Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel: Baby Victoria Marten

Bridget Phillipson Excerpts

Thursday 12th February 2026 Written Statements

[The Secretary of State for Education (Bridget Phillipson)]

In July 2025, Constance Marten and Mark Gordon were found guilty of the gross negligence manslaughter of their daughter, baby Victoria. The court heard that the couple had gone to great lengths to evade authorities, living in unsafe and transient conditions in the weeks following the birth. Their actions resulted in the death of a vulnerable newborn whose life should have been protected and supported from her very first moments. The death of Victoria was a profound tragedy, and the Government’s thoughts remain with all those affected.

While justice has now been served, and Victoria’s parents are serving prison sentences, nothing can repair the loss of her life, and it is incumbent upon us to do everything in our power to ensure such tragedies are prevented wherever possible.

Across the country, child protection professionals dedicate themselves to safeguarding vulnerable children, often in circumstances that test even the most resilient among them. I have no doubt that they, like all of us, were deeply shaken by what happened to Victoria. Yet as a safeguarding system, and as a society, we must have the courage to confront uncomfortable truths and examine openly where failures occurred.

Today’s publication by the child safeguarding practice review panel into the case of baby Victoria identifies a series of significant and complex safeguarding concerns, including concealed pregnancy, persistent non-engagement with services and practitioners, domestic abuse, risks posed by serious offenders, and the challenges that arise when families move frequently between local areas. It also highlights the need for more proactive, relational and multi-agency safeguarding and child protection practice, with clear pathways for support for parents and strengthened approaches to safeguarding unborn children.

As I noted in my statement following the heartbreaking murder of Sara Sharif in November 2025, this is precisely why we must press on with the sustained and meaningful reforms needed to strengthen co-ordination between local safeguarding partners, all firmly anchored in clear and authoritative national guidance. I want to reassure the House that this Government regard the review’s conclusions with the utmost gravity and will inform our ongoing programme of reforms to children’s social care, supported by the £2.4 billion investment announced by the Government to improve early interventions, family help and outcomes for vulnerable babies, children and their families. We are also considering how forthcoming changes to statutory guidance, working together to safeguard children, can better reflect the needs of babies and unborn children.

The Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill, now progressing through Parliament, represents an important step in our work to build a system that protects every child, especially the most vulnerable. Its purpose is simple but profound: to make sure that no child slips from view, and that when concerns arise, agencies act together swiftly and with clear purpose. Schools and early years settings will have a strengthened role in local safeguarding arrangements, recognising the trust they hold and the unique insight they so often have into a child’s daily life. New multi-agency child protection teams will bring professionals together to focus squarely on cases where there is a risk of significant harm, improving the speed and quality of the response and ensuring that expertise sits right where it is most urgently needed.

Better information sharing, supported by a single unique identifier, will help prevent the gaps through which children can sometimes tragically fall. And by giving local authorities clearer duties in relation to children who are educated at home, alongside establishing a register of children not in school, we will support families while also ensuring that no child becomes invisible to the system. Crucially, we are embedding family led decision making, because when a child’s safety is at stake, families deserve to be heard and involved in shaping the support around them.

These reforms matter not in the abstract, but because of children like baby Victoria. Her short life, and the unimaginable circumstances in which it ended, remind us of the devastating consequences when agencies cannot reach a child in time, when help is not accepted, or when families evade the very services designed to protect them. Nothing can undo the heartbreak of her loss. But we can, and must, let her memory sharpen our determination to build a system that is more alert, more joined up, and more capable of acting decisively when a child is at risk.

Through the families first partnership programme, we are also transforming how support is offered on the ground. Family help will ensure that families receive the right assistance at the moment they need it, not only to improve outcomes, but to prevent problems escalating into crisis. And by involving wider family networks through family group decision making, we can reduce unnecessary court processes, prevent children from entering care where it is safe to do so, and provide families with the stability and support they need to thrive.

All of this is about honouring the lives of children like baby Victoria by learning from what went so tragically wrong. It is about ensuring that no child is ever beyond our line of sight, and that every child grows up safe, supported, and surrounded by adults who are equipped and empowered to protect them.

While the distressing details of what happened to baby Victoria will not fade easily from memory, we must try not to let her be remembered only through the lens of tragedy. She deserves to be known not just for the harm she suffered, but for the cherished life that should have been hers. It is the recognition of her brief but precious existence that must strengthen our determination to ensure every child is given the safety, security and chance of happiness that she was so tragically denied.

I will provide a fuller written response to the panel’s recommendations by the summer, setting out the Government position and the steps we have taken—and will take—to strengthen the safeguarding system for all babies and families.

[HCWS1331]

Keeping Children Safe in Education

Bridget Phillipson Excerpts

Thursday 12th February 2026 Written Statements

[The Secretary of State for Education (Bridget Phillipson)]

Keeping children safe could not be more important to this Government and this afternoon, they are launching a public consultation on proposed changes to their “Keeping children safe in education 2026” statutory guidance. All schools and colleges in England must have regard to this guidance when carrying out their duties to safeguard and promote the welfare of children. It is the primary source of guidance and support for schools and colleges.

Schools and colleges play a critical role in keeping children safe and KCSIE sets out the legal duties that schools and colleges must comply with, together with good practice guidance on what schools and colleges should do to keep children safe. The guidance is extensive, covering what staff should know and do to safeguard children, the management of safeguarding in schools and colleges, safer recruitment, responding to allegations of abuse against staff, handling reports on child-on-child sexual harassment and sexual violence.

The purpose of this consultation is to gather views on proposed changes to KCSIE 2026. The consultation will run for 10 weeks, closing on 22 April 2026. The proposed changes include among other things, further advice for school and college staff on:

Grooming gangs and serious violence (including weapons)

Operation Encompass (the duty on police forces to contact schools the next day following incidents of domestic violence)

Misogyny

Information sharing between safeguarding agencies ahead of a pupil’s child protection file being transferred where children move school

Child sexual abuse/criminal exploitation

Advice on mobile phone use

The consultation also includes advice to schools and colleges in relation to children who are questioning their gender. We have proposed separate new sections on toilets, changing rooms and showers, boarding and residential accommodation and single-sex sports. These sections are informed by the public consultation on the draft non-statutory “Gender Questioning Children” guidance for schools and colleges. This advice reflects the importance for schools and colleges of making careful decisions about what is in the best interests of children, including children who are questioning their gender. It draws on the Cass review of gender identity services for children and young people to set out the key principles that we expect schools and colleges to follow, including taking a strong stand against bullying, safeguarding all children, involving parents in decision making and taking a cautious approach, particularly in relation to primary-aged children. The guidance is clear that supporting social transition should not include allowing children into facilities designated for the opposite sex.

The consultation document, containing full details of the proposals and inviting responses will be available via gov.uk. Copies of the consultation document and departmental advice will also be deposited in the Library of each House.

[HCWS1339]

Education Estates Strategy

Bridget Phillipson Excerpts

Wednesday 11th February 2026 Written Statements

[The Secretary of State for Education (Bridget Phillipson)]

Today, we are setting out our plans for an education estate in England that supports opportunity for all. The education estate is a platform for opportunity, learning and communities. With over 22,000 schools and colleges across England, the estate supports the outcomes, health and wellbeing of over 10 million children and young people.

High-quality and inspiring school and college buildings are essential to delivering world-class education and creating the conditions for all children and young people to achieve and thrive. The public saw clearly when all this goes wrong during the disruption caused by reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete, and we see it every day when schools are not designed to be inclusive for pupils with special educational needs and disabilities. Historical under-investment and a lack of long-term funding certainty and strategic planning have contributed to a rising maintenance backlog. Schools and colleges have had to patch and mend buildings that have already deteriorated and are not resilient enough to climate change. The estate needs to be suitably sized at both a local and national level and be flexible to meet changing needs from children, young people and their community.

Children with SEND have a right to attend and be included at their local school but schools have not been designed to be inclusive environments. That ends now as we lay the groundwork for an inclusive education system where children are supported at the earliest stage and can thrive in a school that meets their needs, close to home. We want schools to be inclusive by design to support children and young people with SEND.

We are investing over £3.7 billion through to 2029-30 to deliver specialist places for children and young people with SEND, including through the expansion of inclusion bases within the mainstream system so they can learn among their peers. Many schools already provide exceptional support for children who need it, through SEN units, resourced provision and pupil support units. But we know that the variety of provision, and the inconsistent terminology is difficult for parents to understand and navigate. We will replace the current terms with the term inclusion bases and publish national guidance on best practice. This will make it easier for parents to understand what support is available for their child and to recognise what good looks like. And today, we are setting out our ambition that, over time, every secondary school in England will have an inclusion base, alongside thousands of places in primary schools.

Many schools already have this type of provision in place, and so in lots of cases this will be a continuation of the support children and young people with SEND already receive. Where new places are needed, including by repurposing existing space, this can be supported by our capital investment. We will also publish new dedicated guidance on high-impact adaptations in mainstream settings to enhance inclusivity and accessibility, supporting local authorities, responsible bodies, and education settings. More detail on how we will support more children and young people with SEND to achieve and thrive will be set out in the schools White Paper.

Today’s education estates strategy is supported by unprecedented long-term funding and investment in education capital of £38 billion to 2029-30—the highest since 2010. At the core of our strategy is a shift to more proactive management, long-term strategic maintenance and more renewal of the existing estate. This is alongside building and rebuilding where renewal is not possible, and ensuring there are high-quality places from early years to post 16.

In addition to investing almost £3 billion per year by 2034-35 in capital maintenance and renewal for schools and colleges, we will go further by launching a new renewal and retrofit programme for schools and colleges from April 2026. This is backed by over £700 million to 2029-30 and will tackle projects such as fixing roofs and broken heating systems so buildings can last for decades to come, be more resilient to climate change as well as protecting more schools from flooding. We will support schools and colleges to reduce energy costs by unlocking private finance investment in solar and energy efficiency measures and invest over £300 million to 2029-30 to expand Connect the Classroom so schools have access to fast, reliable broadband.

We are investing almost £20 billion in the school rebuilding programme through to 2034-35 to rebuild schools and sixth-form colleges across England. Over 500 schools are already in the programme, and we will select a further 250 schools by early 2027. Buildings will be future-proofed for climate change with new designs that improve outdoor facilities, increase access to nature and improve indoor air quality. Through our new construction framework and design specifications, we are supporting local workforces and creating around 13,000 skills opportunities including apprenticeships and T-level placement opportunities. We will continue to deliver places where they are needed from early years to post 16, including thousands more school-based nursery places and creating extra capacity to support increases in 16 to 18-year-old learners.

We will support responsible bodies to proactively and effectively manage their estates. This includes setting out clear standards for estate management alongside guidance, tools and data to support them and a new digital service to make it easier to access estates guidance, programmes and funding.

Children, families and communities are at the heart of our education estates strategy. Through our 10-year plan, we will deliver a decade of national renewal for schools and colleges as we continue our journey for an education estate that is fit for now and the future.

[HCWS1324]

Investment in High-needs Places

Bridget Phillipson Excerpts

Monday 15th December 2025 Written Statements

[The Secretary of State for Education (Bridget Phillipson)]

A great school experience is one that is academically challenging, rich in opportunity and built on strong relationships. That requires an inclusive school system in every part of the country—one that stretches every young person further, and in which children with additional needs are included not only by individual schools, but by the system as a whole.

Across the last 30 years, successive reforms have improved standards within our schools, which are led by great leaders and teachers. But too many children and young people are still being left behind due to their educational needs or their background, or are simply not being stretched to achieve all that they should. We are going to change that. Ahead of our White Paper next year, we are getting on with building the foundations of a new, inclusive system that delivers for children and earns the confidence of parents. Trusts are crucial to this vision, and some of our strongest trusts continue to build on the pioneering spirit of early academies, using that innovation and community-driven ethos to spread best practice and create resilient systems that support every child to thrive. The schools White Paper will build on that legacy of innovation and collaboration, and will set out the Government’s vision for a future education system that enables every child to achieve and thrive.

As a key step towards that vision of ensuring that all our schools, colleges and nurseries are inclusive by design, today I am announcing at least £3 billion in investment over the next four years to create 50,000 places for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities across England. This investment will fund a landmark expansion of specialist, calm learning spaces within mainstream settings. It builds on the £740 million we have already invested to create 10,000 places, through specialist spaces in mainstream, accessibility adaptations, and special schools for children with the most complex needs, where necessary. This four-year funding horizon will also give local authorities the ability to plan, and will deliver high-quality, specialist provision for the children and young people who need it.

To ensure children get the specialist places they need as quickly as possible, we are offering local authorities a choice around next steps for the pipeline of special or alternative provision schools. Local authorities will, as an alternative, be given the option of funding to deliver the same number of specialist places through SEN units and resource provisions, the expansion of existing specialist settings or other adaptations, in order to get provision in place for children and young people more quickly. Working hand in hand with strong academy trusts, local authorities can deliver these places faster and more cost-effectively than via new free schools, meaning that more children will benefit sooner.

