongside many inside the House and outside it, I condemn the attack on the Jewish-run ambulance service in Golders Green. The attack was clearly antisemitic, and it is right that the authorities treat it as such. My constituency is a diverse and inclusive place where many people of all ages and faiths live side by side peacefully. The Minister has spoken about community cohesion, but will he outline what immediate steps are being taken to reassure communities like mine?

• 6 Jan 2026 · Therapeutic Play and Children’s Healthcare · Hansard source

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  I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Leyton and Wanstead (Mr Bailey) on securing this short but significant debate. I will not take up too much time. It is vital that healthcare is fully accessible for children. I do not think anyone would disagree that therapeutic play can be instrumental in putting children at ease, as far as that is possible, when they are experiencing medical treatment. The Government must do all they can to prevent and reduce child trauma. I know from my time as Minister for Children and Families that work has already begun to evaluate the benefit of our therapeutic approaches, such as dyadic developmental psychotherapy. I think all of us in attendance would appreciate an update on the Government’s progress in this area. However, while it is important for the Government to evaluate new approaches to providing medical care, it is also critical that medical staff have the skills and knowledge to support children with complex needs, with adequate pay and conditions to retain them long term. Before I conclude, I want to say how brave Hari sounds. I appreciate everything that the Minister has already shared in this Chamber, and I trust that the Government will keep all these things in mind as they develop their NHS workforce plan.

• 4 Sept 2025 · Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund · Hansard source

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  I will make as much progress as I can, because I have been asked many questions in this debate and in many other scenarios and areas. It is very important that I am at least heard for the majority of my speech. That is why the Government are committed to ensuring that these children and their families have support available that meets their needs. Therefore, I am pleased to confirm that applications to the adoption and special guardianship support fund that run into the next financial year, 2026-27, can now be made. That is part of a wider continuation of the scheme in the next financial year, and full details will be set out later in the autumn. I am absolutely behind making sure that we can present that information in a timely way. That is clearly acknowledged. I am pleased to say that we will also begin public engagement in the new year to consider the future of the adoption and special guardianship support fund into 2028 and beyond. I am keen to work across Government with children, families and sector representatives to understand more about what support can and should be provided at a sustainable level. The adoption and special guardianship support fund has now been running for 10 years, and in that time, it has helped to provide support for more than 54,000 children. Independent evaluations have found that the fund has been successful in improving the lives of recipient children and their families. The last independent evaluation of the fund in 2022 found that 83% of parents and guardians had found support funded by the adoption and special guardianship support fund “helpful” or “very helpful”. We also know from parents and carers about the difference the adoption and special guardianship support fund has made to their lives. However, the fund is not the only source of support available to adopted and special guardianship children and their families, although it is a significant one. Adoption England is a key partner of the Department in improving adoption support. We have provided it with £8.8 million this year for specific projects to improve adoption support. That includes funding for developing national standards, developing centres of excellence as multidisciplinary teams with education and health, and establishing services designed to respond to adoptive families in crisis quicker and more effectively. We are working to improve the support available to children in kinship care. Last year, the Government announced a £40 million package to test the payment of an allowance to cover the additional costs of supporting children to move into kinship care. We have also published updated statutory guidance on kinship care for local authorities, and we appointed the first kinship care ambassador to advocate for kinship families across Government. Across England, more than 140 kinship peer-to-peer support groups are already up and running, providing kinship carers with vital spaces to connect, share their experiences and support one another. Alongside that, a comprehensive package of training and support is being actively delivered, ensuring that every kinship carer has access to the resources they need to thrive. We have also expanded the role of the virtual school heads to champion the education, attainment and attendance of children in kinship care who were previously in care. This Government’s approach to informing children’s social care will transform services and transition towards earlier intervention. The Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill will shift the focus of the children’s social care system and put children’s needs first. Our landmark investments in family help and Best Start family hubs will help families to access earlier support before they reach crisis point. Those measures and investments are alongside the adoption and special guardianship support fund so that specialist support is available should families need it. On health, Ministers and officials engage regularly with the Department of Health and Social Care and NHS England on how we can improve support for children, and we will continue to do that. The most recent NHS plan sets out how we intend to improve mental health services. In order to ensure that the fund was financially stable in 2025-26, I announced a number of changes to the management of the budget. In the interests of transparency, I committed to making the equalities impact assessment, which helped to inform decision making, available for review. On 17 July, I placed the assessment in the Libraries of both Houses. It provides a breakdown of the available data and explains the rationale behind our decision to make changes. In particular, it highlights the fact that, had we not made changes, many children could have been prevented from accessing therapy. The number of children accessing the fund has increased by 2,000 year on year. The equalities impact assessment is kept under review, and my officials update it regularly to better understand the impact of any changes on vulnerable children. The Department also publishes annual data on the adoption and special guardianship support fund.

