Vikki Slade MP: speeches 2025

Speeches

• 3 Feb 2025 · School Accountability and Intervention · Hansard source

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  One of the most common areas of casework in Mid Dorset and North Poole involves children with special needs. Parents often cite awful experiences of children being manipulated out of school by those schools being made truly hostile places for them and by failures, often at a trust level, to provide even low-cost or no-cost changes, with parents completely ignored in the process. I am interested in understanding why the Minister has not included full accountability and judgments at multi-academy trust level in the reforms, because parents simply have nowhere to go when they need to complain and the problem is with the trust.

• 24 Jan 2025 · Climate and Nature Bill · Hansard source

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  As a Poole Member, I recognise those places. Will the right hon. Gentleman join me in congratulating Dorset on being one of the only places in the country that has turned around the depletion of nature? Thanks to people like Mark and Mo Constantine, we are restoring ospreys and other birds of prey to our wonderful county.

• 23 Jan 2025 · Holocaust Memorial Day · Hansard source

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  It is a privilege to speak in this debate, and it is humbling to follow the hon. Member for Hendon (David Pinto-Duschinsky); I thank him for his incredible testimony about his family. I pay tribute to Mr Speaker and his office for the moving parliamentary ceremony yesterday, especially the testimony of Yisrael and Alf, who both survived the Nazi Holocaust. To mark this event in the same week as the fragile ceasefire in the middle east and the release of Emily Damari and two other hostages makes it even more poignant. When my son Isaac was nine, his school, Springdale First, held a world war two tea. Children were invited to bring a grandparent to share their memories of living through the war, but he came home distressed because my parents—his grandparents—were not born until several years after its end. Being an ingenious child, he knocked on the door of our neighbour Margaret and asked her to be his adoptive grandmother for the day, so that she could share her memories with his classmates and enjoy the wartime entertainment, which included his singing of “We’ll Meet Again”. I tell this story because, as the living memory of the Holocaust reduces, it is more important than ever that each of us keeps it alive through our own annual acts of remembrance and in calling out antisemitism and all acts of discrimination and hate against groups because of their faith, nationality or identity. Twelve years ago, I visited Israel and Palestine as part of a Liberal Democrat delegation, during which we made a trip to Yad Vashem, the Holocaust museum. The experience stays with me for many reasons, but the thing that struck me hardest was what came well before the death camps like Auschwitz: a decade of dehumanising a whole community; of families being rewarded with crates of beer for betraying their neighbours; of the boycotting of Jewish businesses, the burning of Jewish authored books and, most strikingly, the sale of ashtrays depicting so-called Jewish faces on them, so that people could stub out cigarettes on their faces, helping to foster the feeling that Jews were not really people at all. Last Sunday, I attended a Holocaust memorial event in Wimborne Minster in my constituency. The service, which can be seen on the minster’s YouTube page, was based around the book “Violins of Hope” and accompanied by the haunting playing of pieces of music reminiscent of that time by classical violinist Emma-Marie Kabanova, herself a refugee from Ukraine. As well as the accounts of those whose music continued to be played in the camps, maintaining hope and retaining their humanity, some of the testimony we heard shared more