Uma Kumaran MP: speeches

Speeches

• 28 Oct 2025 · World Stroke Day · Hansard source

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  I absolutely agree with my hon. Friend. Thrombectomy is highly effective and can transform recovery, massively reducing the chances of a disability. I hope that the Minister will respond to that point about care in my hon. Friend’s community. Recent statistics show that while in London more than 10% of patients receive a thrombectomy, in the east of England, only 1% of stroke patients underwent this potentially lifesaving treatment. I apologise that I do not have the statistics for Scotland.

• 28 Oct 2025 · Palestinian State · Hansard source

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  We all welcome a ceasefire and the recognition of a Palestinian state, but we must now support the Palestinian people. The head of the United Nations humanitarian affairs team has said that driving through Gaza City is like “going through the ruins of Hiroshima”. The people of Gaza who have endured this hellish war and survived now face a humanitarian disaster. They urgently need aid, and the UK, along with many other countries, stands ready to provide it. The block to this aid, as so frequently has been the case, is the Israeli authorities. What steps are the Government taking to ensure that Israel stops blocking this urgently needed aid and humanitarian supplies, and to get them to the people who are desperately in need?

• 16 Sept 2025 · Ambassador to the United States · Hansard source

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  I am a member of the Foreign Affairs Committee, Mr Speaker. Our Committee has a proposal that we should have a greater role in scrutinising the appointment of the US ambassador, given that they are one of the highest ranking members of the diplomatic service, and to help the Government to avoid this situation in the future. Does my right hon. Friend agree that the Government should consider our proposal seriously?

• 16 Sept 2025 · London Fashion Week: Cultural Contribution · Hansard source

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  I thank my hon. Friend for giving way and for securing this debate, and I congratulate her on being one of the best-dressed Members of Parliament. [ Laughter. ] My constituency of Stratford and Bow is home to so much art and fashion in London, from Hackney Wick to Fish Island, where we have a fashion show this weekend at The Trampery. And in the Olympic Park, we have the incredible London College of Fashion, which is training up the next generation of students and fashion creators. However, both the teachers and students there have told me that although the fashion industry is a massive force for growth and opportunity, its current practices are an existential threat to its future, because they are prohibiting people from becoming involved in the industry. Does my hon. Friend agree that it is more important than ever that we keep fashion accessible, and that the UK’s world-leading fashion sector prioritises circularity and sustainability in the heart of everything it does? And if she does agree, would she ask the Government to consider those points, too?

• 10 Sept 2025 · Occupied Palestinian Territories: Humanitarian Access · Hansard source

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  I apologise for cutting my hon. Friend short; I am due to be meeting the director of the World Food Programme in Palestine shortly. Yesterday I met the ambassador for Jordan; he and his delegates told us that aid is sitting on the border in Jordan, but Israel is preventing aid that could help thousands of people from getting in. Does my hon. Friend agree that the UK Government need to do all they can to put pressure on our United States counterparts to force Israel into allowing this aid in?

• 8 Sept 2025 · Indefinite Leave to Remain · Hansard source

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  I congratulate the Minister on sitting through such eloquent speeches on his first day in the job. I also thank my hon. Friend the Member for South Norfolk (Ben Goldsborough) for securing the debate. I am proud that people from all over the world have put down roots in Stratford and Bow. Some of them came bringing skills and experience, while others came seeking safe haven, but wherever they are from, they are welcome in Stratford and Bow. The story of Stratford and Bow is a story that can be found in every corner of Britain. It is about the very best of Britain—our humanity, our compassion, our fairness. It is a story that my own family know well. Fleeing pogroms in search of safety, my parents were given refuge in the UK, and they made east London their first home. That was nearly 50 years ago, and now they are proud British citizens. I hear that story echoed by my BNO and Hongkonger constituents who came to the UK fleeing persecution. Since the publication of the Government’s immigration White Paper, dozens of my constituents who are currently already on the pathway to settlement have written to me to share their stories and concerns, specifically those about transnational arrangements for those who are already in the UK and on the five-year route to indefinite leave to remain. This is one of my constituent’s messages to me: “Changing settlement requirements for those who are already in the UK risks a harmful message: that even those who play by the rules are not guaranteed fairness.” I was struck by how so many of those who wrote to me introduced themselves and described their families as hard-working and law-abiding. They wanted to tell me about their incredible professions, from caring for our most vulnerable to driving innovation in the UK’s tech sector, and about how much tax they are paying, about how they contribute to the UK economy, about how they have made Britain their home and about the community groups they volunteer with. Although it was nice to read their emails, it saddened me that we have reached a place in Britain where our neighbours and constituents—those who came here legally—feel the need to defend the fact that they belong here. Their stories also show me something else: pride—pride in participating in British life, pride in British values and pride in contributing to and playing their part in our national story. My constituent Chelsea wrote to share her pride in her own efforts to, in her words, uphold British values and integrate in British society. It is a pride that so many of us in this place know and share: a pride in contributing to our communities and playing an active role in shaping local and national life. Another constituent wrote to me about bringing years of experience to work here in a highly specialised tech job. He told me that he declined offers in other countries and chose to come here, “following the rules in good faith, trusting the commitments made when I arrived would be honoured.” In a nation obsessed with queuing and fair play, what could be more British than a respect for the rules, standing in line and asking for one thing in return—fairness? Changing settlement requirements for those who are already in the UK risks sending a harmful message that undermines trust in legal routes: that even those who play by the rules are not guaranteed fairness in Britain.

