Oral Answers to Questions

Bridget Phillipson Excerpts

Wednesday 29th April 2026 Commons Chamber

[Robbie Moore (Keighley and Ilkley) (Con)]

4. What steps the Government are taking to support children with SEND at school.

[The Minister for Women and Equalities (Bridget Phillipson)]

We all know that the current SEND system fails too many families. Our proposals will deliver a reformed SEND system backed by £4 billion of investment so that every child can achieve and thrive. A three-tier framework will provide targeted and specialist support, strengthened education, health and care plans, early intervention, access to specialist services and better outcomes for all of our children.

[Robbie Moore]

Last week, I met Alice Jones, the headteacher of Oxenhope primary school, to talk about the funding challenges it is facing in supporting children with SEND and her deep concerns about this Government’s planned SEND reforms, which include shifting ECHPs to individual support plans, therefore limiting protection for ECHPs to only the most complex cases. That will reduce the necessary financial support for children in mainstream schools. What reassurance can the Minister give Mrs Jones, and the many other headteachers in my constituency who have contacted me, who believe that the Government’s SEND reforms will not address the current challenges?

[Bridget Phillipson]

I recognise the serious point that the hon. Gentleman sets out, and we have launched a consultation so that we can hear directly from school leaders, parents and young people about what we need to do to make the system work better. I encourage school leaders in his constituency to review that and to share their views. However, I want to be clear that this is about improving support, providing earlier support and making sure that all children are able to access what they need as quickly as possible. The current system is too adversarial, it is not working and I have heard from too many parents who have been badly let down by the system that he and his party left behind.

[Alex McIntyre (Gloucester) (Lab)]

I welcome the Government’s commitment to making sure that every child with SEND in Gloucester gets the support they need at the earliest stage of their education. I also welcome the £4.6 million investment in the Experts at Hand service in Gloucestershire coming for the next academic year. Can the Minister update the House on the discussions she is having with the Department of Health on its workforce plan to make sure we have the workers needed to deliver that support in Gloucester?

[Bridget Phillipson]

My hon. Friend is a true champion for children and young people and families right across his community. He raises an important point. The SEND consultation we have brought forward is a joint document with the Department of Health and Social Care, because we know that this is about having a system that better responds not only to children’s educational needs when they are in school, but to wider health needs. That is why our Experts at Hand initiative will make sure there is better, targeted specialist support for all children who need it, avoiding the lengthy waits, the arduous process and the adversarial system that too many parents have to endure at the moment.

[Tony Vaughan (Folkestone and Hythe) (Lab)]

T1.   If she will make a statement on her departmental responsibilities.

[The Minister for Women and Equalities (Bridget Phillipson)]

From this month, employers can publish new voluntary action plans to tackle the gender pay gap and support women in the workplace going through the menopause, which is a vital step forward in improving workplace equality. We are working with employers and encouraging them to take the meaningful actions we know can work. With our women’s health strategy, the landmark Employment Rights Act 2025, stronger protections for maternity and pregnant women, and expanded childcare, this Government are supporting women to thrive at work.

[Tony Vaughan]

Following the Supreme Court’s ruling in the For Women Scotland case, I met several constituents who raised concerns about the Equality and Human Rights Commission’s draft code of practice and guidance. I thank the Folkestone Bookshop for hosting those meetings. As the Government lay the updated guidance before Parliament, what assurances can my right hon. Friend give that businesses and groups can confidently be trans-inclusive, and that it will be clear how everyone can be protected from harassment and discrimination?

[Bridget Phillipson]

I completely agree that we must ensure that women and trans people feel safe and are protected from harassment. We will treat everyone with the dignity and respect they deserve, because those are our values, and that is made clear in the Equality Act 2010. We have also been clear that we expect duty bearers to follow the Supreme Court ruling, and to seek legal advice where necessary. I recently received an updated code of practice from the EHRC. I am grateful to it for its work. My intention is to lay the draft code before Parliament in May, as soon as possible after the election period.

[Mr Speaker]

I call the shadow Minister.

[Claire Coutinho (East Surrey) (Con)]

Nurses have been hounded and harassed by the NHS simply for stating that biological sex is real. The Minister met some of them at my request, and I am grateful for that, but that was months ago. What has happened since? Has she got an answer from the Nursing and Midwifery Council about how many more nurses face such witch hunts? Has she got a date from the Health Secretary for when the NHS will ensure single-sex changing rooms for staff? In short, what can she say to those hard-working nurses whose lives have been ruined by senior people in the NHS?

[Bridget Phillipson]

My message to nurses and to anyone working in our NHS is that they deserve dignity at work. They deserve to be treated with respect, and they should not face abuse, intimidation or harassment. We have seen some shocking cases, and that is completely unacceptable. The right hon. Lady will appreciate that the regulator is independent of Government. It is independent for a reason, and that is the right approach. She will also know that the code of practice that I intend to lay before Parliament does not apply to employment, but employers should be following the law.

[Claire Coutinho]

I thank the Minister, but this is the classic problem. She is not on top of her brief. She is absolutely allowed to write to regulators and ask whether they are breaking the law. Let me try another question. The Muslim Vote campaign is telling people how to vote, depending on what God they pray to. This is divisive, sectarian and has no place in Britain. The last time I asked the Minister to condemn that, she said that she was not aware of what I was describing, but in these local elections, the Muslim Vote has once again endorsed the Green party and Plaid Cymru. I will give her another chance: will she condemn this group and the divisive sectarian role it is playing in British politics?

[Bridget Phillipson]

No one should face pressure or undue influence around their voting behaviour; let me be absolutely clear on that point. But let me also be clear to the House that I am fed up to the back teeth of Opposition politicians coming here time and again to sow division across our country. I am proud of the tolerant, compassionate and respectful nation that we are, and the shadow Justice Secretary should have been sacked for his shocking and shameful racist comments against Muslims in our country.

[Rachel Taylor (North Warwickshire and Bedworth) (Lab)]

T2. Leaked guidance from the Equality and Human Rights Commission suggested that it would be lawful for transgender and gender non-conforming people to be excluded from changing facilities based on a perception that their appearance did not correspond with societal gender norms, irrespective of their actual sex. Can the Minister reassure the House that such an obvious licence for bigotry and discrimination will not be included in the final guidance when she publishes it next month?

[Bridget Phillipson]

I thank my hon. Friend for her important question. She will appreciate, I am sure, that I cannot comment on the draft code of practice, but I want to reassure the House that trans people will continue to be protected from discrimination under the Equality Act. We will not treat this issue as a political football, as many others have done in the past. As I set out in earlier answers, I intend to lay the draft code before Parliament as soon as possible, once we are through the election period.

[Rupert Lowe (Great Yarmouth) (Restore Britain)]

T3. Women all over Britain, including in my constituency of Great Yarmouth, primarily on King Street, feel intimidated, harassed and abused in their town centres. Disproportionately, this unacceptable behaviour is committed by young foreign men imported from cultures and religions that treat women like dirt on the bottom of their shoe. Will the Minister today commit to a national audit of street harassment, intimidation and sexual offending by nationality and immigration status, so the British people can finally see the scale of the problem?

[Bridget Phillipson]

Here we go again, Mr Speaker. I note that an investigation by a King’s counsel into the hon. Gentleman’s conduct concluded that there was “credible evidence” that he had mistreated two female team members in a way that seemed “to amount to harassment”. I do not want to hear anything from him about violence against women and girls or harassment.

The Prime Minister was asked—