Jen Craft MP: speeches

Speeches

• 14 Sept 2026 · SEND: Cross-Government Work · Hansard source

  More

  I welcome the Secretary of State’s kind words. Let me also associate myself with her remarks, and with yours, Mr Speaker, about the Prime Minister’s very sad loss. The Secretary of State mentioned last week’s health debate, when I received a commitment to much greater accountability, via the education Bill, for the health sector in delivering the health element of the SEND system. What work has been done with her colleagues in the Department of Health and Social Care in that regard?

• 14 Sept 2026 · SEND: Cross-Government Work · Hansard source

  More

  3. What steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to ensure a cross-Government approach to improve outcomes for children with SEND.

• 9 Sept 2026 · Draft Code of Practice on the Right of Trade Unions to Access Workplaces; Draft Trade Unions (Right to Access Workplaces) Regulations 2026 · Hansard source

  More

  Queen Victoria Seafarers Rest, an organisation in my constituency, does excellent work with seafarers. It has shared some truly horrific stories about conditions on board falling below what we would expect. It has flagged that those conditions can stray into the realm of violence against women and girls. Without adequate protections for UK seafarers—particularly women seafarers—we risk making the situation worse. I would be very grateful if the Minister met me and Queen Victoria Seafarers Rest in my patch to talk about some of those things.

• 9 Sept 2026 · Draft Code of Practice on the Right of Trade Unions to Access Workplaces; Draft Trade Unions (Right to Access Workplaces) Regulations 2026 · Hansard source

  More

  My hon. Friend is making a great point. I remember standing with the GMB outside Amazon in my constituency, and people were harassed by security and by Amazon itself not to join a trade union. Amazon has not come on board, despite promises that it would bring trade unions around the table. Does my hon. Friend agree that this kind of legislation is well past due, and that this is a brilliant time to start enacting it, so that people in my constituency who work for giants like Amazon can have the rights and protections that they absolutely deserve?

• 9 Sept 2026 · Education and Skills Reform · Hansard source

  More

  I strongly welcome the Secretary of State’s statement, in which she set out how children can achieve, regardless of their skillset and passion, and how we will support them to do so. Far too many children are traumatised by a system that basically tells them that they are not good enough and that they are good for nothing, and that must change. My plea to the Secretary of State today is for any upcoming changes, particularly through the SEND reform, to take account of what disabled children are able to do, and for her to meet the charity Teach Me Too, which campaigns for all children, regardless of their disability, to have access to literacy from an early age and throughout their school career.

• 9 Sept 2026 · Draft Code of Practice on the Right of Trade Unions to Access Workplaces Draft Trade Unions (Right to Access Workplaces) Regulations 2026 · Hansard source

  More

  Queen Victoria Seafarers Rest, an organisation in my constituency, does excellent work with seafarers. It has shared some truly horrific stories about conditions on board falling below what we would expect. It has flagged that those conditions can stray into the realm of violence against women and girls. Without adequate protections for UK seafarers—particularly women seafarers—we risk making the situation worse. I would be very grateful if the Minister met me and Queen Victoria Seafarers Rest in my patch to talk about some of those things.

• 9 Sept 2026 · Draft Code of Practice on the Right of Trade Unions to Access Workplaces Draft Trade Unions (Right to Access Workplaces) Regulations 2026 · Hansard source

  More

  My hon. Friend is making a great point. I remember standing with the GMB outside Amazon in my constituency, and people were harassed by security and by Amazon itself not to join a trade union. Amazon has not come on board, despite promises that it would bring trade unions around the table. Does my hon. Friend agree that this kind of legislation is well past due, and that this is a brilliant time to start enacting it, so that people in my constituency who work for giants like Amazon can have the rights and protections that they absolutely deserve?