• 8 Sept 2025 · Indefinite Leave to Remain · Hansard source

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  The hon. Lady makes an important point. That is what so many of us in this room, across the parties, are asking for at the moment. I am sure that the Minister will respond to that point. My BNO constituent put it best: “British nationality is a privilege not a right.” I am sure that all in this room agree. However, it is also our right, as Members, to ensure that our system is fair. That means that we cannot treat migration like a sticking plaster on deep-rooted domestic issues such as skills shortages. It also means honouring the settlement expectations that people had when we welcomed them here legally, and honouring our historical obligation to Hongkongers who are claiming humanitarian protection and fleeing political repression. As the Government prepare to set out their plans this autumn, I urge the Minister to consider the cause of constituents in Stratford and Bow and ensure that those who arrived under the five-year rule are allowed to complete the route to settlement without changes being applied retroactively. Allowing them to do so would reflect the British values that my constituents of all nationalities cherish. It would reflect the story of our fair, outward-looking and compassionate country, which we all hold so dear.

• 4 Sept 2025 · Water Company Executives: Accountability · Hansard source

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  This weekend, for more than 30 hours, waste water from toilets, sinks and drains flooded the River Lea, affecting local communities and spreading to east London, including the wetlands in Stratford and Bow. Thames Water continues to dump sewage and waste water in our rivers at an alarming rate, all while company bosses pay themselves millions in bonuses. May I thank the Secretary of State for the work that this Government are doing to crack down on that appalling practice, and ask what he is doing to ensure that the British public are not paying for that failure after receiving rising water bills? What is he doing to secure the serious investment that is needed for the health of our rivers?

• 4 Sept 2025 · Water Company Executives: Accountability · Hansard source

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  2. What steps he is taking to help prevent financial rewards for water company executives responsible for poor environmental performance.

• 3 Sept 2025 · Hospitality Sector · Hansard source

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  We have been talking about Stratford, but I am waiting to hear about Stratford and Bow in London, where I am really pleased that the Government are backing our bid for the 2029 world athletics championship. My constituency, like so many others, thrives when more tourists and visitors come from across the UK and overseas, but we want to see that spread across every region in the country. The Minister is developing a visitor economy growth strategy. Will he set out how it will spread tourism beyond London so that all the other regions can thrive as well?

• 3 Sept 2025 · Hospitality Sector · Hansard source

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  Will the Minister give way?

• 2 Sept 2025 · English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill · Hansard source

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  On jobs, in Sadiq Khan’s first two terms as London Mayor, he has seen the creation of more than 330,000 jobs by the Greater London Authority. These are high-quality, well-paid jobs that bring huge opportunity to Londoners from all walks of life. Does the Secretary of State agree that this is the testament to growth that devolution can deliver, which will be further boosted by this Bill?

• 1 Sept 2025 · Middle East · Hansard source

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  The International Association of Genocide Scholars has passed a resolution stating that “Israel’s policies and actions in Gaza meet the legal definition of genocide”. I understand that the Foreign Secretary does not comment on these matters from the Dispatch Box, so I instead want to ask what action and efforts this Government are taking, alongside international partners, to ensure that evidence is collected and that matters are in hand to ensure that legal avenues can be pursued to address allegations of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide in Gaza?

