Andrew Bingham
Main Page: Andrew Bingham (Conservative - High Peak)Department Debates - View all Andrew Bingham's debates with the Department for Education
(9 years, 11 months ago)
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The only answer I can give is that one would like to think so. I think any parent would have assumed that to be the case. However, I will come on to that and to what the coroner said in this regard as well.
I commend my hon. Friend for bringing this debate to the Chamber. It is a truly tragic story. Does he agree that, although this is always a serious issue, as more couples go back to work and ever more people are using child care, the gravity of this situation increases? One child lost is one too many, but with more people using child care they require more reassurance.
I could not agree more. That is one reason why it is long overdue for the Government to take this issue seriously and why they should make provision for a change in the regulations that will require this to happen in future. Hon. Members will be shocked to hear that in some respects the capacity of the regulations to help in a situation such as this has, in my view, been reduced; they have been weakened rather than strengthened. I am sure that that is the result of the law of unintended consequences, but that is what has happened and it will be a cause of great concern to all of us.