For those projects that do not have trusts appointed, and that are furthest from opening—some will not do so until 2030—we will provide direct funding to the local area, so that much-needed places are delivered more quickly. This funding is in addition to the core high needs capital allocations that all local authorities will receive. Our special schools do vital work supporting some of our most vulnerable children and young people and preparing them for adult life, and in some local authorities, a new special free school will remain the best solution.

Partnership working is central to delivering better experiences and outcomes for all our children. Local authorities should work closely with the trusts appointed to run free schools as they decide whether to accept the alternative funding offer. Where they proceed, they should collectively engage other education settings, parent and carer forums, and local stakeholders to develop plans that deliver places through alternative routes—such as high-quality SEN units and resource provisions, or the expansion of existing specialist provision.

Mainstream free schools will continue to be an enabler of this inclusive vision where they meet need and drive up standards. Multi-academy trusts have driven collaboration and innovation across the system, and in some cases the free schools programme has been crucial to meeting demographic need and pioneering new models that can raise standards. However, we must act in line with the evidence. Projects have opened where there is no need, and have later closed, diverting millions of pounds that could have supported children with SEND or addressed urgent-condition needs in existing schools. Even during the demographic boom of the last decade, the National Audit Office estimated that 57,500 places planned by 2021 would represent spare capacity. Between 2014-15 and 2023-24, the previous Government committed over £10 billion to new free schools, but under £7 billion to school rebuilding, despite mounting evidence of an estate in need of repair and the impact of poor-condition buildings on pupil attainment. Today we know that primary pupil numbers have been falling since 2018-19, with that decline set to feed into secondary. We will not pour money into new schools simply to close them again in a few years.

Accordingly, as part of our review of the mainstream free schools pipeline, projects that proceed will be those that meet the needs of communities, respond to demographic and housing demand, and raise standards without undermining the viability of existing local schools and colleges. We will back new schools that offer something unique to students who would otherwise not have had access to it. In particular, we will open new maths schools and Eton Star 16-to-19 accelerator schools, ensuring that more talented students in the north and the midlands gain a fairer chance to progress to leading universities, or to pursue advanced mathematics. We will continue to provide capital funding through the basic need grant, to support local authorities in creating new mainstream school places, where necessary. Ministers have written to trusts, local authorities and MPs, setting out which projects will progress and which I am minded to cancel. There is a window for representations where a ‘minded to cancel’ letter has been issued.

The money saved by cancelling projects in areas of surplus will be used to support the 50,000 new specialist places. Instead of adding a few thousand mainstream free school places where sufficient capacity already exists, we will deliver places that enable pupils with SEND to access the right support in a setting close to home, making mainstream provision more inclusive, and ensuring that specialist support is available where it is most needed.

This is how we renew our education system—by building provision that is inclusive by design, anchored in need, and focused on high and rising standards for all.

[HCWS1163]

Child Poverty Strategy

Bridget Phillipson Excerpts

Monday 8th December 2025 Commons Chamber

[The Secretary of State for Education (Bridget Phillipson)]

With permission, I will make a statement on the Government’s child poverty strategy.

Tackling child poverty is a proud Labour tradition. It goes to the heart of the values we have and the beliefs we share—above all, that background must be no barrier to success, that opportunity is for every child and that the freedoms that for too long few of our children enjoyed must today be extended to them all. This Government see child poverty not simply as the absence of material goods from the lives of our young people, but as the absence of their agency—their freedom—in the decisions that shape their world.

As Labour Members know well, it is not merely wealth and opportunity, but power that must be in the hands of the many, not the few. That clear political principle lay behind not merely the determination, but the success of the last Labour Government in lifting 600,000 children out of poverty between 1997 and 2010. However, after Gordon Brown left office, that progress was reversed by a combination of deliberate cuts to public services, economic stagnation and a deep cost of living crisis.

There are now 4.5 million children in poverty—900,000 more than in 2010. This means that, in a typical classroom of 30 children, about 10 are experiencing poverty. Two million children are in deep material poverty, lacking even the basic essentials, such as a warm home and healthy food, which no child should grow up without. We know that growing up in poverty has enormous consequences for children’s health, their education and, more broadly, their life chances. It is equally damaging for our country—not merely for our public services, social cohesion and the chances of economic growth, but for the sort of society we wish to build and the sort of future we can promise our people.

That is why we made a manifesto commitment to develop an ambitious child poverty strategy. Shortly after the election, the Prime Minister announced a child poverty taskforce to deliver this, which I have been proud to co-chair. This has been a cross-Government taskforce, recognising that the causes of child poverty are wide-ranging and deep-rooted. The taskforce has visited towns and cities across the UK; talked to over 180 stakeholders, including charities, academics and think-tanks; and, most importantly, listened directly to the experiences of children and families living in poverty, putting them at the heart of our work.

I am proud that the reduction in the number of children living in poverty because of this strategy will be the biggest ever reduction in child poverty recorded by any Government in a single Parliament. Our strategy sets out the action that we are taking and will take to help families by boosting incomes, saving money on essentials and strengthening local support.

This will build on the urgent action we have already taken since entering Government to tackle both the root causes and the symptoms of child poverty, including the best start for every child through our Best Start family hubs that will deliver the early intervention and support that new parents need to set up their children for future success in life, along with our extension of the holiday activities and food programme. Our expansion of free school meals, announced in July, will lift 100,000 children out of poverty by the end of this Parliament, reaching half a million families who receive universal credit. Our new crisis and resilience fund, worth £842 million a year, will reform crisis support by enabling local authorities to provide immediate support to those on low incomes who encounter a financial shock. Those commitments come on top of the wider change our Government are bringing to the lives of families in this country, which includes expanding free breakfast clubs, boosting the national minimum wage for those on the lowest incomes, and supporting 700,000 of the poorest families through our new fair repayment rate on universal credit deductions.

But we had to go further. On the Labour Benches, we believe that the social security system should be at once a springboard for opportunity and a safety net when times are tough. Any of us can fall on hard times. Any of us can become unwell, fall out of work or lose a loved one. The security for working people of knowing that when things go wrong, the state will be there for you and your family is one of the greatest achievements of the labour movement, not just here in Britain but around the world. That belief, which motivates that struggle against insecurity, applies above all to our children. Our system of support for families should never penalise children for the actions—not even necessarily the choices—of their parents. The third child in a family has just the same value and worth as the second and the first. What we believe is the right support for the first in the family is right for her sisters and her brothers, unto this last. None of us, none of our children, should lose out simply for the number of our siblings.

Failing to act on child poverty will cost Britain far more than investing now. Every pound we spend lifting children out of poverty saves much more in future health, education and welfare costs—and builds a stronger economy. We cannot afford to sit on our hands and pick up the greater costs of failure further down the line. Poorer children are more likely to have serious mental health difficulties. They are more likely to have poorer employment outcomes and to earn less. By age five, children eligible for free school meals are already five months behind. By age 16, that gap has widened to over 19 months.

No one has felt those consequences more than the children themselves. That is why we announced that we will remove the two-child limit in universal credit from April 2026. Reinstating support for every child will alone lift 450,000 children out of poverty by the end of the Parliament and end the cruel policy that is currently affecting 1.6 million children. It is estimated that in 2029-30, there will be 550,000 fewer children in relative poverty as a result of the whole set of measures set out in our child poverty strategy.

With the decisive action the Government are taking today, we are investing in the future of our children and investing in the future of our country. It is sometimes put to Ministers, not least by Members on the Opposition Benches, that removing the two-child limit rewards parents for staying out of work. We reject that, because the evidence rejects that. Almost 60% of households affected by the two-child limit are in work. Almost 50% of the households affected were not claiming universal credit when any of their children were born. Parents are doing what they can to keep a roof over their children’s heads. Parental employment rates are already high. But with almost three quarters of children in poverty being in a working family, too many parents find themselves in jobs where they still struggle to support their families, while those not in work face extra barriers to entering the labour market at all.

One of the biggest barriers is childcare. That is why we have expanded the 30 hours of funded childcare for working parents, saving eligible families using all 30 hours up to £7,500 per eligible child per year; why we are extending eligibility for universal credit up-front childcare costs to parents returning from parental leave to ease the difficult transition back to work; and why we are providing universal credit childcare support to help with the childcare costs for all children, instead of limiting this to two children, to help parents who have larger families, too. We know that there is much more to do, which is why we are committing to a Department for Education-led, cross-Government review of access to early education and childcare support to deliver a simpler system that is better for children and parents alike.

Too many children are spending years in temporary accommodation at a point in their lives when they need space to play and develop, nutritious food to thrive and access to education. We are putting in place specific interventions to mitigate the harm living in temporary accommodation can inflict on children’s health, development and educational outcomes, which includes a commitment to ending the practice of discharging newborn babies into B&Bs or other unsuitable shared accommodation. Together, all this represents a strong start, but we do not underestimate the scale of the challenge to build a society where every child grows up in a family filled with love and is safe, warm and well fed—not held back by poverty, but helped forward by Government.

We will monitor our progress using two main metrics. First, we will use the internationally recognised and well-established relative low income after housing costs metric to monitor overall child poverty. Secondly, we have developed a new measure of deep material poverty to assess families’ abilities to afford everyday essentials, taking account of more than just income by including the cost of essentials, a family’s overall financial situation and the support they receive locally. It is not only the number of children in poverty that matters, but the depth of that poverty. We will continue to have a dedicated team in Government that works with the wider public, private sector and civil society to keep focus on tackling the stain of child poverty with oversight from Ministers across Government.

For over a century, Labour Governments have worked to deliver opportunity and security. This strategy will build on those proud foundations, delivering on our opportunity mission to break the link between background and success. We will continue to work nationally, locally and across all four nations of the UK and we will continue to be ambitious—to match the ambition of our children—to build a Britain where no child goes hungry, every child has opportunities and every family has power and choices in life. I commend this statement to the House.

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Caroline Nokes)]

I call the shadow Secretary of State.

--- Later in debate ---

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Caroline Nokes)]

Order. The shadow Secretary of State has taken even longer than the Secretary of State and is well over her time limit. I call the Secretary of State.

[Bridget Phillipson]

The shadow Secretary of State started by saying that none of us wants children to grow up in poverty. We, as the party in Government, will lift children out of poverty. The Conservatives pushed nearly a million children into poverty. That is the difference between our parties.

The Conservatives knew when they introduced the two-child limit that it was a political dividing line. They sought to create an artificial divide between families in work and families not in work, yet all the evidence shows us that the children and families who have suffered are working families. That is what the evidence shows, and that is why we have acted.

In suggesting, that they will bring back the two-child limit, as the Conservatives have done in the media over many days, the shadow Secretary of State is showing that she is committed to pushing 450,000 children back into poverty and reintroducing the repulsive and dehumanising rape clause that saw women forced to talk about sexual violence in order to have enough money to support their children. They should be deeply ashamed of such a punishing and dehumanising regime that saw women and children suffer.

We will never stand for it. We will not allow for children to be punished because of the circumstances of their birth. The Conservatives’ record is a shameful and abhorrent one. We will heal the scars that they inflicted on children across our country, and we will heal it once and for all.

We are also a party that believes in the power of education to spread opportunity. Speak to any teacher across the country and they will say that poverty limits our children’s learning and the life chances. In ending the two-child limit, we are investing in education, raising standards, and giving children a better start right across our country. That is not the limit of our ambition, because we know that there is much more to do, but we have so far achieved an enormous amount. We are acting to raise the minimum wage for the lowest earners and bringing back Sure Start for a new generation through our Best Start family hubs with more support for parents. We are opening new breakfast clubs and expanding Government-funded childcare, and we are introducing new school-based nurseries to give parents work choices and children life chances.

The cost to children can last a lifetime, but the cost to society can echo for generations—in worklessness, poorer health, and lost prosperity for our country. That is why this Labour Government will not stand by as working families struggle—not just for the sake of parents and children but for all of us. We promised to tackle child poverty, and we are doing it so that every child in our country has the best start in life. The price of doing nothing is too high for children, families and our country.

[Madam Deputy Speaker]

I call the Chair of the Education Committee.

[Helen Hayes (Dulwich and West Norwood) (Lab)]

I warmly welcome the publication of the child poverty strategy, which builds on the steps that the Government have already taken, including expanding access to free school meals and introducing free breakfast clubs. I particularly welcome the removal of the two-child benefit cap. All the evidence is clear that that has been one of the biggest contributors to the shameful increase in child poverty that we have seen in recent years. My Committee, along with the Work and Pensions Committee, will undertake detailed scrutiny of the strategy and play our part in ensuring that its implementation is as effective as it can be.

I welcome the focus on temporary accommodation. Where children sleep and the safety and security of their home environment have a huge impact on their life chances. However, I note that the measures in the strategy are limited to pilots. This work is badly needed across the country, so when does the Secretary of State expect to roll out the work to eliminate the use of bed-and-breakfast accommodation for families everywhere, so that no child’s life needs to be scarred by the trauma of living in temporary accommodation?