• 22 Jul 2025 · Humanitarian Situation in Sudan · Hansard source

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  I am really grateful to my hon. Friend for securing this debate, because this conflict is simply not getting the attention that it deserves. She has done more than most to raise awareness of it. Just last week, my hon. Friend and I hosted a roundtable with Médecins Sans Frontières and the British Medical Association, among others, where we heard the kind of horrific details that she has been talking about. Regarding the sexual violence, we know that there are men assaulting women and girls on the road as they flee the conflict, seemingly with total impunity. Does she agree that the amount of parliamentary and political attention that the conflict receives, especially given what is happening to women and girls, is in no way proportionate to the scale of the humanitarian crisis that it is causing?

• 22 Jul 2025 · Humanitarian Situation in Sudan · Hansard source

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  Does my hon. Friend agree that we must step up the international diplomatic effort? As the UN penholder, the United Kingdom both can and must lead the international community to help to bring an end to this awful conflict.

• 21 Jul 2025 · Middle East · Hansard source

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  Each time Members come together for a statement on the middle east, there is a new horror to comment on, a new inhumanity unfolding and a new form of strong words from the Dispatch Box. Last week, IDF shells hit a church sheltering 600 civilians. Several people were killed. The Pope called it “barbarity”. Yesterday, a World Food Programme convoy came under fire from Israeli forces, despite numerous assurances that humanitarian operational conditions would improve. Innocent Palestinians who were queuing for desperately needed food were killed. According to Médecins Sans Frontières, we are witnessing in real time the creation of conditions for the eradication of Palestinian lives in Gaza. So I ask the Foreign Secretary: where is this Government’s red line? At what point does our basic humanity require us to take stronger action? Many of us in this House think the red line was passed a long time ago.

• 17 Jul 2025 · Global Plastics Treaty · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure to follow the hon. Member for Honiton and Sidmouth (Richard Foord); we usually sit together on the Foreign Affairs Committee. Nowhere is global co-operation more important than on climate work. I thank the right hon. Member for Orkney and Shetland (Mr Carmichael) for securing this important debate and for his brilliant speech, which eloquently set out why this issue is so important. My hon. Friend the Member for Stafford—not to be confused with Stratford—(Leigh Ingham) spoke about microplastics. Last year, my hon. Friend the Member for Stroud (Dr Opher) had a debate on that very topic, in which many of us spoke. Following that, last November, ahead of the previous round of treaty negotiations in Busan, hon. Members came together to debate the same issue. Now, at the final round of negotiations, we have come back together. Countries are on the verge of finalising a potentially powerful international agreement, but its impact will be limited unless it addresses the root of the problem: plastic production. UN estimates suggest that in the two and a half years since the treaty negotiations started, globally we have produced over 1 billion metric tonnes of plastic. The scale is staggering and almost unimaginable, but one thing is clear: no amount of recycling and reuse can keep up with the scale of plastic waste we are producing. If we do not act, collectively and urgently, the crisis will only escalate. Plastic production is projected to triple by 2060. Our climate, our ecosystems and our planet cannot cope. The right hon. Member for Orkney and Shetland mentioned the impact on our ecosystem and our beaches, and my hon. Friend the Member for Ealing Southall (Deirdre Costigan) mentioned single-use items, such as disposable vapes and disposable fans. One is dumped in Britain every 90 seconds. Most end up in the global south in landfills, risking massive environmental damage. I am proud to have sat on the Committee, led by the Minister, that considered the legislation to ban this. That is the Labour Government taking real action. There are interest groups working to undermine our ambition. Having participated in international biodiversity and climate talks, both in my previous role before I entered this House and since, I have seen at first hand what that looks like: voices in the room determined to stall talks and undermine global and national ambition. As we have heard, the shocking truth is that 220 fossil fuel lobbyists were present at the last round of talks on the plastics treaty. Taken together, fossil fuel and chemical industry lobbyists would have been the single largest delegation present: larger than the EU and all its member states’ delegations; and larger than all those for Latin America. The fossil fuel industries outnumbered delegates from the Pacific small island states two to one. Those nations already see the effects of marine plastic pollution and are already paying the price for our inaction. We cannot allow the voice of the fossil fuel industry to be louder than the cry of our planet, or more influential than the testimony of science. We cannot allow it to be more powerful than the voices of our constituents and those wanting to create a more sustainable future for generations to come. In London, we have shown that another future is possible. It requires bold leadership, and we are one such example of that. We are the world-leading city in eliminating single-use plastics from large sports and music venues, including “ABBA Voyage” in my constituency and locally-led movements like Plastic Free Forest Gate, which works with businesses on the high street to get rid of single-use plastic items, and Plastic Free Roman Road. I also have some eco-warriors in one of my local schools in Maryland. Last week, I met a group of constituents from Stratford and Bow at the climate coalition lobby in Parliament. Mary told me that she was there to lobby for an end to our dependency on fossil fuels. She was there for her four grandchildren—for their futures. My constituents are clear: the time to act is now. We must put the people on our planet before the polluting industries. My constituency is home to an Earthshot prize-winning company, Notpla. The last time I mentioned Notpla in Parliament, it had single-handedly removed 21 million items of single-use plastic—and counting—using its innovative seaweed-based alternative; today, that number has risen to 26 million items. The ambition exists, but we all need to seize this moment. The cost of inaction is mass climate displacement, environmental destruction and worsening global instability. I thank the Minister and the Government for their continued commitment to the UK’s global leadership in pushing for an ambitious treaty. I join Members from across the House in calling for all member states to agree to legally binding measures to address the production and consumption of plastic, and finally to deliver a treaty that meets the scale of the crisis for our planet.