• 9 Sept 2026 · Summer Health and Resilience · Hansard source

  More

  I very much welcome this statement on our preparedness for future extreme heat events. As the Secretary of State mentioned, there were record A&E attendances this summer, and in my constituency, as in many others, this led to ambulances having to queue outside for upwards of eight hours. I have called on my local hospital’s trust—Mid and South Essex NHS foundation trust—to make a room available for paramedics and ambulance crews to rest and recuperate when this happens, because otherwise they have to sit in their ambulance, often with a very sick person, for upwards of eight hours, with nowhere to go for even a cup of tea and a sandwich. I have been unsuccessful thus far, so will she back my call for hospital trusts, and particularly Mid and South Essex, to make a space available so that ambulance crews can take a break when they have to sit outside A&E for prolonged periods of time?

• 7 Sept 2026 · Health Bill · Hansard source

  More

  I do agree. The hon. Gentleman has made a very good point about the impact of childhood illness, not only on the child but on the family. I also agree that support for families is crucial. They are part of the care team for children when they are unwell, and that acknowledgment needs to be strengthened and acted on. As I was saying, the statutory duty to deliver EHCPs sits solely with local authorities. In practice, that means that councils are the only bodies that can be held legally responsible for providing the service that a disabled child needs to access education, including health services such as occupational or speech and language therapy. Health bodies are not subject to the same requirement, and I know from my work as a member of the Health and Social Care Committee and a constituency MP, and as a parent of a disabled child, that that too often means that they are not at the table when it comes to delivering services for children with special educational needs and disabilities. There is a fundamental lack of accountability in the system. That, in practice, can force local authorities or families to procure privately, which can drive shortages in the NHS workforce or can mean that provision is substandard or non-existent. My constituent’s son Haider, for example, has an EHCP which outlines his need for speech and language therapy to gain full access to education. Despite his mother Qaila’s relentless efforts, that support was not delivered for months. Qaila tells me that she has been forced to watch while Haider has become withdrawn, anxious and isolated. My constituent Elizabeth has a similar story. She has been fighting to get occupational and physical therapy for her son William, but significant delays in securing assessments from healthcare professionals have resulted in inaccurate, unhelpful support arrangements.

• 7 Sept 2026 · Health Bill · Hansard source

  More

  I completely agree with my hon. Friend. Owing to the lack of early intervention for my constituent Elizabeth and her son William, he has missed countless hours and days and weeks of schooling at a critical point in his development. At a drop-in that I hosted last week, I met a woman called Annika. Her daughter Winnie has cerebral palsy, and her EHCP clearly states that she requires a physiotherapist, but the family have been forced to arrange that for themselves. Countless other families are in the same position. I think that every single Member in this House will have encountered similar constituency cases, and it is just not good enough.

• 7 Sept 2026 · Health Bill · Hansard source

  More

  I agree that there needs to be better accountability in the health service. It currently does not work, and the mechanisms by which we can hold healthcare bodies to account are few and far between. I believe that it is most acutely felt in paediatric care and in the special educational needs and disabilities system, where a mechanism for holding public bodies to account already exists: EHCPs. The idea that the responsibility should fall entirely on local authorities is misguided, because roughly 50% of what a child with an EHCP needs in order to access education is healthcare, which should be provided by a healthcare service. There must be better accountability and transparency for parents, and for their children, when that does not happen. I know that parents often have to go out of their way and spend, on average, £8,500 a year on their child’s healthcare so that they can access education.

• 7 Sept 2026 · Health Bill · Hansard source

  More

  I strongly welcome this landmark Bill, which will protect and strengthen our health service for decades to come, but for children with special educational needs and disabilities who are disproportionately impacted by not getting the healthcare that they need, I believe that it should go further. That is why I tabled new clause 85, which seeks to address the fundamental imbalance in the provision of health services for disabled children and young people. Currently, the statutory duty to deliver education, health and care plans—the legal mechanism by which children with special educational needs and disabilities can receive support—sits entirely with local authorities.