[Bridget Phillipson]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right that temporary accommodation is linked to worse outcomes for children and that there are deep consequences for those who are forced to endure living in B&Bs and other unsuitable accommodation. We are working with the 20 local authorities with the highest usage of B&Bs to bring those numbers down, and we are backing up this work with investment. That runs alongside the £39 billion investment we are putting into social and affordable housing. We also have our homelessness strategy coming forward in due course, which will set out the further steps that the Government will take. I look forward to discussing this further with my hon. Friend’s Committee next time I am before it.

[Madam Deputy Speaker]

I call the Liberal Democrat spokesperson.

[Munira Wilson (Twickenham) (LD)]

Every child, no matter their background, deserves the opportunity to flourish and fulfil their potential. The Liberal Democrats welcome any and all efforts to reduce the number of children in poverty, because we believe that investing in our children and young people is one of the most important investments a Government can make. That is why we welcomed the Chancellor’s announcement at the Budget that the Government will lift the cap on universal credit for families with more than two children. It was a cruel policy put in place by George Osborne and the Conservatives when they were left to their own devices in government.

This strategy includes a smorgasbord of existing proposals, but it is very light on any new measures that we urgently need to tackle the scourge of child poverty. Even the Government’s own numbers suggest that the strategy will leave nearly 4 million children stuck in poverty. The Government need to go further. The Secretary of State could start by properly funding the very welcome expansion in free school meals and, crucially, automatically enrolling children on to the scheme, so that no child slips through the cracks and misses out on a hot, healthy meal. The Education Secretary could also set a cap on the cost of branded school uniform, so that hard-pressed parents do not have to suffer over-inflated prices as a result of her short-sighted policy to cap the number of branded uniform items.

We know that one of the biggest determinants of outcomes is housing. Like many other London MPs, I regularly see families in my surgery who are suffering the devastating consequences of being shoved into temporary accommodation many miles away from their schools and wider family. If the Government are serious about ending the use of B&B accommodation, they must focus on building social housing. We need to build 150,000 social homes every year in order that local people can genuinely afford to live in their area, with local services to meet their needs.

Finally, the Secretary of State rightly pointed out the long-term costs of material poverty. The same can be true of those children suffering a poverty of love and care. That is why her failure to reverse the cuts she imposed earlier this year to the adoption and special guardianship support fund by finding just £25 million—a drop in the ocean of Government spending—is so egregious and short-sighted. Why will she not think again, to ensure that our most vulnerable children can access the therapy they desperately need to have a best second chance in life?

[Bridget Phillipson]

This is an ambitious strategy, which will see the largest ever reduction in the number of children growing up in poverty in a single Parliament since records began. No one can accuse us of lacking ambition when it comes to driving down those numbers. While I note the hon. Lady’s reference to the introduction of the two-child limit, I would observe that it was after 2010—under the coalition Government—that we saw, for example, the mass closure programme of Sure Start centres right across our country, even though the evidence was clear about the outcomes that they delivered and the difference they made to families. That is why I am proud that this Labour Government are bringing back Sure Start for a new generation with Best Start family hubs to ensure that all families and children get the support they need.

Running alongside that, as I have set out, we are investing £39 billion in social and affordable housing, the single biggest uplift in support in a generation, to build the social and affordable homes that people in London and across our country desperately need. That runs alongside all the measures in the Employment Rights Bill, the changes around universal credit and the expansion of free school meals; we are putting an extra £1 billion into supporting families. This Labour Government are investing to deliver the brighter future that all our children deserve.

[Janet Daby (Lewisham East) (Lab)]

Official figures show that over 4,000 children in my constituency are living in poverty, and many of those families have one parent in work. I warmly welcome the Secretary of State’s child poverty strategy and all the work that she and her colleagues have done, as well as the lifting of the two-child limit, but would she agree that what we now need to see is children and families not needing to use food banks?

[Bridget Phillipson]

I pay tribute to my hon. Friend for all the work that she did in the Department for Education and for all that she continues to do to champion the life chances of children in her community and across our country. She contributed a lot to the work that has gone into the strategy; I am grateful to her for that.

I agree with her: I want to live in a country where families have enough money to go to the shops to buy the food that they want for their children and to make the decisions that are right for them. I pay tribute to the amazing volunteers in our community organisations and churches who give their time freely to run the food banks, but I hope that in the years to come we can shut down those food banks and make sure that all families have a good level of income and do not have to depend on the good will of strangers to get by.

[Dame Harriett Baldwin (West Worcestershire) (Con)]

Last year, the Secretary of State, her Front-Bench colleagues and pretty much everyone behind her voted against lifting the two-child benefit cap—[Hon. Members: “No, we didn’t.”] Those who rebelled had the Whip withdrawn. What would she say to those rebels now? What has changed since that vote last year?

[Bridget Phillipson]

I have long campaigned on child poverty, and I have led this taskforce together with the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions and with the former Secretary of State, my right hon. Friend the Member for Leicester West (Liz Kendall), who is now the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology. We were always clear that we would look at all the evidence—at the most effective ways that we could lift the greatest numbers of children out of poverty—and we have done precisely that. The only people who have been playing politics with children’s lives and children’s futures are the Conservatives.

[Chris Vince (Harlow) (Lab/Co-op)]

I thank the Secretary of State for her statement. I speak to teachers in Harlow on a weekly basis, and they tell me that poverty is a huge barrier to young people’s education, and as a former teacher myself, I can absolutely testify to that. Could the Secretary of State touch on how these policies will make a huge difference to young people in Harlow and to their educational outcomes, and on how they will support teachers to get the best outcomes for those young people?

[Bridget Phillipson]

I have heard from so many school leaders, teachers and staff across our country about the impact that child poverty has on their ability to do their jobs. They do amazing things to support the children and families in their care, whether by helping with temporary accommodation, washing clothes or even sometimes putting their hand in their own pocket to provide financial support for families who are struggling, but they should not have to do that; it is not sustainable. That is why the investment that we are making in lifting children out of poverty is also an investment in children and their life chances and in education. The evidence is clear not only that big gaps open up in attainment for children who are on free school meals but that those who have experienced child poverty are more likely to be unemployed or in low-skilled or lower-paid jobs as adults. This is about the difference we make for our children not just in the here and now; it is a long-term investment in our education system, our teachers and our staff, and it is an investment in making sure that we have a stronger and more resilient economy.

[Ian Roome (North Devon) (LD)]

In the year 2000, half of children in poverty lived in workless families, but now almost three quarters of children in poverty are in working families and millions of universal credit recipients have a job but suffer from low wages. Can I ask the Secretary of State how that has shaped the new strategy to end child poverty in rural and coastal communities, like North Devon, where many parents’ wages are very basic?

[Bridget Phillipson]

The hon. Member is right to say that the majority of children in poverty are living in working families. It is an artificial political dividing line to suggest anything other than that; the evidence is clear for anyone who wants to look at it. There are a number of reasons for this situation. Low pay is one of them, and that is why we are increasing the national minimum wage. Access to childcare has also been a big barrier, particularly for many single parents, over a long period of time. One key element that we considered during the development of the strategy, alongside lifting the two-child limit, was supporting more second earners in two-earner households into work or into working more hours, as that would be one of the most effective ways to lift more children out of poverty. That is why we are investing £9 billion next year in expanding Government-funded childcare, creating new school-based nurseries and rolling out free breakfast clubs nationally to make sure that parents have better choices at the start of the school day.

[Peter Swallow (Bracknell) (Lab)]

I am honoured to represent Bracknell in this place. It is a relatively prosperous community, but still one in five children are growing up in poverty after housing costs. Bracknell food bank gave out 8,000 food parcels last year, 3,000 of them to children. Does my right hon. Friend agree that poverty affects all communities across the UK, with children living in poverty in every constituency, and that that is why it must be our moral mission to stamp out child poverty wherever we find it?

[Bridget Phillipson]

My hon. Friend is right to say that child poverty blights the life chances of children right across our country, including in communities that might otherwise appear affluent. There will always be children who are enduring the hardship and injustice of poverty, and I am grateful for his support and everything that he does to champion the life chances of children in his community. The strategy that we are setting out will deliver real changes to children, not just in Bracknell but across our country.

[Mr Louie French (Old Bexley and Sidcup) (Con)]

Despite assurances to the contrary, children in my constituency have had their school courses cut and parents across the UK have lost their jobs because of this Government, with over 180,000 jobs lost over the past year. If unemployment and taxes continue to rise, how many more children does the Secretary of State expect to grow up in poverty—or is this just the price that the welfare party expects families to pay?

[Bridget Phillipson]

There we are: the true face of the Tory party, describing people who are in work in that kind of way. We will always back working people. I would just point out to the hon. Gentleman that there are 329,000 more people in work than was the case a year ago. We are tackling poverty and supporting parents back into work, and we will reform our welfare system alongside that. He and the Conservative party should have the good grace and the humility to accept that their decisions have pushed hundreds of thousands of children into poverty, including in his community. Maybe he should go and speak to them and see what they say to him.

[Johanna Baxter (Paisley and Renfrewshire South) (Lab)]

I warmly welcome the publication of the child poverty strategy, in particular the lifting of the two-child benefit cap, which will lift 1,560 children in Paisley and Renfrewshire South out of poverty. But 100,000 children in Scotland remain stuck in homelessness accommodation, and that is on the SNP’s watch; it has control of that in the Scottish Government. What assurances can my right hon. Friend give me that she will work with colleagues in the Scottish Government to ensure that every lever of power is exerted so that constituents in Paisley and Renfrewshire South get the same opportunities as those across the rest of the UK?

[Bridget Phillipson]

This is a UK wide-strategy, and we will continue to work with the Scottish Government, the Welsh Government and the Northern Ireland Executive to bring down poverty in all of our four nations. My hon. Friend is right to draw attention to the staggering and appalling record of the SNP Government in Scotland, particularly when it comes to homelessness, and to highlight the impact that temporary accommodation and homelessness have on children’s life chances. She will know as well as I do that this Labour Government in Westminster delivered a record settlement to the SNP Government in Scotland. They have choices about how they take this forward, but of course, if they fail to do so—if they fail to take the decisive action that people across Scotland need—perhaps it really is time for a new direction for Scotland with Anas Sarwar.

[Kirsty Blackman (Aberdeen North) (SNP)]

It is nice to hear the Secretary of State acknowledging that child poverty in Scotland is lower than it is in England, and that it is reducing. Scotland is the only part of the UK where child poverty is going down—that is according to the graph in the Government’s own document.

The document is 113 pages long: 34 are blank or just references and 25 contain an explanation of the problem, so less than half of those pages are about what the Government are going to do. Of the policies included in the document, almost every single one has already been announced. Why have we waited a year and a half for a child poverty strategy that is frankly unambitious? The published strategy has no evaluation criteria, other than just the two headline measures that the Secretary of State mentioned. When the “Best Start, Bright Futures” policy document was published in Scotland, it had evaluation criteria alongside it. Will she lay out the evaluation criteria that she will use to ensure that these changes make a positive difference for people?

[Bridget Phillipson]

When the hon. Lady stood up, I thought she was about to congratulate the UK Government on lifting the two-child limit—something I have heard her talk about a lot in this House, and rightly, so where was the welcome for the change we are bringing today? Of course, the SNP Government could effectively abolish the two-child limit in Scotland, but they have sat on their hands and, sadly, all the evidence suggests that they are about to miss their child poverty targets.

[Debbie Abrahams (Oldham East and Saddleworth) (Lab)]

I warmly congratulate my right hon. Friend on the introduction of the child poverty strategy, particularly the lifting of the two-child limit, which will make a measurable difference to hundreds of thousands of children’s lives. Child poverty does not just blight educational attainment and employment prospects; it is also a key indicator for population health and health inequalities. May I press my right hon. Friend on targets in this regard? For example, reducing child poverty by 35% by 2033 would result in 291 fewer infant mortality deaths, 4,700 fewer looked-after children and 33,000 fewer emergency admissions for children. Will she look at those targets so that we know we are on the right track?

[Bridget Phillipson]

I am grateful to the Chair of the Work and Pensions Committee, who has long campaigned on the important relationship between poverty and health inequalities. Through the development of the strategy and through the taskforce, we took evidence from experts in this area. I give her the commitment that we will continue to consider the impact on health, including health inequalities, of poverty.

We see the development and publication of the strategy as part of a long-term, 10-year strategy for lasting change. The monitoring and evaluation framework that was published alongside the strategy sets out our plans to track progress. This will include a comprehensive programme of analysis, focusing on the drivers of child poverty and on the impact of specific interventions. We will continue to publish more data so that my hon. Friend and others can continue to hold Ministers to account on the progress we want to make towards bringing down the number of children in poverty.

[Jess Brown-Fuller (Chichester) (LD)]

I refer Members to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests as chair of the all-party parliamentary group for infant feeding.

The Government’s response to the Competition and Markets Authority’s report into infant formula, which aims to give parents the confidence to choose any brand of formula regardless of price point, because they are all nutritionally equivalent, is a welcome first step as part of the child poverty strategy, but without tackling and enforcing the marketing legislation so that formula companies cannot continue to use intangible claims on their packaging, the Government’s announcement will not protect all parents. Will the Secretary of State please tell me when we can expect the legislation to be reviewed, as committed to in the Government’s announcement last week?