about what came before the war—how Jewish people were forced to leave their homes and their businesses, how they fled in boats from European shores to reach Palestine but were refused landing or, worse, died at sea. I closed my eyes to listen to the simplicity of the violin played in the minster, as the words of those who lived through that horror were shared with us all. The contrast between the evil perpetrated in the name of power and ideology and the selflessness of those condemned to death for something they could not control was incredibly moving. By the end of the Holocaust, as we know, 6 million Jewish men, women and children had been murdered in ghettos, mass shootings, concentration camps and death camps. In addition, and often forgotten, were the other groups targeted by the Nazis for extermination, among them Romani Gypsies, those with disabilities, gay and bisexual men and black people. This year carries a special significance, as we mark 80 years since the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau. Next Sunday I will be attending the Poole Lighthouse Holocaust memorial event, as I do every year, at which candles are lit for the victims of not only the Nazi Holocaust but later genocides, all of which unbelievably occurred within my lifetime, in Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia and Darfur. That is what Holocaust Memorial Day is for: looking backwards to look forwards. The theme of Holocaust Memorial Day this year is “For a better future”, so I return to my son, Isaac. At the age of 12, he joined his fellow Broadstone scouts on a European adventure focused on world war two. They travelled across several countries, alternating light-hearted activity days with visits to the Colditz castle prisoner of war camp, to Auschwitz and, on their return, to the Menin Gate to see the war graves and witness the last post at sunset. We thought carefully about whether he was too young for such a trip and whether he could really understand what he was seeing, but I have seen the positive impact of that trip on him. The relationship that we all build with history and truth goes some way to structuring our perspectives in adulthood and preventing our susceptibility to dangerous narratives. The work of the Holocaust Educational Trust in training and supporting hundreds of teachers each year to help us all learn from the past and work towards a more united future, and of the Antisemitism Policy Trust in training decision makers like us, should be commended and supported. As my party’s spokesperson for housing, communities and local government, it should not be surprising that I will say there is a role for our communities to play too. At a time of rising antisemitism and Islamophobia, many UK communities are feeling vulnerable, with hostility and suspicion of others rising. The Home Office’s own statistics revealed that the number of religious hate crimes recorded in the year to March 2024 had rocketed, which it has directly attributed to a spike in anti-Jewish hate. We have also seen inconsistent responses from the police to language and behaviours that may well be antisemitic or viewed as hate crimes. I call on the Government to ensure that the police have the resources and, most importantly, the training they need to respond effectively and swiftly to antisemitic hate crimes, and to provide funding for security organisations such as the Community Security Trust. We must speak up against Holocaust and genocide denial and distortion. We must challenge prejudice. We were told by Holocaust survivor Alf Garwood in Mr Speaker’s service yesterday: “When my parents were coming to terms with their trauma after the war, I saw what their hate towards those who had destroyed our lives did to them. Hate only poisoned them.” We must all continue to remember, and to work for peace and understanding at a time when the world feels fragile, and we in this place must lead that work together for a better future.

