Oral Answers to Questions

Alison Bennett Excerpts

Monday 21st July 2025 Commons Chamber

[Stephen Morgan]

I thank my hon. Friend for the hard work she has undertaken on the Select Committee. She will know that we will deliver on our commitment on mental health support teams in the course of the next few months and years. By 2026, we estimate that 60% of pupils in schools and learners will have access to national health service tests—NHSTs—and I will take her suggestion back to the Department.

[Alison Bennett (Mid Sussex) (LD)]

Good mental health at school is sometimes bolstered by out-of-school support, especially for the most vulnerable children. Last week, I met Vicky and her team at Jigsaw Occupational Therapy in Burgess Hill, and I spoke to the families they help. Roughly a quarter of their work involved supporting kinship and adopted children and helping them to regulate following profound trauma. Vicky described the impact on their children of the Government’s cuts to the adoption and special guardianship support fund as “heartbreaking”. Can the Minister offer any words of comfort to Vicky and the families she helps?

[Stephen Morgan]

We are maintaining the support available to children to ensure that there is reasonable support in place, and providing more funding to local authorities. This Government are committed to breaking down the barriers to opportunity so that every child can succeed and thrive, and that is what we are getting on and delivering.