Olivia Bailey MP: speeches

Speeches

• 1 Dec 2025 · Reading: Pre-school Support · Hansard source

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  Learning to enjoy books is a critical foundation for every child. As we get ready for the National Year of Reading in Hartlepool and across the country, our new “best start in life” family hubs will support families to read, and new books and libraries for schools will ensure that the benefits of reading reach right into adulthood.

• 1 Dec 2025 · Reading: Pre-school Support · Hansard source

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  I have answered the hon. Gentleman’s question already, so I will simply say that this Government are completely committed to ensuring that every child gets the best possible start in life, including by repairing the broken system of family support services, which were decimated by the Conservatives, and by ensuring that every single child has the opportunity to read, to talk to their friends, to play, to communicate, to get ready for school and to have the best possible start in life.

• 1 Dec 2025 · Sexual Consent and Relationships Education · Hansard source

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  The Government’s new relationships, sex and health education guidance will help to ensure that young people learn about healthy, respectful relationships, and understand that consent is essential. That supports our unprecedented mission to halve violence against women and girls within a decade.

• 1 Dec 2025 · Sexual Consent and Relationships Education · Hansard source

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  I thank my hon. Friend for his question and for all the work that he does on this important topic. I agree with him wholeheartedly, and I very much hope and expect that our work with schools to ensure that healthy relationships are taught in them will mean that young men get the exact space that he is asking for.

• 1 Dec 2025 · Sexual Consent and Relationships Education · Hansard source

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  That is exactly what our new RSHE guidance aims to do, to give schools the support they need to ensure that our young people are taught about healthy relationships, and to learn about critical concepts such as consent.

• 5 Nov 2025 · Diversity, Equality and Inclusion: Public Sector · Hansard source

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  I thank my hon. Friend for her great campaigning work. I agree with her that we must do absolutely everything possible to break down all barriers to opportunity in our country.

• 5 Nov 2025 · Diversity, Equality and Inclusion: Public Sector · Hansard source

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  Wherever there is abuse, it should be tackled, and we will publish details in due course.

• 5 Nov 2025 · Diversity, Equality and Inclusion: Public Sector · Hansard source

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  I have a lot of respect for the hon. Gentleman, who is a fellow Berkshire MP, but I gently say to him that it is right that people who serve our country, in whatever form, reflect the communities that they serve. These schemes are about levelling the playing field, not creating an unfair advantage, and everybody who gains a place has done so on merit. On the Government side of the House, we follow the evidence; he just follows the hon. Member for Clacton (Nigel Farage).

• 5 Nov 2025 · Diversity, Equality and Inclusion: Public Sector · Hansard source

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  This Government are determined to break down barriers to opportunity so that everyone can achieve success, and this commitment is underpinned by strong data and evidence.

• 20 Oct 2025 · Childcare: Affordability · Hansard source

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  As it is my first time at the Dispatch Box, I want to thank my hon. Friend the Member for Portsmouth South (Stephen Morgan), and say what an honour it is to build on his work to give every child the best start in life. This Government have delivered a record expansion of childcare, saving working parents £7,500 a year, and we are working with our fantastic private, voluntary, and independent sector and new school-based nurseries to ensure that this expanded provision reaches every eligible family.

• 20 Oct 2025 · Childcare: Affordability · Hansard source

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  I do agree with my hon. Friend, and I congratulate St Anthony’s and Oak Lodge, as well as my hon. Friend for being a tireless champion for his constituents. This Government have delivered 5,000 places at new school-based nurseries this year alone, with 7,000 more to come next September. I encourage Members across the House to get their local schools to apply for a phase 2 grant.

• 20 Oct 2025 · Childcare: Affordability · Hansard source

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  Absolutely—I thank the brilliant team at Mousehold, who are so dedicated to giving every child the help and support they need. This Government want every child to have the best start in life, which is why we have expanded childcare entitlements, are supporting schools to open new nurseries, and—after the Conservative party dismantled them—are bringing back family hubs in every community in our country.

• 20 Oct 2025 · Childcare: Affordability · Hansard source

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  I encourage the hon. Lady to write to me with the details of that case, because we are absolutely clear that in this rapid expansion of childcare—which half a million children have been able to access this September—those 30 hours should be available, and it should not be the case that extras are charged or anything else. I am happy to look at the specifics of the case.

• 20 Oct 2025 · Childcare: Affordability · Hansard source

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  Sure Start was one of the greatest successes of the last Labour Government, and it drove significant improvements for our children. The Conservative party systematically dismantled that across our country, with significant negative consequences for our children and young people. When this Government say that we are prioritising early years, we are putting our money where our mouth is—unlike the Conservatives, who had a pledge with absolutely no plan—with £8 billion this year and £9 billion next year to expand childcare and give every child the best start in life.

• 20 Oct 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  I am absolutely happy to pop into the event this afternoon, and I applaud Esther Ghey for her fantastic campaigning work. The Government are completely clear that mobile phones should not be used in school, and the Government guidance says as much.