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

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  I apologise to the Minister, because like the hon. Members for Shrewsbury (Julia Buckley) and for Bolton West (Phil Brickell), and my hon. Friend the Member for Harrogate and Knaresborough (Tom Gordon), I will raise the issue of spray foam. My constituent Matt was told that his house was unmortgageable with the nation’s largest building society, despite his paying extra for an extensive survey of his timbers to prove that there was no problem. He has since been forced to replace his roof at a cost of £21,000 just to get a chance to remortgage and perhaps one day sell his house. The roofing companies told him that the market is booming for spray foam removal by the very same people who put it in, which feels like exploitation. How will the Government address that, and why are Government sites still promoting and recommending spray foam insulation?

• 23 Jan 2025 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  Many of our professionals, including doctors, teachers and police officers, are struggling with recruitment and retention. They all serve our communities with dedication and selflessness, and we rely on them, but they are affected by the rules relating to their pensions. In the case of doctors, it is costing them money to work additional hours for the NHS. In the case of long-standing teachers and police officers, changes to their pensions partway through employment can mean that they owe money or are trapped and unable to claim pensions, due to legislative change. Will the Leader of the House agree to have a debate in Government time on public sector pensions?

• 22 Jan 2025 · Education, Health and Care Plans · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Dr Huq. The current system is creating a horrendous conflict environment and a depressing, stressful professional working experience for teachers and support staff. Parents are spending their lives fighting, costing their own mental health and livelihoods, and councils are on the brink of resisting because they simply cannot cope with more. Far from early diagnosis adding to the strain, we believe that more investment can save money, reassure parents and ensure that schools and councils understand better the needs of the children who come through the system. I have been contacted by so many parents, but I want to share what Rachel from Wimborne told me. She said: “As a preschooler, there is a chance to give my daughter a full education, but the Dorset Child Development Centre is drowning in referrals, with a two-year wait for speech and language referrals.” Her mum is a teacher, and she said: “The red tape around autism and other neurodivergent conditions is ridiculous. Why do they have to go to the CDC when their needs are so severe that it is obvious to other educational and health professionals?” I have sent the Minister details of an exciting pilot scheme at Broadstone middle school, and I look forward to hearing about a meeting soon. Does she agree that SEND children are entitled to the same quality of life and happy childhood as everybody else?

• 22 Jan 2025 · Russian Maritime Activity and UK Response · Hansard source

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  Last week, alongside other hon. Members and peers in the armed forces parliamentary scheme, I visited the nation’s flagship Prince of Wales aircraft carrier. The commanding officer Captain Will Blackett and his team showed us the ship’s capability, and we witnessed an incredible demonstration of how they can respond. But when we asked about how they would respond to ballistic missiles, or how this place and other institutions are protected from hostile states, it was a terrifying response. I realise the strategic defence review is ongoing and that there is a commitment to get to 2.5%, but with President Trump threatening to pull out of NATO, that is not enough. What plans does the Secretary of State have to go faster and to put our military retention and recruitment on a stronger footing, so that our country and infrastructure are properly protected?

• 21 Jan 2025 · Community Engagement Principles and Extremism Definition · Hansard source

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  As we know, the world is a fast-moving and scary place, and people who feel disempowered and isolated often turn to the internet. They are often vulnerable, and their reliance on the internet for everything in their world puts them at even greater risk. We must work with our community leaders to make the most of the information that they hold, and get early notice of problems. What worries me is that if we make assumptions and do not work with our communities, there is a risk of authoritarian decision making that affects all of us. What consultation has there been with communities on the changes, and what additional burdens might fall on local authorities following changes to how the Government work? Furthermore, with such extreme things taking place online, especially on the platforms of social media giants based across the pond, what are the Government actively doing to unite faith and cultural leaders, environmental groups, industries and people across generations to foster unity and stop extremism across the whole spectrum?

• 20 Jan 2025 · Local Government Reorganisation: Devon · Hansard source

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  I refer the House to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests as a serving councillor on Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council. Many councils have already undergone significant reorganisation, from moving to shared services right the way through to full unitarisation, and the costs of that have always been underestimated. Although transformation leads to lower long-term revenue costs, we know that councils everywhere are teetering on the edge, so finding funds to pay for reorganisation, transformation and redundancies will be problematic. The mayoral authorities add an extra complication, so can the Minister confirm that funding from central Government will be provided to fully cover both devolution and local government reorganisation, so that councils do not have to factor extra costs into their 2025-26 and 2026-27 budgets or risk reducing local services further?

• 20 Jan 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  Recently, a 1-acre site in Corfe Mullen in my constituency was sold. It was a house surrounded by lots of beautiful gardens, and I think the House can see where this is going. The neighbours raised the alarm that the trees were going to be taken down. They flagged it with the council, which did not see a problem, and a week later, in the dead of night, the developers brought chainsaws and destroyed every bit of nature on the site. Will the Minister commit to bringing forward legislation to auto-protect trees above a particular size or age in their planning reforms, so that developers do not get away with environmental vandalism?