• 21 Jul 2025 · Apprenticeships · Hansard source

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  Labour is rebalancing opportunities towards young people, giving them the skills they need to get on. Apprenticeship starts, achievements and participation are all up under this Government. From August, we are introducing foundation apprenticeships to support young people into careers in critical sectors, such as construction and health and social care.

• 16 Jul 2025 · Giving Every Child the Best Start in Life · Hansard source

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  I thank my hon. Friend for highlighting the significance of the Government’s work, the important issue of poverty, and the need to keep on making sure that the Government drive out poverty and meet the needs of children across our country. As we have set out today, our “best start in life” strategy outlines the immediate steps this Government are taking to expand and strengthen family services, to make early education and childcare more accessible and affordable for parents, and to improve the quality of early education and childcare. However, those are just the first steps in putting the early years back at the heart of how we deliver stronger outcomes for our children, our families and our society. My hon. Friend the Member for Stoke-on-Trent North (David Williams) spoke about righting the wrongs of the previous Government. He spoke about the cuts to Sure Start services and youth services and a little bit about the deep-rooted cuts of the previous Tory Government. My hon. Friend the Member for Sheffield Central (Abtisam Mohamed) spoke about Sure Start and her close connection to it. I applaud her for all her work in that area and for her campaigning work as well. My hon. Friend the Member for Stoke-on-Trent South (Dr Gardner) also spoke passionately about meeting children’s health, physical and psychological needs, and I look forward to meeting her. I hope that Members are reassured that the long-term vision we have set out will transform life chances and give our children better opportunities than we had. We know without doubt that Sure Start worked; it raised exam results, improved early identification and boosted physical and mental health. It reached disadvantaged families and made a difference to their lives. Our Best Start service will honour its proud legacy. My hon. Friend the Member for Dulwich and West Norwood (Helen Hayes) spoke about Sure Start, the evidence of its success, children’s achievements and how it had been stripped away by the last Government. I could not agree more. This Government will introduce a new Best Start family service delivered through Best Start family hubs. That will be the first step towards a national family service to ensure families can get the right support for their children.

• 16 Jul 2025 · Giving Every Child the Best Start in Life · Hansard source

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  I thank my hon. Friend for raising a significant point that I am sure parents find difficult to grapple with. I will ensure that the points he has raised are passed on to the relevant Minister. We are reviewing early years SEND funding arrangements to assess how suitable the current arrangements are for supporting the needs of children with SEND. As I have already mentioned, details of the Government’s intended approach to SEND reform, including early years, will be set out in the schools White Paper in the autumn. Improving health and education go hand in hand, as alluded to by the hon. Member for Dewsbury and Batley (Iqbal Mohamed). My hon. Friend the Member for North East Hertfordshire (Chris Hinchliff) was absolutely correct when he talked about health, wealth, education and accommodation. The previous Government left no light task, and despite what the Conservatives say and how they say it, this Government are getting on with the job of fixing the foundations and putting right what is broken. My hon. Friend the Member for Southampton Itchen (Darren Paffey) spoke about mental health, breakfast clubs and other areas to do with health. He also spoke about the crowning glory that was Sure Start, which was pleasing to hear. Again, my hon. Friend the Member for Redditch (Chris Bloore) spoke positively about breakfast clubs and free school meals. We know that healthier children are more able to learn and that children who achieve in education go on to live healthier lives. The change outlined in the “best start in life” strategy is firmly aligned with the three radical shifts set out in the Government’s 10-year health plan—hospital to community, analogue to digital, and sickness to prevention. The Best Start family hubs are an important part of the move to neighbourhood health. The hon. Member for Tiverton and Minehead (Rachel Gilmour) spoke about the inheritance of a poor school building from the previous Government. Again, I will raise that with the Minister for Early Education. My hon. Friend the Member for Cannock Chase (Josh Newbury) spoke passionately about the welfare of children, wraparound support and advice, to which the Government are committed. We are committed to achieving the best start in life for children. Let me end by saying that the hon. Member for North East Hertfordshire spoke so eloquently about wanting children to laugh, to learn and to achieve. I absolutely agree. Question put and agreed to. Resolved, That this House has considered the matter of giving every child the best start in life.