• 20 Oct 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  Happily. The average family will save £7,500 per child per year under this Government’s record expansion of childcare.

• 20 Oct 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  Breakfast clubs give children a great start to the day. They drive improvements in behaviour, attendance and attainment, and they can save families up to £450 a year. I congratulate my hon. Friend and the schools in her constituency on their efforts, and I look forward to more and more children benefiting as we continue our roll-out.

• 3 Sept 2025 · Hospitality Sector · Hansard source

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  I entirely agree with my hon. Friend, and I thank him for his intervention. This Government are cleaning up the mess that the Conservative party made, fixing the foundations of our economy by restoring stability and presiding over rate cut after rate cut. We are supporting people with the cost of living through measures such as expanding free childcare, tackling the antisocial behaviour and shoplifting that plague our high streets, and transforming the apprenticeships and skills system to train up young people and get them into secure jobs. For Conservative Members to pretend that they presided over some sort of golden age of hospitality is simply farcical. Over 6,000 pubs and bars closed on their watch, with many high streets becoming nothing more than rows of shuttered shops. Yes, we have made some difficult decisions to get our public services back on track, and I firmly believe that that is the right thing to do for our country, and to step out of the black hole the Tories left us in. However, we are also focusing on positive measures to support our local hospitality businesses, rather than waxing lyrical when it is simply too late. For the businesses I met over the summer, actions speak louder than words, and that is the difference between this Labour Government and the Opposition.

• 3 Sept 2025 · Hospitality Sector · Hansard source

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  Over recess, I had the pleasure of visiting more than 20 fantastic small businesses in my constituency during my small business summer roadshow. My aim was to promote these businesses and hear what I can do to help them thrive. I visited a large number of hospitality businesses, including Nino’s in Pangbourne, the Avenue Deli in Calcot, Bradley’s Café and the Street Food Shack in Theale, Mortimer Café, Dee Caf on the Dee estate, Blackbird Café in Chapel Row, The Pantry in Yattendon, the Swan pub in East Ilsley and the Mad Duck in Purley. These wonderful businesses do not just serve amazing food and drink; they are at the heart of our community, providing places for people to be together—places where members of our community can look out for each other. I thank every single one of them for everything that they do. From all the conversations I have had, I know how hard it can be to run a business. Owners face many costs, and can struggle to afford advertising or access finance, and there are high business rates and endless red tape. I am glad that the Government’s recently published small business strategy starts to address this. We are transforming business rates, introducing permanently lower multipliers for hospitality, cutting red tape and admin costs, expanding access to start-up loans and other finance, simplifying licensing, and establishing hospitality and night-time economy zones. For the many pubs and independent breweries in my constituency, we have also cut duty on draught products and are consulting on improving access for guest beers. I thank the Conservative party for providing the opportunity for this debate, but I gently say to hon. Members that they have conveniently ignored the contribution that their 14 years in government made to the challenges they outline. Yes, this Government have had to make some tough choices in order to fix our public services, but it is the Conservative party that left our public services on their knees. It left a huge hole in the public finances and oversaw skyrocketing inflation, mortgage rate chaos and higher energy bills for everybody, including our businesses. It was on the Conservatives’ watch that families stopped being able to afford a meal out, because the Conservatives caused an unprecedented fall in living standards. It was on their watch that businesses had zero stability and certainty to plan for the future, because they went through Prime Ministers so fast that it felt like each one was a daily special.

• 16 Jul 2025 · Defence Spending · Hansard source

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  This Government’s commitment to spending 5% of GDP on national security will be transformational for Wales and for my constituency, where thousands are employed in the defence sector and where we welcomed a £15 billion boost for the Atomic Weapons Establishment. Do the Secretary of State and the Minister agree that both our national security and our local economies are better off with Labour?

• 16 Jul 2025 · Defence Spending · Hansard source

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  8. What assessment she has made of the potential impact of increases in defence spending on Wales.

• 14 Jul 2025 · UK-France Migration: Co-operation · Hansard source

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  I applaud the shadow Home Secretary for his valiant attempt to sound outraged. Is not the truth that while the Conservatives picked fights on the world stage, the Government have rebuilt relationships and delivered a groundbreaking returns agreement that they would have given their eye teeth for? Does the Secretary of State agree that while sound and fury may make Conservative Members feel better, it is the Government who are systematically getting on with the job of stopping the boats?

• 8 Jul 2025 · Road and Rail Projects · Hansard source

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  I congratulate the Secretary of State on an ambitious but fully funded and deliverable plan to reconnect Britain. I welcome the commitment made to me by the Roads Minister last week that National Highways will review the safety of the dangerous slip roads at East Ilsley and Beedon on the A34, following my campaign. Does the Secretary of State agree that road safety must be at the heart of our plans for Britain’s roads?