• 15 Jan 2025 · Non-Domestic Rating (Multipliers and Private Schools) Bill · Hansard source

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  Business rates reform is long overdue. It is frequently cited by my constituents as the biggest concern for their businesses’ survival and one of the most direct inhibitors to their growth. I was contacted this week by a constituent from a local business in Three Legged Cross, right on the edge of my constituency. He has been running it for over 40 years, and the cliff edge created by the small business rate relief means that his rates bill will go from £2,800 to £8,500 per year. The only thing that will save this microbusiness is systemic change as proposed by the Lib Dems in our manifesto, not a tax based on an arbitrary valuation that bears no relationship to the activity taking place inside his building. High streets are trying to redefine themselves, moving from the heart of goods purchasing to literal shop windows as they struggle to compete against online competitors that do not have their overheads. It would be wrong to think that the solution is to try to return to the perfect high street of the past, as if such a thing exists. I am old enough to remember C&A being the place me and my friends browsed for the latest fashions, and there was a Blockbuster video store and pic ’n’ mix from Woolies. Where are they now? It is dangerous and self-defeating to be caught up in toxic nostalgia, trying to reclaim the past as some kind of perfect place. Parliament must enact legislation that supports the society of tomorrow and towns that will work for a technological and multicultural age—indeed, an age in which people can no longer afford the stuff that we used to buy on a Saturday afternoon, or are choosing, as I do now, to buy their stuff from second-hand stores. The dangerous gap between the slashing of retail hospitality and leisure relief by almost half, and a regime that brings in as yet undefined new multipliers, brings real risk. Our new clause 1 would require a review of the impact of clauses 1 to 4 on businesses, on high streets and on the real prize of economic growth that the Government mention so often. There has been a lot of talk in recent months about decisions being made without clear impact assessments. As we move through a period of reform, enshrining such an assessment in law, rather than questioning later whether it has been done, would save us all a lot of trouble and demonstrate that the Government genuinely want to make improvements.

• 15 Jan 2025 · Non-Domestic Rating (Multipliers and Private Schools) Bill · Hansard source

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  I completely agree with my hon. Friend. One problem is the same law of unintended consequences that we have seen with things like the national insurance increase—which, as we repeat over and over again, is impacting small businesses, hospices, doctors’ surgeries and things like that—when quite understandably, an attempt is made to raise funds from elsewhere. I want to share the views of Anthony Woodhouse, the chair of Hall and Woodhouse brewery and pub chain, founded and based in Dorset but with a branch just across the way from this place—unfortunately, I am not able to be at its event in Portcullis House because of the timing of today’s debate. Anthony told me that the revaluing of property when a huge amount of money has just been invested to make it fit for a changing market, and before you have even had a chance to benefit from that market, is completely crazy and discourages business investment. As such, it is important that as we look to reform business rates, we examine that issue as well. Despite our failure to do that, businesses such as Anthony’s are responding to the market. Pubs such as the Olive Branch in Wimborne and the Old Granary on Wareham quay are now places where muddy boots, children and dogs are welcome, and where they sell as many cups of coffee as pints of local beer. The high street needs to morph as businesses have—to be ready and willing to change—but while business rate reform rightly starts with the high street, it is important that it does not end there. As such, I turn to our amendments 1 to 6, which would add manufacturing businesses to the lower multiplier. The UK has a rich history of manufacturing excellence, and Barclays’ “Made in Britain” report found that a product being made in Britain held an important influence over consumers’ decision to purchase it, with customers perceiving such products to be high quality, reliable and internationally respected. The “made in Britain” tag was found to be worth an addition £3.5 billion a year to our UK exporters, which is why we believe that the lower multiplier should also apply to manufacturing businesses. We need to give those businesses a shot in the arm to ensure they can compete on the world stage. The threats by incoming President Trump to put tariffs on UK products, our continued isolation from our neighbours through an inadequate Brexit deal, and the rapid growth of economies such as China and India represent a real threat to local manufacturing. Poole Bay Holdings, based in my constituency, stands ready to produce its innovative Koolpak here in the UK. Anybody who has children will know the brand Koolpak—it is that ice pack that is not even ice—and that business has been modifying its equipment so that it can make the product here, in Dorset, to compete with China. It stands ready to drive up those sales. Recognition of such businesses through a lower multiplier, or at least the potential to include them in a lower multiplier if the market becomes more tricky, is the intent behind our amendments. Turning to amendments 7 and 8, which stand in the name of the shadow Minister, the hon. Member for Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner (David Simmonds), the Liberal Democrats simply do not believe in the taxation of education. Alongside the changes to VAT, the removal of the special status for schools is really disappointing. Therefore, those amendments—which seek to recognise the value of schools for children whose needs are difficult to meet elsewhere, whether those are special educational needs and disabilities or whether people are choosing to educate in a faith school—seem reasonable. In summary, this Bill is a fair start, and some businesses will feel it is better than the abyss that might otherwise have been. However, the Government could and should have taken different decisions to protect businesses that will face additional costs in just a few weeks’ time. We are often asked how we would pay for it; I welcome that discussion, as there were many proposals in our manifesto, from taxing big banks to asking gambling companies to pay their fair share. On behalf of the Liberal Democrats, I recognise that the Government have worked quickly to bring this Bill forward, but the risks of losing businesses en route to something better are just too great. We need proper reform, so that the businesses of the mid-21st century can weather the storms ahead.