[Bridget Phillipson]

I am grateful to the hon. Lady for the work she does in this important area. As she knows, parents will save up to £500 a year as a result of the plans we have set out for action on baby formula so that parents can make the right choices for themselves. Of course, we know that it is also important to put in place support for parents who wish to breastfeed, and that is why we have also extended and expanded the national breastfeeding helpline, which runs alongside support that will be available in Best Start family hubs to ensure that mothers have choices about the right approach for them to make. I will ensure that a Minister in the Department of Health and Social Care writes to the hon. Lady to update her on the issues she has asked about.

[David Williams (Stoke-on-Trent North) (Lab)]

The removal of the two-child limit is welcome news, and in my constituency it will lift well over 4,000 kids out of poverty. I saw at first hand how 14 years of austerity left families in Stoke-on-Trent and Kidsgrove in crisis. Early support was taken away, and we now have among the highest numbers of kids living in poverty anywhere in the country. Does the Secretary of State agree that we must also start to build back that local, personalised family support—for example, through our family hubs, which were absolutely decimated under the previous Conservative Government?

[Bridget Phillipson]

I agree with my hon. Friend, and I know from previous conversations that he worked in a Sure Start centre and was involved in the delivery of those services. Best Start family hubs will draw on what we know works from Sure Start. The evaluation evidence is incredibly clear about the impact they had on children’s life chances, on admissions to hospital and on the increase in exam grades that we saw of children who lived near to a centre. That is why we have committed to funding all local authorities to deliver Best Start family hubs, backed up by £500 million to help families in every part of the country. That roll-out will create 1,000 Best Start family hubs nationwide by the end of 2028, supporting parents and backing children. That will ensure that we reduce the longer-term impacts we see when parents do not have the support they need and when children have to wait too long for the support they deserve, and it will reduce all the devastation that has followed from that short-sighted decision taken back in 2010 by the previous Government to remove funding from Sure Start.

[Ann Davies (Caerfyrddin) (PC)]

Plaid Cymru has led the charge in Wales against the two-child limit, so we welcome the fact that scrapping it is a cornerstone of this strategy. As Members will know, 34% of our children in Wales live in poverty. There is a catch, however, because the benefit cap remains in place and around 10% of the children in Wales who are currently hit by the two-child limit will not see any improvement. On top of that, another one in 10 households could find themselves capped for the very first time. Will the Secretary of State build on the child poverty strategy by removing, or at least raising, the benefit cap?

[Bridget Phillipson]

It is a Labour Government who are lifting the two-child limit and who will ensure that children in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland get the support they deserve. The hon. Member references the benefit cap, which limits the total amount of benefits a working-age household can receive. Of course, that applies only to families in which there is not someone in work. It is right that we support people into work and ensure that we have incentives that back that, but alongside that in England we are delivering a big expansion in childcare, because we know it is important to support families. Of course, it was the Welsh Labour Government who first introduced free breakfast clubs—which I am proud to be introducing here in England.

[Ms Stella Creasy (Walthamstow) (Lab/Co-op)]

I recognise that we should not take any lessons from Opposition Members, because they do not seem to understand that lots of families in work are affected by the two-child cap. Their priorities seem to need a rethink, because they are arguing against lifting the two-child cap before subsidising private school fees. They will go to the wall for some kids to play the Eton wall game, but not for all children to be able to eat.

I welcome the Secretary of State’s plans for a review of early years funding. Right now, we know that 20% of those taking up the 30 hours of free childcare are on the lowest incomes. The role of the DWP is critical, because 1 million women in this country are out of work owing to their caring commitments. I would love for the DWP to be in Sure Start centres working with mums, so that they know about tax-free funded childcare and the changes to universal credit. Will she meet me and others who are concerned about this, to discuss bringing those systems together, so that those 1 million women are not forgotten but supported under this Government?

[Bridget Phillipson]

I would be happy to meet my hon. Friend to discuss that further. A key commitment that we made, through the development of this strategy, was to make the system of childcare support and early years education much simpler and more straightforward for families to access. We know that it is a complex system that has built up, changed and developed over time. I want to make it easier for families to get the support they need. We have already taken action on the expansion of the 30 hours of Government-funded childcare, on universal credit cost caps and on up-front childcare costs. I know that my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions is ensuring that work coaches in jobcentres can provide additional assistance for families on the support available. I wholly accept that there is more to do, however, and I would be delighted to discuss it further with my hon. Friend.

[Tim Farron (Westmorland and Lonsdale) (LD)]

What assessment has the Secretary of State made of the impact on child poverty of the Government’s rather blanket approach to changing local government funding and taking support away from rural councils? Westmorland and Furness council stands to lose 13% of its budget, which will not only exacerbate child poverty and reduce educational and life chances for children in my constituency —one in five children in Kendal already live in poverty—but undermine the Government’s plans to regenerate the town of Barrow, which underpins the UK’s nuclear deterrent and defence capability. Will the Secretary of State, at this last moment, urgently get involved and talk to Cabinet colleagues to prevent those deeply damaging cuts, which will exacerbate child poverty and put the country at risk?

[Bridget Phillipson]

I am sure that the hon. Gentleman has made his views known to Ministers at the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, but I will ensure that they are passed along. Lifting the two-child limit, expanding access to childcare, expanding free school meals, increasing the national minimum wage and expanding rights at works are big changes that will make a real difference to children and families in his constituency.

[Ian Lavery (Blyth and Ashington) (Lab)]

It is obvious from their absence just how interested our Conservative friends are in eradicating child poverty. It is a moral duty of any Government to remove every single child from poverty. I say a massive thank you to the Secretary of State from the 3,000 bairns in my constituency who will benefit so much from the withdrawal of the two-child cap last week. However, we must continue and go further. Will she reassure me and my constituents that, in talks to further eradicate child poverty, discussions will take place about the roll-out of universal free school meals so that people in Blyth and Ashington get what people in other regions get?

[Bridget Phillipson]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right that poverty scars the life chances of children. It has always been the moral mission of the Labour party, and it always will be the moral mission of the Labour Government, to end child poverty and reduce the hardship and injustice that it brings—not just the long-term outcomes that children suffer, but the deep injustice and sense of hopelessness that poverty causes children and families. I am delighted that we have taken action to lift the two-child limit, which will benefit thousands of children in his constituency. Alongside that, in expanding free school meals to all families in receipt of universal credit from next September, we will lift 100,000 more children out of poverty. We all know that, in a constrained environment with a tough set of circumstances around the public finances, we operate under challenges and constraints, but we have taken the decision, as a Labour Government, to prioritise investment in our children, in their futures, and in our economy.

[Zöe Franklin (Guildford) (LD)]

In my constituency, as in so many others, we face the particular challenge of significant affluence in one part and extreme poverty just across the road. In some areas, one in three children are living in poverty, despite the great work of many local organisations. What measures in the strategy will address that challenge specifically?

[Bridget Phillipson]

I recognise that even in more seemingly affluent communities there can be pockets of deprivation, and many children can still be living in poverty. It is right that we tackle child poverty wherever it occurs. The measures that we are setting out, both in the child poverty strategy and in the Budget, will make a big difference to the hon. Lady’s constituency, be it by freezing rail fares, freezing prescription charges, increasing the national minimum wage, improving rights at work, providing 30 hours of Government-funded childcare, creating new free breakfast clubs, or providing free school meals for all families on universal credit. It is a very long list, and I could say a lot more about the difference that we are making, but I will leave it there.

[Harpreet Uppal (Huddersfield) (Lab)]

I welcome the strategy, particularly the work on the new measure of deep material poverty—that will be important for understanding the experience of children. For how long will the holiday food programme be extended, and how quickly will family hubs be rolled out?

[Bridget Phillipson]

We are investing £500 million more to ensure that we expand Best Start family hubs to local authorities that do not have that provision. By the end of the Parliament, 1,000 hubs will have been rolled out. That will make a huge difference to children and families across our country. As my hon. Friend says, that runs alongside the holiday activities and food programme. We have confirmed over £600 million for that programme for the next three financial years. That multi-year settlement will give clubs and local authorities greater certainty so that they can plan. We heard directly from families during the development of the strategy about the challenges that they face during the holiday period. I put on the record my particular thanks to Changing Realities, which worked with us to ensure that the views of parents and children living in poverty were heard during the development of the strategy. I am very grateful for all the support that it gave so that those at the sharp end of poverty were able to influence Government decision making and shape the strategy.

[Helen Maguire (Epsom and Ewell) (LD)]

I welcome the Government’s roll-out of free school breakfasts in every primary school. However, I recently visited a local school that is part of the early adopter scheme. Staff there shared their concerns that the funding is not enough to provide a full breakfast for each child. In some cases, children go without anything. I want to ensure that every child receives a free, fresh and nutritious breakfast, so will the Secretary of State confirm that schools are receiving enough money to ensure that children are getting a proper breakfast, and not just a snack or nothing at all?

[Bridget Phillipson]

In launching the first phase—the early adopter phase—of our plan for 750 free breakfast clubs, we wanted to ensure that we covered schools in a range of different communities and contexts with different cohorts of students. We have been able to learn from that in setting out how we will deliver funding for the next phase, from April 2026. We are making changes to the daily rate and the per-pupil rate, but I encourage the school in the hon. Lady’s constituency to share its views with the Department, because we are keen to learn from the experiences of staff on the ground. Views can also be shared through the peer network that we have established, so that schools can share experiences and good practice.

[Tom Collins (Worcester) (Lab)]

As the chair of the all-party parliamentary group on family hubs, I am pleased that Best Start family hubs are at the heart of the strategy, and that the strategy values a fresh approach rooted in place, community and partnership across sectors. This could be a watershed moment that finally breaks the cycles of disadvantage and inequality. The family hubs APPG represents a diverse collective of organisations that are already doing just that—innovating through partnerships rooted in communities. I thank the Secretary of State for her Department’s excellent engagement with our sector’s collaboration. Will she ensure that that continues, and does she agree that empowering all families with frictionless, integrated support is key to building a fairer, stronger and more responsible society that gives each and every person the freedom to thrive?

[Bridget Phillipson]

My hon. Friend is doing tremendous work in that area through the APPG. I would be more than happy to ensure that the Department—through officials or Ministers—continues to work with the APPG as we roll out Best Start family hubs and learn from the best evidence on how we can continue to support parents and families. Our new Best Start family hubs will offer universal open-access services for babies and children, with a real focus on the under-fives—we know that we can make the biggest difference to children’s life chances at that age. Best Start family hubs will be funded in every local authority and open to all families, but the focus will be on locating them in disadvantaged communities, where we know that the need for support is greatest.

[Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)]

I thank the Secretary of State and the Labour Government for their statement on a strategy to reduce child poverty. The announcement on the two-child benefit cap is welcome, and it will potentially take 103,000 children out of poverty in Northern Ireland. However, as the Prime Minister said, it is important to remember that three quarters of children in poverty are in working families. I respectfully ask the Secretary of State to advise on the specific measures in the child poverty strategy that will protect children with working parents, who face a rising cost of living, frozen tax thresholds and childcare costs—costs that they will still struggle to pay.

[Bridget Phillipson]

The hon. Gentleman will know, as I have previously told him, that I also visited Northern Ireland through the work of the child poverty taskforce to meet campaigners, charities and parents to understand the challenges they face. Some of those challenges are shared, such as those of the social security system, and lifting the two-child limit will make a big difference in Northern Ireland.

Of course, in some areas, these are questions of devolved policy, but while I was there I discussed with Ministers the education system, access to childcare and the developments led by the Northern Ireland Executive on child poverty, and we will continue that work through the taskforce and the strategy.

[Several hon. Members rose—]

[Sam Rushworth (Bishop Auckland) (Lab)]

I thank the Secretary of State for this strategy, which is what I came into politics for. I also thank her for the roll-out of Best Start family hubs. I appreciate that it is impossible to do everything all at once, given the state of our inheritance, but even with the measures announced, children in Shildon and Crook—two towns of 10,000 people in my constituency with high levels of child poverty—will not have a Best Start family hub. Will my right hon. Friend meet me, or ask the relevant Minister to do so, to discuss what we can do for those children?

[Bridget Phillipson]

I would be happy to meet my hon. Friend. I know he has done an incredible amount to champion the life chances of children in his community, which covers many towns and villages and a big rural population. That presents some unique challenges, and perhaps we could discuss that further and how we can ensure that more of his constituents benefit from family support services. The lifting of the two-child limit will make a huge difference, alongside the wider measures on childcare.

[Afzal Khan (Manchester Rusholme) (Lab)]

Following 14 years of Tory austerity, harsh cuts to public services and a cost of living crisis, more than half of all children in my Manchester Rusholme constituency are living in poverty. My right hon. Friend has shown excellent leadership through this strategy, but given the dire condition in which the Tories left the country, may I encourage her to look at measures to prevent the causes of poverty and to go further, so that we can end child poverty for good?

[Bridget Phillipson]

Yes. Like my hon. Friend, I am always ambitious to do more to lift more children out of poverty and to create better conditions to tackle the root causes of poverty. This ambitious strategy is an incredibly strong start that will see the biggest reduction in child poverty numbers in any Parliament since records began. That shows the scale of our ambition, and this 10-year strategy will ensure that fewer children suffer the injustice and the deep moral scar of growing up in poverty, but there is, of course, always more to do.