• 17 Jul 2025 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  I am happy and so proud that the Dialogue Express Café has recently opened in my constituency on the Carpenters estate. Operating out of a refurbished train carriage, the café is a vibrant community hub that combines the experience of enjoying a great coffee with learning and interacting through British Sign Language. Customers will see a video of how to order a drink in sign language, and can then communicate with the baristas, some of whom are deaf and some of whom are hearing. As one of the first ever Labour candidates to make a video in sign language more than a decade ago, it is something close to my heart. British Sign Language is not just a language, but a gateway to learning and opportunity for thousands. It is part of deaf identity and culture—one we should all embrace and be part of. I am so pleased that in Stratford and Bow and Newham council, we see this at first hand. Will the Leader of the House join me in congratulating the Dialogue Express Café, its founder Hakan, as well as Karissa, Victor and the whole team, and agree that theirs is a trailblazing example of how to celebrate BSL and to celebrate and create visibility of deaf culture and deaf pride?

• 16 Jul 2025 · Commemoration of Matchgirls’ Strike · Hansard source

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  I thank my hon. Friend for that powerful intervention. All Labour Members have stories of women who have shaped the struggle for working people’s rights in British history. Too often, those stories do not get told, so I am really pleased that we have a chance to hear them today. As I was saying, the strike took place exactly 137 years ago this week, and I am proud to be in the Chamber speaking about it. The union movement is still fighting for dignity and fairness at work, and standing up for workers’ rights against mistreatment and malpractice. We owe so much to the women who came before us—the pioneers of the rights we enjoy today. They stood up against injustice, took power into their own hands, and won all the concessions they demanded from greedy factory bosses. Those women changed the course of history, and I and many other women would not be here without them. I come to the House today in that same spirit, to ask the Minister whether we will finally formally recognise the matchgirls’ role in the British trade union movement and in the advancement of the rights of women and girls in Britain. I mentioned Mr Graham, one of the MPs who met the matchgirls in Parliament. Those MPs’ names are recorded in Hansard, but the names and voices of the matchgirls are absent, because it would be decades more before a woman first sat on these green Benches. The matchgirls’ contribution to the story of new trade unionism, British labour history, and the struggle for rights and dignity at work is too often forgotten. That history is too often overlooked; working-class stories are left untold, and are under-represented in our curriculums and our history books. It is a history that belongs to all of us, and that we all have a responsibility to keep telling when we have the chance.