• 15 Jan 2025 · Non-Domestic Rating (Multipliers and Private Schools) Bill · Hansard source

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  I agree that this is a difficult time for small businesses, with so many things changing at the same time—not least the increasing national insurance rates. To return to the role of the high street, the most successful high streets are moving quickly to reinvent themselves. Since my election, I have been trying to find a high street location for my constituency office. I had decided to base myself in the historic market town of Wimborne, where my mum lived and my children went to school. It is the fastest-growing community in Mid Dorset and North Poole—Ministers have heard me talk about its housing problems many times—and it has great bus routes. I thought it would be a great place to find a small unit easily. I was wrong, however. The strength of the sense of place, the innovation of its businesses and the hard work of its business improvement district and its town council are such that when a business closes down, others are waiting to move in. I have finally found my new home, which will open by the end of the month when we have fitted it out, but the experience proved what I already knew: the high street can survive, but only when the business community is prepared to give people what they want. Retailers such as Tickles and Co. trade alongside the hospice shop, and old businesses such as Bartletts, which has for 120 years sold smart clothes for all seasons, are able to sustain themselves despite changes in the market. The Lib Dems welcome the proposal to permanently reduce business rates for retail, hospitality and leisure, and we acknowledge that the financial situation the Government were left by the previous Government makes the 75% discount difficult to maintain, but any discount is worthless if businesses that are trying to stabilise following the covid pandemic, the energy crisis and the shift to online cashless purchasing do not even make it through the next year. As I have said before, that is not the reform that business needs. The Minister has already said that this is just phase 1, but we are incredibly frustrated that he has not taken the opportunity to take things further. New clause 3, in the name of my hon. Friend the Member for St Albans (Daisy Cooper), focuses our proposals further on the retail, hospitality and leisure sector, and raises valid points about the risk to individual businesses compared with those that have multiple branches. There must be an assessment of that risk alongside a broader impact assessment.

• 15 Jan 2025 · Non-Domestic Rating (Multipliers and Private Schools) Bill · Hansard source

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  I beg to move, That the clause be read a Second time.

• 15 Jan 2025 · Local Government Reorganisation · Hansard source

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  There is no doubt that local government needs significant reform, and Lib Dems are passionate about putting power into the hands of local communities, but we are concerned that rather than producing true devolution, these plans will end up as a top-down diktat from Whitehall. MPs and district councillors from areas including Devon, Surrey and the midlands have told me that submissions appear to have been made without their district councils being involved or consulted, and without the opportunity to undertake consultation with residents and businesses. What steps are the Government taking to ensure that they engage meaningfully with every level of councils? Councils such as Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole, which I used to lead, face Hobson’s choice. Tonight, councillors will be voting on whether to join proposals to their east or their west, neither of which reflect their urban needs or their distinct character. Or do they sit it out and hope for the best? What plans do the Government have to ensure that residents will have the democratic ability to decide on the right devolution plan for them? Can the Minister confirm, given that these plans will take more than a year to implement, that all the elections due in May 2025 will go ahead?