[Dame Nia Griffith (Llanelli) (Lab)]

I thank my right hon. Friend for the enormous amount of work she is putting into developing this comprehensive child poverty strategy and determining which single measures will have the greatest impact. It is in that context that I very much welcome the removal of the two-child benefit cap. What assurance can she give that her colleagues in the Department for Work and Pensions are making available the necessary staffing levels and training so that the enhanced payments reach families without any delay or complications?

[Bridget Phillipson]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend, who has a long-standing commitment to tackling child poverty. It was clear through the strategy that lifting the two-child limit is the single most effective way to lift the greatest number of children out of poverty, alongside the wider measures we are taking to tackle the root causes of child poverty. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions intends to bring forward legislation in the new year.

[Dr Marie Tidball (Penistone and Stocksbridge) (Lab)]

Over 23% of children in my Penistone and Stocksbridge constituency are living in poverty. This is unacceptable. We know that children growing up in poverty are less likely to be in work and will earn 25% less than their peers by the time they are 30. Scrapping the evil two-child benefit cap will benefit 1,140 children in my constituency. Contrary to what the shadow Secretary of State says, this is an investment in their future. Given that it is the moral mission of this Government to break the devastating cycle of child poverty, will the Secretary of State work with me to look at opportunities for a family hub in Chapeltown in my constituency that will also serve Burncross and Ecclesfield?

[Bridget Phillipson]

Yes, of course I would be happy to discuss this further with my hon. Friend. She is absolutely right that child poverty does not just have a deep and lasting impact on the individual children and families concerned. There is a clear link to worklessness, poorer health outcomes and lower attainment at school, and that flows through into the very high numbers of young people who are not in education, employment or training. That is why the measures we are taking are the right thing to do both for children and our society.

[Mohammad Yasin (Bedford) (Lab)]

The child poverty strategy includes welcome measures for families in Bedford and Kempston, from removing the two-child limit to expanding free school meals, childcare support and family hubs. These are all fantastic, but one of the most urgent issues affecting children’s wellbeing is the rise in families living in temporary accommodation that is anything but temporary. Will the Secretary of State set clear targets to ensure measurable progress in reducing the number of children living in such unsuitable conditions?

[Bridget Phillipson]

Yes. Through the strategy, we are taking action on the unacceptably high number of people living in temporary accommodation that we inherited from the party opposite. We have made progress in the last year, with numbers falling by over 40% since June, but there is more to do. That is why we are investing more in the local councils that see the biggest use of temporary accommodation such as B&Bs. That runs alongside the £39 billion of investment going into social and affordable housing to ensure all children have a secure roof over their head.

[Rosie Wrighting (Kettering) (Lab)]

I welcome the child poverty strategy and all that this Government are doing to undo the cruel policies of the Tories, through which children in Kettering paid the price. Investing in a child early on in life is key to success in adulthood. Can the Secretary of State explain how this strategy will mean that young adults who break the cycle of poverty are the norm, not the exception?

[Bridget Phillipson]

It was wonderful to visit a breakfast club in my hon. Friend’s constituency recently to see the difference it will make to children’s outcomes. The evidence is clear about the impact on educational outcomes, and on how it supports more parents to work the hours that suit them, and often to take on more hours, too.

Child poverty has devastating long-term impacts for our economy and for society, and we know that the long-term impacts mean that children are more likely to end up workless, less likely to do well at school and more likely to have long-term health outcomes. That is something this Labour Government are determined to change.

[Antonia Bance (Tipton and Wednesbury) (Lab)]

I thank my right hon. Friend for her leadership on the two-child limit, and for always carrying the kids who did not eat last night in her heart.

Last week, I was at Sacred Heart school in Tipton in my constituency, where the school council and the teaching staff spoke to me about how children living in temporary accommodation on the Hagley Road in Birmingham have to get two or more buses and trains to school every morning. Their parents get them there by hook or by crook, but they are often late, which has an impact on their lives. Can the Secretary of State tell us a little more about what she will do to ensure that our youngest children, in particular, are out of bed-and-breakfast accommodation as soon as possible?

[Bridget Phillipson]

I am grateful for everything my hon. Friend has done over many years to campaign on both child poverty and housing. We have announced an ambition to cut the number of school days lost by children in temporary accommodation, because she is right that it often means children arrive at school late or not at all, which has a long-standing impact on their life chances. We are investing more in the local authorities that make the biggest use of B&B accommodation, and we are making progress on bringing down those numbers. Alongside that, we are investing in more social and affordable housing.

I also thank the many campaigners, charities and others that have shaped this strategy by working with us to develop the best case for lifting children out of poverty. I particularly pay tribute to the Child Poverty Action Group and Save the Children, which have provided enormous support in making the case that this is not just necessary for children’s life chances but essential for our society.

[Alex Sobel (Leeds Central and Headingley) (Lab/Co-op)]

I am sure that my right hon. Friend has heard of Zarach, a Leeds-based charity formed by teachers who found that some children were too tired to learn at school because they did not have beds. Today, I was at Holy Name Catholic voluntary academy, where some parents cannot afford for their children to take part in the Rocksteady band. What will my right hon. Friend do to poverty-proof schools against such issues, as well as in relation to digital equipment or anything that creates the inequality in schools that we need to eradicate?

[Bridget Phillipson]

We know that children who are hungry or living in temporary accommodation are not in a position to learn effectively, and that has a long-term impact, including on teachers and support staff. I am interested in some of the approaches that have been taken around poverty-proofing, including in my own region, the north-east. For example, we are bringing down costs for parents by capping the number of branded items that schools can insist on for students. Children should be smart at school, but that should not cost their parents the earth.

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Ms Nusrat Ghani)]

Order. If questions are long, I will not be able to get everyone in, so I need colleagues to be respectful of other Members.

[Perran Moon (Camborne and Redruth) (Lab)]

Meur ras, Madam Deputy Speaker. When the removal of the two-child benefit limit is considered chronologically, alongside the expansion of Best Start hubs, support for childcare, free breakfasts, free school meals and now the youth guarantee, does the Secretary of State agree that through the fog of deprivation, it is now possible to make out a ladder of hope from cradle to career for the children from our poorest backgrounds?

[Bridget Phillipson]

My hon. Friend has always stood up for children in his community. It is through his election to this place, and the election of a Labour Government, that by the end of this Parliament, we will see the biggest reduction in child poverty numbers since records began.

[Baggy Shanker (Derby South) (Lab/Co-op)]

I welcome the strategy, which will mean that 5,500 children in Derby South will be lifted out of poverty. I particularly welcome changes around temporary accommodation. Does my right hon. Friend agree that no child, whether in Derby or anywhere else in the country, should be brought up in a bed and breakfast?

[Bridget Phillipson]

I agree absolutely. That is why we are taking action to bring those numbers down, to build more social and affordable homes, and to give parents and young people the skills that they need to get good, well paid jobs.

[Olivia Blake (Sheffield Hallam) (Lab)]

I congratulate the Secretary of State on her statement. Following my debate in June, I welcome the recognition of children with no recourse to public funds as part of the strategy, and its commitment to ensuring that vulnerable migrant children receive the support that they require, regardless of their immigration status. Will my right hon. Friend confirm what assessments have been undertaken to assess the impact of the recent proposals to extend pathways to settlement to 15 years, 20 years or even 30 years? That will inevitably impact children, so will she meet me to discuss those issues?

--- Later in debate ---

[Bridget Phillipson]

Important safeguards currently exist within the system to ensure that vulnerable migrant children are protected. I will ensure that my hon. Friend gets the meeting with the relevant Minister that she requests to discuss her concerns further.

[Andrew Pakes (Peterborough) (Lab)]

Representing a city that has 20,000 children living in poverty, I strongly welcome the crucial fact that the strategy is not just about the poverty of the family budget, but the poverty of ambition. Too many of those 20,000 children have parents who are in low-paid, insecure work. Will my right hon. Friend tell us what the strategy will do to lift ambition for apprenticeships and skills, changing not just the lives of those children, but the lives of those parents as well?

[Bridget Phillipson]

I know that my hon. Friend cares passionately about ensuring that we have good routes into careers through technical and vocational education, and more apprenticeships for young people in Peterborough. I have been working with the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, my right hon. Friend the Member for Wolverhampton South East (Pat McFadden), on our ambitious post-16 strategy, to ensure that young people, at the start of their careers, have great options when it comes to academic, technical and vocational routes, and today we have been setting out how we, as a Government, intend to deliver more apprenticeship opportunities for young people in Peterborough and beyond.

[Jim Dickson (Dartford) (Lab)]

I congratulate the Secretary of State on the child poverty strategy, which will take 2,500 children in Dartford out of poverty by the end of this Parliament. As has been said, growing up in poverty hugely increases the likelihood of poor mental and physical health, and hugely reduces the chance of holding down a better paid job or going into further and higher education, so does she agree that the strategy is not just about reducing the numbers in poverty, but about making an investment in the UK’s future and that of its people?

[Bridget Phillipson]

It is an investment in our children, their futures and our society and economy. The strategy addresses some of the big challenges that we see, and sets out the important ways that we will tackle the structural and root causes of why so many children in our country are growing up in poverty, whether that is skills, access to work or childcare, all of which we, as a Government, will take action on to support families.

[Jacob Collier (Burton and Uttoxeter) (Lab)]

Thanks to this Government, 3,150 children in my constituency will be lifted out of poverty. Free breakfast clubs are starting to be set up and Sure Start centres are being revived. Under Tory Governments, poverty goes up, but under Labour Governments, it always comes down. Will my right hon. Friend ensure that this Government continue to drive down poverty and support families?

[Bridget Phillipson]

By rolling out breakfast clubs, expanding free school meals, expanding childcare and much more besides, this Labour Government back families and back children to succeed. We will ensure that far fewer children are growing up in poverty at the end of this Parliament than there were at the start—the biggest reduction since records began.

[Chris Bloore (Redditch) (Lab)]

Before I came to this place, I assumed it was a shared fundamental principle that all hon. Members wanted to ensure that today’s children had more than they had. The Conservatives do not want to talk about the 900,000 children they plunged into poverty. I commend the Secretary of State for her strategy that champions the life chances of children in Redditch, rather doing what the Conservatives did: using them as cheap, dehumanising political slogans for their own ends.

[Bridget Phillipson]

My hon. Friend is right that too often children have been used as pawns in a political game, using political dividing lines, where the evidence simply does not back up what the Conservative party says. Children in poverty and their families do not lack ambition or aspiration. Those families want the best for their children and they want better life changes than they enjoyed themselves. This Labour Government will ensure that children in Redditch, and across our country, get those opportunities.

[Anna Dixon (Shipley) (Lab)]

Children across my Shipley constituency see at first hand the impact of child poverty in their schools and communities. I recently visited the Shipley school uniform hub, run by the Salvation Army, which provides pre-loved uniforms to families who can barely afford the essentials. I congratulate my right hon. Friend on the publication of the child poverty strategy. It is bold and morally right, addressing both the causes and consequences of child poverty. Does she agree with me that delivering on this strategy will not only require action across Government, but working in partnership with communities, in particular faith communities?

[Bridget Phillipson]

Yes. The taskforce heard evidence from faith communities, churches and others about what they are seeking to do to support families. I commend the amazing volunteers and those who work in our communities to support children and families. I also heard loud and clear from many of them that if children and families were not enduring such hardship and poverty, those volunteers and community workers could dedicate more time to important projects around issues such as loneliness and support for residents who are experiencing real disadvantage. They would much prefer to focus their efforts on areas where they can make a big difference. They should not have step in where Government fails, and that is why today’s publication of the strategy marks an important step forward in the Government’s responsibility to support children and families, working alongside our faith leaders and churches too.

[Shaun Davies (Telford) (Lab)]

I was a child who received free school meals when my both my parents were working. Free school meals gave me a helping hand, not a handout. Now 4,000 children in Telford are looking for the same, so that they can contribute proudly to this country and its future. Will my right hon. Friend tell me one reason why she believes that the Conservatives wants to plunge 4,000 Telford children back into poverty?

[Bridget Phillipson]

The Conservative party, as they have done over many years, since they introduced many of the punishing changes around social security, are using our children as pawns to make a political argument that is not borne out by the evidence. Children in my hon. Friend’s community will benefit from the difference that a Labour Government are making, whether through lifting the two-child limit, expanding free school meals or improved childcare for families. It is through his election to this place and through securing a Labour Government last July that we are seeing this difference.

[Sarah Russell (Congleton) (Lab)]

Some 174,000 children live in temporary accommodation, at a cost of £2.2 billion, so I welcome the Secretary of State’s commitment to reducing those numbers. However, even if they were reduced dramatically, a lot of children would still face safeguarding problems. Eighty children died while living in temporary accommodation last year, so will she outline how she will facilitate better information sharing between services and local authorities, specifically with regard to children in temporary accommodation?