• 16 Jul 2025 · Commemoration of Matchgirls’ Strike · Hansard source

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  I could not have put it better myself. Durham is rooted in the fight for workers’ rights, and I am proud that that tradition is still continuing. My hon. Friend has long been a powerful advocate for working people’s rights and union voices in Britain. She has made a powerful point, and I thank her for her intervention. As we honour these women and celebrate how far we have come, we also know that—in the words of another incredibly powerful woman—great is the work yet to be done, particularly for women in today’s workforce who still struggle disproportionately with low-paid and insecure work. There are 3.9 million working women in the UK who are in severely insecure work—insecure work that creates a culture of fear and uncertainty, isolates employees, and so often leaves young women struggling financially. Young women are more likely to work in sectors with high job insecurity. They are paid less, work fewer hours, and face last-minute shift changes. All that puts them under greater financial and emotional pressure. Young women are paid less, and are stuck in roles that are far below their potential. Over time, this chips away at their confidence, their mental health, and any sense of self-worth. When they do not feel safe to speak up about poor treatment, they start to believe that being treated unfairly is just part of the job. What is worse is that many young women do not even know their rights at work. I have worked with the Young Women’s Trust, which has told me that nearly half the women it surveyed did not know their rights in insecure jobs. This follows women throughout our lives. When women return to work after pregnancy, their wages stagnate and they are crippled by the costs of childcare. Women are still struggling today, and that must change—which is why I was so proud to be a member of the Bill Committee considering this Labour Government’s Employment Rights Bill, a Committee to which the Minister was integral. We are delivering the biggest upgrade to workers’ rights in a generation, rolling back Tory attacks on workers’ rights to have their voices heard at work, cracking down on fire and rehire practices, banning non-disclosure agreements that prevent people from speaking up about harassment and discrimination, delivering sick pay for 1.3 million of our lowest earners, enhancing workplace protections for pregnant women and new mothers, and taking on the gender pay gap. In all those ways, we are boosting living standards and workplace protections for millions. Now, 137 years on from the matchgirls’ strike, those landmark reforms will deliver rights and dignity to a new generation of women and working people, but we must ensure that young women know their rights and that those rights are enforced. We must therefore give the fair work agency the power and resources to do its job well and ensure that the workers most at risk of exploitation and discrimination are helped to access their rights, so that our economy can finally gain from the skills and talents of young women. I have covered a lot of ground today, and it has been a bit of a history lesson: the story of the matchgirls, pride in Britain’s working class history, pride in the story of my constituents in Stratford and Bow, and the security and dignity of young women in today’s workforce. If Members want to learn more, I encourage them to visit the Upper Waiting Hall off the Committee corridor, where the Matchgirls Memorial is hosting an exhibition right here in Parliament. I want to thank the brilliant women in my team who have helped me to put this speech together, and who have been integral to the work we have been doing to shine a light on this subject. I pay tribute to Anna Gorrell, Niamh O’Brien and Sameeah Ahmad. Let me also thank Barbara Plant of the GMB, who is in the Gallery today, and Penny Robinson from GMB London region, who have played an integral role in helping me along my way as a Member of Parliament. I want to end by honouring the inspiring legacy of the women and girls of the matchgirls’ strike of 1888 by ensuring that the names of the strike and union committees are recorded in Hansard , and that their contribution to the fight for the workers’ rights that we all enjoy today is remembered.

• 16 Jul 2025 · Commemoration of Matchgirls’ Strike · Hansard source

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  This is the first Adjournment debate that I have secured, and I am delighted to be a recipient of one of the hon. Gentleman’s famous Adjournment interventions—I have finally made it as a Member of Parliament. I certainly think that the spirit of the matchgirls reminds us that unionism and collective action have long been in the domain of women, regardless of how male-dominated the union movement or the struggle for workers’ rights may be.

• 16 Jul 2025 · Commemoration of Matchgirls’ Strike · Hansard source

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  My hon. Friend makes a powerful point. As neighbouring MPs, we are struggling together to get our voices heard in this place and make sure those women are recorded in history. He is a powerful advocate, and an ally in the fight for improved conditions for workers. Many descendants of the matchgirls live in my hon. Friend’s constituency today, and some even work in the Tate & Lyle factory that he is proud to represent. I take this moment to pay tribute to our joint predecessor, Lady Brown of Silvertown, who held a debate about matchgirls over a decade ago. The history I am talking about belongs to all of us, and we have a responsibility to keep telling it. I am sad to say that the Conservative Benches are completely empty this evening. Conservative Members might try to talk down our trade unions when they are in the Chamber, but we on the Labour Benches are so proud of our industrial heritage. As such, I ask the Minister whether the Government will look at how that history is taught in schools, so that working-class stories such as those of the east end matchgirls and so many others that we have heard about today are finally heard, and that these people’s contribution to Britain is finally recognised.