• 14 Jan 2025 · Agricultural and Business Property Relief · Hansard source

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  Will the hon. Gentleman give way?

• 13 Jan 2025 · Hospice and Palliative Care · Hansard source

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  I completely agree, but what is really ridiculous is that, according to the Department of Health and Social Care, over 10 million hospital days followed an emergency admission in the last year of life, and 10% of people who died of cancer had three or more emergency admissions in the last three months of their life. The anticipatory care model can prevent some of those admissions and reduce the trauma. Further to my letter, sent in November, I urge the Minister to meet me and Clare Gallie to talk about a transformative approach. I was deeply concerned when Marie Curie emailed me to say that Dorset integrated care board will stop commissioning specialist end of life care from March. The rationale is that personal care commissioning will go via council frameworks, but they do not require expertise in the provision of end of life care. I urge the Minister to insist that the specialists are listened to in the framework and to ensure that Lewis-Manning and Marie Curie are heard. Those organisations are looking to make redundancies and close services at a time when hospital beds are at a premium—

• 13 Jan 2025 · Hospice and Palliative Care · Hansard source

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  I shall be as fast as I can, Madam Deputy Speaker. There is no doubt that there is massive support for the hospice movement in this place. While the new funding is welcome, Clare Gallie, the chief executive of the Lewis-Manning hospice in Poole said: “There is simply no point in having fully fitted and beautiful buildings if we cannot afford the staff to run them!” When someone has a terminal diagnosis, their world turns upside down. It may have come out of the blue, or it may be after years of intensive treatment, when they are already at breaking point and sick. Families have to come to terms with losing the person they love, and learn to cope with managing distressing symptoms, processing their own emotions, and managing money worries and potentially their own health issues. People will be coming in and out of the house at a time when they just want to be left alone. They will also be terrified of being left alone and something awful happening. They are more likely to call their GP on a Friday afternoon, worried that no one will be around at the weekend; more likely to witness a distressing symptom and ring for an ambulance, creating an emergency dash to the hospital and a lengthy stay on a trolley; and more likely to be subjected to blood tests and interventions that will not alter the path of their disease. I went on that journey when my mum, Lin Foster, died of ovarian cancer aged just 59, but we were lucky: we had the support of district nurses and palliative care teams through Forest Holme. For the last eight weeks of her life, when she did not leave her bed, those people came in and out of her house with no need to knock. They knew where the kettle was, and they knew when we needed our own time. They managed her every need, including supporting her as she planned her own funeral. She did not want to go to hospital. She wanted to end her days in the thatched cottage that had been her lifelong dream. That is what most people say they want, but only 37% of cancer patients are at home at the time of their death. Junior doctors tell us that palliative patients are spending months in general medical wards, frequently dying there. I was told: “It is not right, it is not humane because general wards lack the skills”. It also does not save the NHS money. I have written to the Minister about the Lewis-Manning anticipatory care model, which I also raised with the all-party parliamentary group on hospice and end of life care. That programme seeks involvement at the point of diagnosis. Lewis-Manning ran a pilot from April 2024 to this month that saved NHS Dorset £765,000 across Poole and Purbeck.

• 9 Jan 2025 · Pokesdown Station · Hansard source

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  It is a very niche question, and I want to ask about the next railway line along from Bournemouth.

• 9 Jan 2025 · Pokesdown Station · Hansard source

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  The residents of Wareham, just along the way from Bournemouth, have been waiting more than 20 years for electronic gates—

• 9 Jan 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  The residents of Wareham, just along from Bournemouth, have been trying to get electronic gates for 20 years. Network Rail’s latest excuse is that it is for the Office of Rail and Road, and the Office of Rail and Road says that it is for Network Rail. Will the Secretary of State meet me so that we can bang heads together and get this resolved once and for all?