[Bridget Phillipson]

This is an enormous challenge, as my hon. Friend identifies. We announced a clear pledge to prevent deaths caused by gaps in healthcare. We know some of the terrible outcomes for children caused by poor-quality accommodation. We are investing more and we are determined to bring that down. It will require a lot of us, right across Government, to work on this issue. The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government will shortly be setting out its homelessness strategy, with further measures to bring down the use of temporary accommodation and to support families.

[Frank McNally (Coatbridge and Bellshill) (Lab)]

I greatly welcome the child poverty strategy. More than 2,000 children in my constituency and close to 100,000 children in Scotland will benefit from the abolition of the two-child benefit cap. However, it is a shocking reality that 10,000 children in Scotland are languishing in temporary accommodation this Christmas. The SNP has declared a housing emergency but has done very little to address it. Will my right hon. Friend outline what steps she can take to work with the Scottish Government if necessary to try to tackle this crisis head on?

[Bridget Phillipson]

We have worked with Governments rights across the UK in the development of the strategy, but my hon. Friend is right to highlight the shocking and appalling legacy of years of SNP failure. That is why it is time for a new direction for Scotland with Anas Sarwar and Scottish Labour.

[Paul Waugh (Rochdale) (Lab/Co-op)]

When I visited Sacred Heart Roman Catholic primary school recently, I asked the children in the assembly to put up their hand if they had two or more brothers or sisters, and a forest of hands went up. Does the Secretary of State agree that those kids are among the 5,000 kids in Rochdale who will benefit very directly from a Labour Government?

[Bridget Phillipson]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for all that he has done over many years to champion children’s life chances and to tackle child poverty. No child should suffer the consequences or the punishment of the two-child limit for decisions beyond their control, and I am pleased that those families in his constituency and at Sacred Heart Roman Catholic primary school will see a big difference to their life chances thanks to this Labour Government.

[Jonathan Davies (Mid Derbyshire) (Lab)]

When I was growing up in the ’90s and ’00s, I had never heard of a food bank; they simply did not exist. There are now more than 3,000 in the country, including Hope for Belper in my constituency. Does my right hon. Friend agree that when the Conservatives talk about cutting £47 billion from public expenditure, that would hit the poorest worst? May I also urge her to work at pace on the curriculum review? One of the best levers we have to get people out of poverty is ensuring that they have the skills and resilience to succeed in the world of work.

[Bridget Phillipson]

Yes, I give my hon. Friend that commitment. In paying tribute to the amazing people who volunteer in our food banks, community groups, churches and community organisations right across the country, let me say that I look forward to the day when, as a Labour MP, I visit a food bank not to open it, but to close it down.

[Andrew Cooper (Mid Cheshire) (Lab)]

I thank my right hon. Friend for her leadership and all her hard work in getting us to this point. The extent to which child poverty increased under the last Government, and the fact that it shifted so heavily towards children in working families, ought to be a source of shame for the Conservatives—if only they were here to hear it. On behalf of the 2,430 children in Mid Cheshire who will benefit from the lifting of the two-child cap, may I thank her for having the courage to pull that lever and make a huge and immediate difference to them and their future? Some 174,000 children are living in temporary accommodation. Can she say more about how the forthcoming homelessness strategy will ensure that no child is accommodated in a bed and breakfast for longer than six weeks?

[Bridget Phillipson]

Yes. We know that a stay in temporary accommodation is linked to worse outcomes for children’s health, education and futures. We will introduce a temporary accommodation notification system requiring local housing authorities to notify educational institutions, health visitors and GPs when a child is placed in temporary accommodation to ensure that families get the support that they need, but we need to go further in bringing down the numbers of people living in temporary accommodation. We have made progress, but there is more to do, and the homeless strategy will follow shortly.

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Ms Nusrat Ghani)]

We are saving the best until last. I call Josh Fenton-Glynn.

[Josh Fenton-Glynn (Calder Valley) (Lab)]

From loss of earnings to poor health outcomes, in 2023 the Child Poverty Action Group estimated that had child poverty continued to rise as it was, it would have cost the economy £40 billion by 2027. I am proud that not only have we stopped that rise, but we will see 550,000 fewer children in poverty by 2030, giving young people better futures. Can the Secretary of State assure me that we will continue to invest in wiping out the root causes of poverty and not just invest in cleaning up the mess that it leaves?

[Bridget Phillipson]

Yes, we will address the short-term challenges we face, but we will also address the long-term structural challenges that have led us into the situation where so many children see their life chances blighted by avoidable poverty. We are investing in the future of our children. Some people and the Conservatives say that we cannot afford to act, but we must act now; the consequences and the cost to our society are just too great.

[Kirsty Blackman (Aberdeen North) (SNP)]

On a point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker. During the statement, I asked about the evaluation measures that will be used. The Secretary of State said in response that I had not welcomed the removal of the two-child cap; in fact, I did so explicitly and at length during my speech on 27 November in response to the Budget. Can you advise on the ways in which I can get an answer on how the child poverty strategy will be evaluated, rather than statements being made about stuff I did not say but did actually say?

Camden Nursery Sexual Abuse Case

Bridget Phillipson Excerpts

Thursday 4th December 2025 Commons Chamber

[The Secretary of State for Education (Bridget Phillipson)]

With permission, Madam Deputy Speaker, I will now make a statement regarding the sickening case of child sexual abuse at a nursery in Camden. Before I go further, I want to remind the House that a live police investigation is still under way and that the perpetrator is awaiting sentencing.

All Members and people across our country will wish to join me in expressing our horror at hearing of these appalling crimes. A 45-year-old British man, Vincent Chan, has pleaded guilty to 26 offences, which include multiple counts of sexual assault on a child by penetration, assault of a child by touching, and taking and making indecent photographs of a child, including category A images depicting the most serious abuse. He was employed by a nursery setting in Camden between June 2017 and May 2024. On 8 September 2025, he was arrested after evidence was uncovered on devices seized in a previous police investigation and was charged with the 26 offences in question on 9 September. Yesterday, Vincent Chan entered a plea of guilty, and sentencing will take place on 23 January.

In the meantime, the Metropolitan police have met families of all the children they have identified as victims of contact offences. In addition, the Met has written to the other families whose children attended the setting in question while the individual worked there to reassure them that where there is evidence of offences, the affected families have been contacted. Local children’s social care services are providing emotional and practical support to families and signposting them to specialist support services.

The National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children has been commissioned to set up a bespoke helpline as the first point of contact for anyone affected by these horrific acts. Details of the helpline can be found in communications from Camden council and the Metropolitan police. Specialist support is available for victims from the NSPCC helpline. People affected can be supported directly or referred to the right source of support to meet their needs, and the Government have provided funding to ensure there is sufficient capacity to support families.

Following a notification of a serious incident, the police, the integrated care board and the local authority completed a rapid review to establish the facts. That meant setting out a clear timeline of the events leading up to the incidents, the incidents themselves, the roles played by different agencies, and the safety of children at the nursery at each stage. Those initial findings are now being worked through quickly, but I can confirm to the House that the rapid review has concluded that a full local child safeguarding practice review is warranted. That wider review is being set up immediately. I am clear that it must shine the strongest possible light on these horrifying incidents, and that we must learn every lesson we can to make sure that crimes like this are guarded against at every step and every stage. It is critical that local safeguarding partners can continue their investigations, but I will work closely with them, with the child safeguarding practice review panel and its chair Sir David Holmes, and with Home Office colleagues to make absolutely sure that we have the most robust safeguards possible in place.

We must do everything in our power to protect children. I take my responsibilities as Secretary of State for not simply Education, but children, with the utmost seriousness. However, preventing cases like these requires everyone to believe in, and act on, the fundamental principle that safeguarding is everyone’s business. It is the duty of all of us right across our society to report abuse if we see it, and if we see or hear something that feels wrong, to question and challenge it. All of us owe it to our children to do the right thing. Keeping children safe is one of the most important duties of any society, and I thank our early years staff and wider children’s services workforce—those who work so hard, day in and day out, to give the children of this country the best start in life. I know that all committed early years and children’s services professionals will be just as horrified as we all are to hear about what has taken place, and just as distressed to think that something like this could happen in a place that should have been dedicated to keeping children safe and helping them thrive.

The defendant has now pleaded guilty to these sickening crimes and will be sentenced, but my thoughts this afternoon are not on him; they are with all the child victims of these vile and abhorrent crimes and their families, who are now trying to recover from the suffering and pain he has caused. My promise to them through these darkest of days, and my promise to Members in the Chamber today and to families across the country, is that not only will justice be served, but we will strengthen the ways in which we keep children safe. We will root out abuse wherever it hides, and we will never stop working to rid our society of this evil. I commend this statement to the House.

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Caroline Nokes)]

I call the shadow Secretary of State.

[Laura Trott (Sevenoaks) (Con)]

This is an utterly horrific case. I thank the Secretary of State for advance sight of her statement, and I thank her officials and advisers, who took the time to brief me on it.

Any parent who has ever sent their child to nursery has had a physical reaction to this news. It is just so unspeakably awful, and the betrayal of trust that has taken place is abhorrent. I know that the thoughts and prayers of everyone in this place will be with the families and children affected, and all of our collective efforts must now focus on how we do all we can to prevent this from ever happening again. With that goal in mind, I have a number of questions about the case that I want to put to the Secretary of State, with the full understanding that much of what I ask might be covered by the serious case review. I am seeking her assurances that these issues will be looked at in the future, rather than expecting full answers now.

The first question is about the time it took for the images and videos on the devices in question to be looked at by the police. My understanding is that while the perpetrator was first arrested and the devices seized in June 2024, those devices were not examined, and the abusive content was not found by the police, until over a year later. This is obviously an unacceptably long delay, given that the case involved nursery children and a man who, in 2024, was barred from working with children. There clearly needs to be an expedited process for devices in cases involving children, particularly those who cannot speak and advocate for themselves. I would be grateful if the Education Secretary would confirm that she will raise this matter with the Home Secretary.

Secondly, I understand that closed circuit television was in use at the nursery, but the footage was wiped during the time it took for these serious abuse offences to come to light, so we do not have access to it. This is terrible, because with that CCTV, it might have been possible to identify affected children more easily, and to spare hundreds of parents the unimaginable terror that their children might have been affected. Obviously, this links to my first point about the delays in accessing the devices, but given that in other nursery abuse cases it has also taken time for offences to come to light, looking at the retention guidance for CCTV in nurseries seems a sensible step. It would be helpful to understand whether the Education Secretary is considering such a step.

Thirdly, this investigation was triggered by a member of staff at the nursery raising concerns. Can the Secretary of State confirm whether those concerns were investigated immediately by the nursery, at what stage Ofsted was notified, and what steps Ofsted took? Is the Secretary of State content that a rigorous and timely process was followed by Ofsted? It will seem unbelievable to most people that this abuse was able to go on under the noses of other staff and in the daytime, without anyone else being aware. Can the Secretary of State confirm whether other concerns were raised about Mr Chan previously, whether by other nursery staff or by parents, and what checks have taken place on safeguarding procedures at this nursery chain subsequent to this incident?

Lastly, according to reports, the perpetrator in question had 26,000 indecent images of children and 16 nursery devices at his home. Was it standard practice for these devices to be removed from the site? Why did nobody notice, and why was he allowed to have so many devices? Is the Education Secretary considering revised guidance about the use of devices in early years settings?

I stand with the Secretary of State, officials and the police as they do all they can to seek justice for victims. We in this House will do all we can to ensure that this never happens again.

[Bridget Phillipson]

I am grateful to the right hon. Lady for her response. I know she shares my commitment and determination to make sure that our early years settings are safe for our children, as parents and children rightly expect them to be. She has raised important areas related to policy. I will answer her points as best I can; she will appreciate that there may be limitations on precisely what I can say, but she raises important questions that will need to be considered through the work of the local review.

The right hon. Lady has rightly asked about the time it took for images to be looked at. That question will be considered in the local review, and I will of course discuss the point about children with colleagues at the Home Office. She also asked about the use of CCTV and devices—again, she is right to do so. To be clear, we believe that it may not have been the case that CCTV was in operation at the nursery—that came to light subsequently—but we will make sure that the review considers that important question. On the wider point about the use of CCTV and devices in early years settings, some of these settings already use CCTV, as she noted. Sadly, we know that it can never entirely prevent the prospect of abuse, and there may well be differing views among parents, carers and those in the sector about CCTV use in those settings. However, I appreciate that the issue has been raised as a concern in a number of ways, so I intend to appoint an expert advisory group to develop guidance for the sector on the safe and effective use of CCTV and digital devices. This guidance will set out best practice, technical information and clear expectations, and I will provide updates as that work progresses.

The right hon. Lady asked other questions; they are the right questions, and the local review will consider them further. She will understand that I cannot expand on many of the facts, but I appreciate the care and sensitivity that she has shown in her approach to this issue. I know that today, the focus of everyone in this House will be on the families—those who are suffering because of these despicable acts. We across this House stand with them as they get the support they need and the justice they deserve, and we as a Government will continue to take whatever steps are necessary to keep children safe, root out abuse wherever it hides, and rid our society of this evil.

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Caroline Nokes)]

I call the Chair of the Education Select Committee.