• 16 Jul 2025 · Commemoration of Matchgirls’ Strike · Hansard source

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  Absolutely. My hon. Friend has made a very important point. As I was saying, I would like to ensure that the names of the strike and union committee members are recorded in Hansard , so that their contribution to the fight for the workers’ rights that we all enjoy today is remembered. They were Eliza Martin, Mary Naulls, Louisa Beck, Kate Sclater, Julia Gambleton, Ellen Johnson, Jane Wakeling, Mary Driscoll, Jane Staines, Alice Francis, Eliza Price, Mary Cummings and Sarah Chapman, whose great-granddaughter Sam is in the Gallery and has done so much to honour the incredible legacy of the matchgirls. There is a saying: “If you want a job done right, get a woman to do it.” Never has this been truer in the fight for women’s rights than for the matchgirls, and I pay tribute to these extraordinary women.

• 16 Jul 2025 · Commemoration of Matchgirls’ Strike · Hansard source

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  May I say how wonderful it is to have you in the Chair for this debate, Madam Deputy Speaker? You were in the Chair for my maiden speech, and this is my first ever Adjournment debate. I also pay tribute to my hon. Friend the Member for Bradford South (Judith Cummins), who is also proudly wearing the ribbon that we are wearing today. I am grateful for the opportunity to open this debate and to pay tribute to the women and girls of the matchgirls’ strike of 1888. I am proudly the very first Member of Parliament for the new constituency of Stratford and Bow. The boundaries may be new, but it is a part of east London with a rich and radical history that I am so proud to represent. As the granddaughter of one of Jaffna’s first ever trade unionists, I am proud to be here to speak about this subject. In my maiden speech, I paid tribute to some of the well-known and illustrious figures who were residents of Bow. Some were household names, like Gandhi, Attlee and Annie Besant, but today I pay tribute to some lesser-known but equally powerful figures in British history: the matchgirls—the young women of the Bryant & May match factory in Bow. I am proud to have residents from Bow here in the Gallery to hear the debate, and I pay tribute to the Chisenhale ESOL Bengali ladies, who visited me earlier today. The matchgirls were mostly very young girls—some were as young as six, but they went up to the age of 13 and beyond. They endured long hours, pitiful pay and appalling working conditions. They were fined for being late, for being untidy and even for talking. Worst of all, they were being poisoned slowly and painfully. The white phosphorus used to make the matches made them sicker by the day, giving them a condition called “phossy jaw”. The girls would dip the matches into sulphur, then into the white phosphorus mixture, and that led to that horrible disease, which caused painful abscesses, facial disfigurement, the loss of their jaw and, in some cases, a slow and painful death. When this came to light via work with Annie Besant and in a news article, factory bosses tried to force the girls to lie. Instead, they fought back and took their futures into their hands. Some 1,400 of those brave young women walked out on strike in July 1888, and they sent a delegation right here to Parliament. Some 56 matchgirls marched from Bow to Parliament, and a group of 12 of those women met with two MPs, right outside this Chamber in Central Lobby. Their courageous act is recorded in Hansard , as Mr Cunninghame Graham asked the Home Secretary to investigate the strike and the factory’s punitive practice. I am proud that this week, working with the Matchgirls Memorial team, who are also here in the Gallery, and my union, the GMB, we have an exhibition in this very place, which the matchgirls walked to. The strike was exactly 137 years ago this week, and it lit the spark of the new labour movement and the new trade union movement. It was a spark that ignited the fire of modern trade unionism in Britain—the same movement that fights for our rights at work, and a movement that I am very proud to be a part of as a member of my union, the GMB.

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

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  My hon. Friend is making an important point. My constituency of Stratford and Bow, in east London, was recently scored second best in the country on the Sutton Trust opportunity index, for opportunities for children to advance in life, and the neighbouring constituency, East Ham, scored top. London has severe inequalities in giving children the best start in life, but we also have opportunities. It is important that kids in Staffordshire get the same opportunities. That is why this Government are working to spread that opportunity far and wide, so that they all have the best possible start in life.