• 8 Jan 2025 · Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill · Hansard source

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  Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker. I will go as quickly as I can, because I had timed my speech to five minutes. The death of Sara Sharif shocked us all. As my hon. Friend the Member for Woking (Mr Forster) said before recess, we have the opportunity to change the law so that her legacy is to be “the last vulnerable child to be killed by people who should have looked after her.” —[ Official Report , 18 December 2024; Vol. 759, c. 312.] We often recall the names of Victoria Climbié and baby Peter Connelly, but so many more children and babies have been the innocent victims of evil parents and family members, neglectful professionals and siloed systems. Their memories should be etched on our hearts as we consider this Bill. I welcome the moves in part 1 of the Bill to strengthen the multi-agency approach, but I agree with the Children’s Commissioner and the hon. Member for Lowestoft (Jess Asato) that we should go further in protecting children from assault. Some of the injuries inflicted on children such as Sara Sharif under the guise of reasonable punishment have been beyond belief, but if “reasonable punishment” is not defined in law, that must make it very difficult for some social workers to take the appropriate action. I have been shocked by just how many of the child deaths reported are of babies—infants who have not reached school or nursery and whose voices are literally unheard. I worry that the role of the health visitor in the lives of new parents has been so greatly reduced. As a new mum, I would join other parents at regular weigh-in sessions and playgroups alongside health visitors, right through to when my child started nursery. GPs in my constituency of Mid Dorset and North Poole have told me that they would previously liaise with the health visitors in their surgeries to warn families who were at risk—perhaps a mum had come in for a smear test and they were worried about domestic abuse, or a father had come in and they were worried about alcohol abuse. They could send the health visitor in and check up on those families, but that does not happen any more, thanks to the smashing of the system under the previous Government. Turning to the schools part of the Bill, I am sorely disappointed that it lacks anything to support children with special educational needs and disabilities. There is no requirement for schools to be inclusive of such children, and nothing about the need for teachers to be trained in autism or social and emotional health. Previously, when challenging the Minister, I have urged more action and have been told to wait for this Bill, but if there were an Ofsted judgment, it would be “requires improvement”. When my child was pushed out of school, unable to cope full time and obviously not going to achieve the heady heights of five GCSEs and 90% attendance, we seriously considered home education. To hear your child say, “Mum, they don’t want me here” breaks your heart. The lack of accountability in academies is just not okay, so I welcome the move to bring academies more under the control of local authorities. Home education is a right of parents, and it can be transformational for some children. My constituent Katie, who chooses to educate her children at home, has raised concerns about schools referring a family to social services if they indicate their wish to move to home education. Will the Minister confirm that it will not be possible for a school to refer a family simply because they choose to opt out? There are also concerns about the risks to parents fleeing domestic abuse when the other parent does not have any involvement, because under this Bill the register requires permission from both parents and will list both parents, which simply would not be possible in that situation. If that means that single parent families are excluded, that is simply not okay. Finally, there is an opportunity to properly support families for whom school does not work. Proposed new section 436G, on page 55 of the Bill, talks about support, but provides none. We need parents to have the ability to access the national curriculum, free resources and free examinations.