[Helen Hayes (Dulwich and West Norwood) (Lab)]

I thank the Secretary of State for her statement.

Vincent Chan’s crimes are utterly horrific—the most egregious breach of trust imaginable, and every parent’s worst nightmare. My thoughts and, I know, the thoughts of the whole House have been with the children who are his victims, and with their families, ever since news of his crimes came into the public domain.

Incidents like this one, and the recent case of Roksana Lecka, who was convicted of abusing children at two nurseries, raise serious concerns about the effectiveness of Ofsted’s early years inspection regime, which currently rates 98% of providers as good or outstanding. What is the Secretary of State doing to ensure that Ofsted urgently brings forward reform of its early years inspection framework, so that it is fit for purpose? Will she review the current requirements for safeguarding training for early years practitioners, and the use of CCTV, to ensure that all staff are appropriately trained and the requirements are fit for purpose?

The Secretary of State’s colleagues in the Home Office have decided not to implement the version of mandatory reporting of child sexual abuse recommended by Professor Alexis Jay in the independent inquiry into child sexual abuse report, citing the workload that it would create. Does the Secretary of State agree that workload should not be a consideration when it comes to the safety of children? Will she urge her colleagues in the Home Office to rethink that decision, and to implement the more robust mandatory reporting obligation set out by Professor Jay, which includes criminal sanctions for non-compliance?

Finally, the Secretary of State spoke about the support that is quite rightly being provided to the victims of Vincent Chan and their families. Can she say a bit more about how support will be made available to those children and their families in such a way that they can draw on it throughout their life, whenever they need it?

[Bridget Phillipson]

The Chair of the Select Committee raises questions relating to Ofsted, as the shadow Secretary of State did, and I will respond in some detail to those. It is important that we understand what has happened here, so that, as far as we can, we prevent this from ever happening again. It is critical that local safeguarding partners conclude their investigations. We will work with them and the child safeguarding practice review panel.

We will also work with Ofsted to review the regulation of nursery chains. Ofsted keeps all settings under review, and conducts visits where risk assessments deem them necessary. The horrific crimes that we are discussing today are an important reminder that we expect providers to be vigilant across all early years settings. It is important that settings and staff report and act on concerns quickly, as part of an open safeguarding culture. I set out to the House my intentions around CCTV and the use of digital devices, and I would, as always, appreciate the input of the Select Committee and the Chair as we take that work forward.

On the wider need for reform in child protection and children’s safeguarding matters, on 9 April the Government published a progress update to address the recommendations from IICSA, including the recommendation on establishing a child protection authority to provide stronger national oversight of child protection. We will shortly launch a consultation on how we take that forward, and I will continue to discuss all the related matters with colleagues in the Home Office.

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Caroline Nokes)]

I call the Liberal Democrat spokesperson.

[Munira Wilson (Twickenham) (LD)]

I thank the Secretary of State for advance sight of her statement, and for the briefing that officials provided to me. The details of this case are harrowing and deeply disturbing, and my first thoughts are with the families affected. I sincerely hope that they are getting all the support and care they need.

Sadly, however, this latest heinous case is part of a distressing pattern that is emerging in early years settings across the country, in which safeguarding practices have not been followed or are proving insufficient to prevent babies and young children from coming to harm. Less than three months ago, Roksana Lecka was jailed for eight years on 21 counts of child cruelty relating to her time working at Riverside nursery, Twickenham Green, in my constituency. Just last year, another nursery worker was jailed for manslaughter following the tragic death of Gigi Meehan in Cheadle. The BBC’s “Panorama” has exposed a worrying level of abuse and neglect in nurseries across the country.

The Secretary of State rightly says that lessons will be learned from the Camden case, but it is clear that we already urgently need to strengthen safeguarding in early years settings. The safeguarding panel review in the Twickenham Green case and the parents of the children affected have clearly set out three broad areas for change. The first is transparency around who is working in our early years settings, what qualifications and what training they have, and their history and vetting. What consideration has the Secretary of State given to an early years practitioner register, of the kind that Australia has recently proposed?

The second area for change is monitoring. In the Twickenham Green and Gigi Meehan cases, CCTV was vital in securing convictions, and it might have led to Chan being caught sooner. I welcome the Secretary of State’s announcement today, but will she seriously consider mandating CCTV in nurseries, and making it a requirement for management to regularly review footage, and for Ofsted to routinely check footage at inspections? The third is accountability. The Vincent Chan and Twickenham Green cases involved nursery chains. Will the Secretary of State set out a timeline for when Ofsted will start corporate inspections of nursery chains, and will she ensure that when serious safeguarding issues are found in one setting, inspections are triggered across the chain?

No parent heading off to work should have to worry about whether their child is safe, but our most vulnerable are repeatedly being let down. The Secretary of State rightly said that keeping children safe is one of the most important duties in our society. Ministers urgently need to act to keep children safe, and we stand ready to work with them.

[Bridget Phillipson]

I am grateful to the hon. Lady for her engagement with officials on these matters. We will be most effective if we work across the House to address the serious concerns that have been raised in this case, as well as in the other cases to which she makes reference.

I will ask the expert advisory group, when it looks at guidance, to consider the use of CCTV and whether it ought to be mandatory in early years settings. There are differing views across the sector and among parents and carers; although the use of CCTV could clearly have benefits, some have raised concerns about the potential for the misuse of the recordings. We need to ensure that any guidance or changes that are brought forward are in line with the evidence, so that it leads to the appropriate use of CCTV and devices in settings.

From next April, Ofsted will inspect new early years providers within 18 months of opening and move towards inspecting all providers at least once every four years, compared with six years previously. Ofsted will receive additional funding to enhance the quality of inspection by strengthening quality assurance processes and providing targeted training for inspectors. We are working with Ofsted to introduce reporting on larger nursery chains, so that issues that span a group of providers can be addressed. Ofsted will continue to keep all settings under review to ensure that visits take place when risk assessments deem them necessary.

The local review will be led by a reviewer who is independent of the local authority and local safeguarding partners. We will of course consider any of its recommendations that have wider implications for the sector and children’s safeguarding, and I will keep hon. Members updated on progress.

[Tulip Siddiq (Hampstead and Highgate) (Lab)]

I thank the Secretary of State for Education for her statement and for reassuring us that the case is being given the importance and treated with the urgency it deserves. This is every parent’s worst nightmare. I pay tribute to my constituents and to the brave parents, who are here today to watch proceedings. They not only want justice for their own children, but want to ensure that never again are children put in this situation.

The parents in my constituency have a number of requests. I recognise that the Secretary of State will not be able to answer all of them, but I would be grateful if she could write to me. Has she considered enhanced background checks for everyone working with children, enabling the use of safeguarding CCTV in nurseries and early years providers, and a mandatory two-adult supervision rule for all nurseries and childcare practices? Is she looking into expanding Ofsted ratings to include a clear assessment of nurseries’ digital device policies and controls? Is she looking into establishing an independent, state-run safeguarding reporting body that parents can approach directly when concerns are raised, as they were in the case of this nursery? Such a body must be fully resourced to investigate childcare providers without reliance on internal nursery procedures.

Finally, will the Secretary of State ask the Prime Minister if he will meet me and affected parents to discuss not just this particular case, but how we strengthen the safeguarding process and the accountability of large childcare providers in our country?

[Bridget Phillipson]

I join my hon. Friend in paying tribute to the families for their bravery and courage. I cannot begin to imagine the trauma and pain that they are experiencing as a result of these heinous crimes. I am pleased that she is such a powerful champion and voice for children and families, both in her community and across our country. She raises a number of important questions. I will respond to her fully in writing to the best of my ability, given some of the limitations we are continuing to operate under in this case. I can give her the assurance that the Prime Minister would be happy to meet the families affected. At that meeting, we will be able to discuss further many of the questions that they have and many of the questions that she has rightly raised on their behalf today in the House.

[Bradley Thomas (Bromsgrove) (Con)]

This case is appalling, and it is right that the thoughts of us all are with the families affected and that the Government should do everything they can to prevent such cases from occurring in future. When does the Secretary of State expect the findings of the review to come forward? What additional steps are the Government looking at to ensure that parents and anyone with safeguarding concerns can report them much more easily?

--- Later in debate ---

[Bridget Phillipson]

The local review will get under way immediately. It will be led by an independent reviewer, who is independent of the local safeguarding partnership. From the point at which they take up the post, there will be six months for that report to come forward. The chair of the national panel will keep in close contact with the local reviewer during that time to track progress and any emerging challenges or issues, and that will be shared with the Department for Education if necessary.

The hon. Member is right to highlight that safeguarding is a responsibility for all of us—to challenge, to question and to report what we see. The reforms that we will set out in response to Alexis Jay’s review, including through the child protection authority, will be an important means of reinforcing that. We all have to be ever vigilant and willing to challenge and question, but also to believe children when they are able to speak and tell us what they have experienced. We must take that seriously and act on their concerns. That is a responsibility not just for staff in early years settings, but for all of us right across society.

[Sam Carling (North West Cambridgeshire) (Lab)]

This awful case underlines how important it is that we implement the recommendations from the independent inquiry into child sexual abuse as soon as possible. As my hon. Friend the Member for Dulwich and West Norwood (Helen Hayes) said, the Home Office has set out plans not to implement the recommendation on mandatory reporting in full. I spoke on Report of the Crime and Policing Bill to set out why that will leave children vulnerable. Will the Secretary of State ask the relevant Minister from her Department to meet me to discuss these concerns in more detail and to find a solution?

[Bridget Phillipson]

I understand the concerns that my hon. Friend raises and the importance of ensuring that we have the strongest possible protections for all children to keep them safe from harm. That is why we provided a progress update arising from the IICSA recommendations, which included the establishment of a child protection authority, and we will set out more shortly and launch a consultation on how we take this forward. I will speak to colleagues in the Home Office to ensure that my hon. Friend has the meeting that he requests to discuss this matter further.

[Caroline Voaden (South Devon) (LD)]

May I start by echoing the comments of the Secretary of State and all Members in saying that my thoughts are with the families affected by this awful case? There is a concerning lack of accountability once a setting shuts down, even if it is part of a chain. There is no mechanism to ensure that chain providers have corporate responsibility when harm occurs. How will the Minister address that? What assurances can she give parents that if a setting is closed down and de-registered from Ofsted, individual staff members are further checked and vetted before they go on to work elsewhere?

[Bridget Phillipson]

As a Department, we are working with Ofsted to review the regulation of nursery chains to ensure that parents can see strengths and areas of concern across the chain and that, where appropriate, action can be taken. I recognise the additional question that the hon. Member asks about the nature of regulation and the importance of preventing rules from being exploited. I will ensure that she receives a full response from Ofsted setting out its approach and any changes it is considering in relation to her questions.

[Jen Craft (Thurrock) (Lab)]

All our thoughts are with the families of the children affected by this appalling case. We cannot even begin to understand the impact it will have on those children throughout their lives. A whole load of support will need to be brought in to protect them and deal with the knock-on effects that they experience.

It brings to mind a case that has been brought to my attention involving another group of extremely vulnerable individuals. These are older children with complex and severe learning disabilities. I cannot talk too much about it, because it is a live case, but a parallel that struck me was that serious safeguarding concerns have been identified and given weight in one setting, when the organisation is part of a larger chain. In the case before us, it is a chain of nurseries and in the case I am referring to it is a multi-academy trust. It raises questions as to whether the body can be trusted with safeguarding more widely. Are there plans in place to look at corporate responsibility and to look at these things across the piece, rather than just as individual isolated incidents?

Another parallel is that I understand a whistleblower brought this case to the attention of the police in the first place. What measures will be introduced to protect whistleblowers in such cases, particularly when the person and the organisation to whom the whistleblower is reporting may be compromised?

[Bridget Phillipson]

My hon. Friend raises a number of important concerns about how groups operate in early years settings and schools, and the importance of ensuring that we have the right framework in place to take action where necessary. We are taking an active approach in early years and in schools, and are working with Ofsted on these key points. I recognise the limitations on what she can say about the case in the Chamber today, but the Under-Secretary of State for Education, my hon. Friend the Member for Reading West and Mid Berkshire (Olivia Bailey) or I would willing to meet her to discuss her concerns and what more we can do to ensure that we keep all children safe from harm.

My hon. Friend the Member for Thurrock (Jen Craft) raises the question of whistleblowing. I will not comment on this case in particular, given that the local review is under way, but whistleblowers continue to enjoy protection under the law in the action they take to protect others from harm. In the progress against Alexis Jay’s review, we will be taking further action on mandatory reporting, as we have discussed today.

[Mark Pritchard (The Wrekin) (Con)]

The thoughts of the whole House are with the victims and their families, but will the Secretary of State join me in praising the Metropolitan police team that brought this case to charge—in particular, Detective Superintendent Lewis Basford and his team—and the Crown Prosecution Service? It must have been harrowing for them to investigate the case and bring it to charge.