• 7 Sept 2026 · Health Bill · Hansard source

  More

  I will not, because I am going to run out of time. Roughly 40% of people have paid privately for therapies, and many are forced to fundraise for the vital medical equipment to which their child is legally entitled. It is worth noting that beyond the direct costs, many parents are forced to miss work because the right support is not available for their child to attend school. Around 40% report cutting back their hours, and 35% have left the job market completely. Before I became a Member of Parliament, I stopped work to become a full-time carer for my daughter. I do not regret that choice for a second, but it was a difficult and sometimes lonely period. Like many parents, I had not anticipated just how hard it would be to secure basic support for my child. Even to this day, I struggle to secure the basic healthcare support that she needs to support her education and her place at school. I am wearing a dragon for her today, and she will know why that is. I will not share it with the House, but if she watches this debate, she will see the dragon and it will make her smile. New clause 85 is intended to fix the inequality. It would place a statutory duty on ICBs to deliver the health part of EHCPs, matching the existing duty on local authorities. The fundamental concept that there must be a meaningful legal requirement on health services to deliver the support set out in EHCPs is critical. If we do not act and do not rightly demand that health services pull their weight, the status quo of young people missing out on education will continue, and I am afraid the planned SEND reforms will be doomed to failure. Disabled children are no less worthy of a decent education than their peers and are no less capable of thriving in school, but we are denying them access to the tools they need to succeed. I am grateful to the Health and Social Care Committee and the Education Committee for their support for new clause 85, and to the nearly 100 Members from across the House who put their name to it. I want to express my thanks to the charities involved for their continued campaigning efforts, and to the many parents who have contacted me. I sincerely hope that the Government will give the new clause the attention it deserves. If they cannot accept it in whole, I hope that they will give a commitment to deliver proper accountability.

• 3 Sept 2026 · Domestic and Sexual Abuse Casework: Training for Members · Hansard source

  More

  As Members of Parliament, we regularly support vulnerable women and girls who have experienced sexual abuse, sexual violence, rape, stalking, coercive behaviour and other forms of violence. These can be some of the most complex and sensitive cases, requiring knowledge of legal frameworks, safeguarding and trauma to safely support individuals in traumatising circumstances. I am extremely grateful to be able to lean on the expert guidance of SERICC, our fantastic local rape and sexual abuse service in Essex, but not all Members’ offices are as fortunate. What guidance does the House of Commons provide to Members specifically on responding to rape and sexual abuse casework, and is there scope to provide more specialist and trauma-informed training?

• 3 Sept 2026 · Domestic and Sexual Abuse Casework: Training for Members · Hansard source

  More

  2. What training the House of Commons provides to hon. Members on responding to domestic and sexual abuse casework.

• 3 Sept 2026 · Vaccination Rates: England · Hansard source

  More

  My hon. Friend makes an excellent point. Our mini-inquiry into vaccination rates found that when rates decline or stall, the problem is often lack of trust and inability to access either trusted health professionals or the appointments themselves. Does he agree that improving the availability of vaccinations and advice from trusted health professionals is key to reversing this worrying trend?

• 3 Sept 2026 · Children in the Social Care System: England · Hansard source

  More

  I listened with great interest to my hon. Friend’s report on the Committee’s inquiry. Will he join me in urging the Minister to look more widely at the issue of looked-after children who spend the vast majority of their lives on in-patient wards in paediatric hospitals? A small number of children have spent the majority of their lives living on in-patient wards because they are ill. If they had a traditional nuclear family, they would be at home and cared for by their parents or carers, but because they are looked-after children, it is far too difficult to find suitable placements for them due to their medical needs. That represents a fundamental lack of care for some of the most vulnerable members of our society. Will my hon. Friend support my call for that to be looked at in greater depth?

• 14 Jul 2026 · NHS Buildings: Extreme Heat · Hansard source

  More

  On a visit to Basildon hospital last week, I was told by staff how dealing with the unprecedented demand due to the heatwave was compounded by working in a building that is fundamentally unfit to cope with extreme heat, not least with A&E working above capacity, with absolutely no windows. Will the Minister work to make capital funding available for hospitals such as Basildon to allow them to adapt to the 21st century, particularly given that the east of England is the region most impacted by a changing climate?

• 8 Jul 2026 · NHS Corridor Care · Hansard source

  More

  My local hospital, Basildon university hospital, is in the 40th worst trust for delivering hospital care. Does my hon. Friend agree that not having the right community equipment, such as community disability aids and home adaptations, can quite often be a leading cause of delayed discharge? Will she urge the Minister to look at this issue when she commits to ending corridor care by the end of this Parliament?