• 8 Jan 2025 · Playgrounds · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mrs Lewell-Buck. I congratulate my neighbour, the hon. Member for Bournemouth East (Tom Hayes), on securing this debate, which has appropriately fallen on the day we are debating the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill. Although we know that many of a child’s social, developmental and exercise needs are met through their learning environment and school, it would be a mistake to underestimate the importance of outdoor equipped play space. Trips to the park after school help children form strong bonds to help their resilience, but they also give parents important time outside school and home, and the chance to make good friends for life. I can attest to that with my friend Nicki, who I met 20 years ago when our daughters Molly and Becca got to know each other on the swings at Springdale park—a park, incidentally, that has fantastic inclusive play, as it was constructed very close to the local children’s hospice, and there was consultation with the hospice on what it would need. In a 2019 Mumsnet survey, one in four parents said that a lack of outdoor play had contributed to their children’s mental health issues. That is before covid saw them locked up, and councils’ financial crisis saw the gates stay locked when councils simply did not have the money to fix the equipment. Lib Dems believe that playgrounds play a vital role in community engagement, child development and physical and mental health for children, young people and their families. We welcome the Play England amendment to the national planning policy framework, which will protect play and lead all developers to fulfil their responsibilities. Residents in Wimborne in my Mid Dorset and North Poole constituency have real concerns—I have raised them before with the Minister, which he will remember—about promised play areas in their developments that turn out to just be a bench, a Tellytubby hill and a dog bin. The residents then have to pay extra to maintain the non-play area. As the hon. Member for Bournemouth East said, the last major play investment project was under the last Labour Government, called Playbuilder. Unfortunately, as fantastic as that equipment was, it is now failing. In 2023, The Guardian reported that the average budgets for parks had fallen in real terms by more than a third. In BCP, as has already been referenced, a plan for play has been developed, with a vision to provide high-quality, accessible, safe and inclusive play. I completely accept the hon. Member’s criticism of the equipment in Bournemouth. I just say that the previous Conservative-led Bournemouth council did not bother to insure its play equipment, which meant that every time there was an act of vandalism, the community would have to pay to fix it. That cannot be allowed. As a result, the new Lib Dem-led council is now using £3.9 million of the strategic community infrastructure fund to address this. In my ward, we had a playground that was taken out in the 1980s, which the community worked together to re-imagine. Colin and Caroline put two years’ work in, and more than £100,000 was raised from the community with help from the council, but it should not come down to that. Parishes and neighbourhood forums are able to do their bit, but until this is made a statutory requirement, it is impossible for councils that have statutory requirements for social services and housing to put this as a priority. Liberal Democrats would love to see the Government work with councils on sustainable settlements that allow them to invest not just in the basics, but in activities to build happy lives for everyone. Every community needs play, and I agree with the hon. Member for Ealing Southall (Deirdre Costigan) about considering girls and incidental play as well, especially when families have no gardens and limited access to nature, and the only safe place left is the park. If we want happy, healthy children to become resilient, problem-solving and active adults, we need to act now. I welcome the Minister becoming the next Andy Burnham, and would love to see a Playbuilder 2, but this time, could we please have equipment that is fully inclusive for children with disabilities and neurodivergence, and of all ages and genders? It should also be sustainable and not a one-off, so that the equipment does not have to be locked up again in 10 years’ time.

• 7 Jan 2025 · Northern Gaza · Hansard source

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  It is quite clear that the Minister is frustrated, but thoughts and prayers are just not enough. What is the Minister doing to progress the Palestinian statehood that Norway, Spain, Ireland and more than 100 other countries have all confirmed? The Foreign Secretary confirmed it would happen. What is stopping that happening now?

• 7 Jan 2025 · Employer National Insurance Contributions: Charities · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Ms Vaz. There are 328 charities in my constituency of Mid Dorset and North Poole, including Safe Partnership, which is run out of Wareham. It installs safe rooms and secures properties for people who have been victims of domestic abuse. Not one of those people has to pay for that service; it is paid for by councils that of course are not going to be funding the additional cost of those commissioned services. In Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole alone, the cost of the additional employers NICs for the commissioned services in children’s and adult care is £5.5 million. Becky, who runs Windward Day Services in my constituency, said: “The feeling in adult social care is bleak. The people we support do not deserve to…be the ones who receive lower quality…services through…no fault of their own.” Mark Powell is chief executive of Diverse Abilities Plus, and the charity is to celebrate its 70th birthday this year. Phyllis Edwards, who founded it, wanted to protect children with disabilities, but Mark is concerned that it will not make its 70th birthday.