More generally, an estimated half a million children are sexually abused in this country every year. According to the National Crime Agency, 840,000 individuals currently pose a sexual risk to children. Shockingly, there are 400,000 searches a month in this country for child sexual abuse images. This country, while still safer than many, clearly has a problem, and it often starts online. What more can the Government do to ensure that the owners of tech companies, not just the managers, are held to account when they are not taking action against the downloading and viewing of such images?

The Secretary of State mentions the child protection authority that might be coming forward. May I encourage her not to move away from the great work that the National Crime Agency is doing? It has done a lot more in this area over recent years and has had a lot of success. It has the resources, the manpower and the technology. I would not want its excellent work to be overshadowed by any new authority. Given that local police forces do not have the resources and are overstretched already, what more can be done at a national level to co-ordinate across police forces in England and Wales, including West Mercia in my area, and with the National Crime Agency so that we can see a reduction in the viewing of these images?

[Bridget Phillipson]

The right hon. Gentleman raises a number of important points, and he is right to thank the police for their thorough work in what has been an extremely complex and harrowing investigation. I pay tribute to all those who have been involved to this point in supporting the victims and families, and to those who will be involved in taking forward further work in this area.

The right hon. Gentleman is also right to draw attention to the scale of child sexual abuse that we still sadly see in our country. Before I came to this House, I worked with many of those who had been affected by child sexual abuse, and I understand the lifelong impact it can have on many people. I understand also that for a very long time, we have not been serious enough as a society about encouraging those who have experienced appalling abuse, including in childhood, to seek the support and advice that they will need, often for many years into the future. A key issue that we have often faced in that regard has been the fact that children, when they have come forward to report abuse, have not always been believed by those in positions of authority, and that has to change. The culture shift that is required is as important as any legislative measures that we need to take, so that children are believed when they report abuse. We need action to follow so that those in positions of authority face consequences for their actions and their failure to take forward allegations by children and others.

The right hon. Gentleman also refers to the appalling scale of what we see online. We will continue to work with Home Office colleagues on this issue, and I will look carefully at what he said about the development of the child protection authority. We will set out more details to the House in due course and update Members in this area, alongside a consultation that will allow views about the best way forward to be aired.

[Jas Athwal (Ilford South) (Lab)]

I thank the Secretary of State for her statement, and for the urgency and respect that she has shown this particular case. May I put on the record that I agree with the sentiments of this House about the urgency with which we need to deal with this particular case and potential future cases, which we must stop?

The police have to be commended, but the trigger point was the whistleblower—that is where it started. We have to look at two things, because the pain that is being suffered by the parents is unimaginable, and the trauma of the children will be felt for years and generations to come. Can the Secretary of State assure me that unregistered, unregulated settings are looked at very quickly and that the lessons learned from this particular case are shared among all settings across the entire country, so that everybody learns the lessons—not just this particular setting or chain?

[Bridget Phillipson]

I agree very strongly with my hon. Friend. Alongside bringing forward the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill, we are taking a number of important steps to improve safeguarding. The Bill brings forward bold new measures to keep children safe, including a legal obligation for safeguarding partners to work hand in hand with education and childcare settings, because we know that it is often teachers and early years staff who first see the signs of abuse and neglect. That runs alongside the establishment of the child protection authority, a new national body that will have expertise, authority and a single mission: to protect children. Through that work and the development of the child protection authority, we will be in a stronger position to make sure that where there are lessons to learn in individual cases, they are shared and spread much more widely, so that we can keep children safe from harm.

[Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)]

I thank the Secretary of State for her clear and reassuring commitment to take the necessary steps, which everybody in this House and everybody out there who is a parent, or who looks at this case, wants to see. It is almost impossible to comprehend what has happened—I just cannot take it in—but our thoughts are very much with the parents and children affected.

This is a devastating case, and there will be a prolonged impact on all the children and parents involved. I am very pleased that the person involved has pleaded guilty and is due to be sentenced—hopefully, he will get a strict punishment. What lesson can be learned from this case in relation to whistleblowing, to ensure that staff feel safe enough to report anything unusual without the fear of not being protected? The case was only discovered due to minor concerns, which turned out to be much, much more.

[Bridget Phillipson]

I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman. The local review, which will come forward shortly, will put us in a position to consider what lessons there are from this case, but the wider questions require a policy response, either from Government or from others, about how we can do more to keep children safe. It is right that that work is done thoroughly and carefully, as we would expect.

There is, of course, the ongoing need to make sure that all settings are as safe as possible for our children. As part of that work, particularly around early years settings, we strengthened the requirements in September and introduced a wide range of strengthened safeguarding measures to the early years foundation stage. That includes enhanced recruitment practices to prevent further unsuitable individuals from working with children, and new whistleblowing requirements to help ensure that all early years educators understand how to escalate any safeguarding concerns.

School Funding

Bridget Phillipson Excerpts

Wednesday 19th November 2025 Written Statements

[The Secretary of State for Education (Bridget Phillipson)]

Today, I can confirm the publication of the provisional funding allocations for mainstream schools and local authorities in 2026-27 through the schools and central school services national funding formulas.

Provisional funding for mainstream schools through the schools NFF will total £50.9 billion in 2026-27. To simplify the funding system, the 2026-27 schools NFF includes funding for pay and national insurance contributions costs that were previously allocated outside the NFF. The funding for teachers’ pay has been converted to a full-year equivalent, so that it will support the costs of the 2025 teachers’ pay award across the whole 2026-27 funding year.

On top of this rolled-in funding, the core factor values in the schools NFF are rising by 2.1%, to increase the funding available to schools. Average per pupil funding in the NFF will rise to £6,771 in 2026-27. The funding “floor” will be set at 0%, continuing to ensure that the NFF protects schools against cash-terms reductions in their pupil-led per pupil funding. The NFF will continue to apply minimum per pupil funding levels.

Local authorities will continue to be responsible for operating local funding formulae, which will determine the funding that individual schools and academies in their area receive. The actual funding that schools see will therefore, in many cases, diverge from the NFF allocations that we are publishing today. To support moves to a more consistent funding system, we will continue to require those local authorities which are not already “mirroring” the NFF in their local formulae to move closer to the NFF.

The central school services block funds local authorities for the ongoing responsibilities they continue to have for all schools, and some historical spending commitments that local authorities face. The central school services NFF for 2026-27 includes funding for pay and national insurance contributions costs that were previously allocated outside the NFF.

Updated allocations of schools and central school services funding for 2026-27 will be published to the usual timescale in December through the dedicated schools grant allocations, taking account of the latest pupil data at that point.

The publication of high needs allocations will follow by the end of the year.

[HCWS1069]

Education

Bridget Phillipson Excerpts

Tuesday 18th November 2025 Written Corrections

[Bridget Phillipson]

We want to ensure that as we reduce GCSE content by 10%, we do so, together with the regulator, in a way that maintains the validity and integrity of the system. There are a range of different approaches that teachers can benefit from, and the Department provides much in the way of training and development. We always keep that under review to ensure that this is evidence-informed and driven by the best pedagogy.

[Official Report, 5 November 2025; Vol. 774, c. 948.]

Written correction submitted by the Secretary of State for Education, the right hon. Member for Houghton and Sunderland South (Bridget Phillipson):

[Bridget Phillipson]

We want to ensure that as we reduce GCSE exam time by 10%, we do so, together with the regulator, in a way that maintains the validity and integrity of the system. There are a range of different approaches that teachers can benefit from, and the Department provides much in the way of training and development. We always keep that under review to ensure that this is evidence-informed and driven by the best pedagogy.

School Funding

Bridget Phillipson Excerpts

Monday 17th November 2025 Written Statements

[The Secretary of State for Education (Bridget Phillipson)]

Publication of provisional funding allocations for mainstream schools and local authorities in 2026-27, through the schools, high needs and central school services national funding formulae, has been delayed from the usual timetable due to the timing of the spending review and the need to ensure that rigorous quality assurance processes have been completed in full.

The Department for Education has received a number of requests for clarification of when the allocations will be published. Finalisation of the NFFs is being pursued as a matter of urgency. Our priority will be to publish the schools NFF shortly in order to allow local authorities to proceed with preparation of their local schools formulae.

[HCWS1059]

Safeguarding Children

Bridget Phillipson Excerpts

Thursday 13th November 2025 Written Statements

[The Secretary of State for Education (Bridget Phillipson)]

The whole country remembers with profound sadness the tragic murder of Sara Sharif by her father and stepmother in August 2023. Aged just 10 years old, the unimaginable cruelty of Sara’s death at the hands of those who should have been her first and brightest source of love and care shocked us all.

Justice has been served, and Sara’s father and stepmother are now serving life sentences. But as a society our response to this appalling case cannot end there. Just as we were a nation united in our grief for that precious little girl, now we must be united in our resolve to do whatever possible to prevent this from happening again.

Child protection professionals work tirelessly to improve the lives of vulnerable children across the country, often under challenging circumstances. I know they will have been just as horrified as the rest of us by what happened to Sara. But as a child protection system—and as a wider society—we must be brave enough to look ourselves in the eye and be open and honest about what went wrong. As the Prime Minister has said, questions must be answered.

Today’s publication of the local child safeguarding practice review into the case by the Surrey Safeguarding Children Partnership is part of that vital process. The review provides an independent reflection on the changes required to protect children like Sara. Across all agencies concerned, it highlights mistakes that were made and opportunities that were missed.

I want to assure the House that this Government are treating the findings of the review with the strongest possible seriousness. We are already acting to close gaps, to strengthen safeguarding and to keep children safe. The first steps are set out in the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill, which will sharply improve the clarity of information sharing and help make sure that children not in school (including those in elective home education) are safe.

The introduction of compulsory children not in school registers will empower local authorities to better identify children who need support and protection, as will the accompanying duties on parents of eligible children and out-of-school education providers. The measures will ensure that the most vulnerable children cannot be withdrawn from school until it is confirmed that doing so would be in their best interests. Local authorities will have to assess the home learning environment when determining whether an electively home educated child’s education is suitable or whether it is in the best interests of the most vulnerable children. Where it is not, local authorities will have the power to require these children to attend school.

Local support services matter too. By building on the evidence from programmes like Supporting Families, and more than doubling investment in prevention services, we are giving families and children access to the better services they need in their communities. That is how we will break the cycle of late intervention and help more children and families to stay safely together. The Families First Partnership programme, which started in April this year, will drive the national roll-out of Family Help, multi-agency child protection and family group decision-making reforms contained in the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill. The Bill also includes a new duty for safeguarding partners to create the multi-agency teams in every area. They will bring experts together across social work, police, health and education to identify actual or likely significant harm and take decisive action to protect children. And new Family Help services will mean a single offer of support, delivered by the right people at the right time, reducing the need for multiple handovers between different professionals and unnecessary assessments for families and children.

Co-ordination is key. The review highlights that agencies and practitioners failed to “join the dots” to recognise the dangers faced by Sara once she moved in with her father and stepmother. We want agencies and practitioners to spend less time chasing information and more time acting on the full picture about a child. A new duty in the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill clarifies that practitioners must share relevant information where it relates to safeguarding or promoting a child’s welfare. It applies even without parental consent, allows practitioners to request information and covers information about other people around the child. We are also improving case management systems, developing consistent data and introducing a single unique identifier to improve data linking and stop children falling through the cracks of services.

Tackling domestic abuse and violence against women and girls is a priority for this Government. We will improve how courts respond to allegations of domestic abuse within private law children proceedings, including through the introduction of the pathfinder pilot courts, now operational in nine areas. We will put the child’s voice at the heart, adopting a multi-agency approach to boost co-ordination and improve the family court experience for all parties.

We will tackle the causes of abuse too, growing the roots of a safer society for all. That is why we have updated the relationships, sex and health education curriculum to support positive relationships and help children to recognise abusive behaviour from an early age. And we know that to protect women, girls and all our children, we must back our workforces. We are upskilling social workers, investing in national graduate training routes, introducing a new two-year early career training programme for all new children’s social workers, and rolling out new training on advanced child protection. This includes new post qualifying standards to help improve the quality of practice and retention. Domestic abuse, including coercive and controlling behaviour, will feature prominently in the new programme that flows from the PQS.

We are also working with Foundations to generate evidence on what works to prevent domestic abuse and support families. The evidence will target how to consistently measure outcomes across different interventions, and how to support the recovery of babies, children and young people. Looking to the future, the cross-Government VAWG strategy is due to be published shortly. The strategy will set out how we will halve VAWG in a decade—as well as the further measures we will take to support the victims and tackle the perpetrators.

These are the first steps we as a Government are taking. But we know we must go further—as this review of Sara’s case makes plain. We will consider the findings with all the care and consideration they deserve, and we will continue to strengthen the way we protect children in this country. But keeping children safe is a duty that spreads right across society. So, I hope that in the wake of this terrible loss, we will all come together and live up to our shared responsibility.

While the shocking brutality of her murder is impossible to forget, we must do our best not to remember Sara only in that context of cruelty. She deserves to be known for who she was, not just for what she suffered through. Sara was a 10-year-old girl full of personality, blessed with a lovely smile and a loud laugh. She liked to sing and dance. She loved her siblings. It is those precious memories of Sara that must now strengthen our resolve to give every child the full and happy life that she was so tragically denied.

[HCWS1052]