Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Bridget Phillipson and Natasha Irons

Wednesday 5th February 2025 Commons Chamber

[Bridget Phillipson]

I recognise the hon. Gentleman’s interest in this area, and the interest of Members from right across the House in the urgent need to reform the SEND system. However, I gently observe that we inherited the funding mechanism from the previous Government, and that the last Conservative Education Secretary said that the SEND system they have left behind is “lose, lose, lose”. We are determined to fix it, to build up parents’ confidence, and to make sure that all children get the education and support that they need.

[Natasha Irons (Croydon East) (Lab)]

I welcome this Government’s commitment to halving violence against women and girls, and their investment in the domestic abuse protection order scheme in Croydon. However, Croydon’s youth engagement team, who focus on helping to prevent young women from being brought into gangs through grooming, abuse and vulnerability, are facing cuts due to the budget constraints facing the council. What more can the Government do to support local communities and local councils to prevent young women from being dragged into gangs through grooming and things like that?

[Bridget Phillipson]

My hon. Friend mentions a vital area. There is an important role for youth services as part of this, but we also need to do much more around safeguarding. The provisions in the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill on multi-agency child protection measures and much more besides, and the additional investment that we are putting into the system around children’s social care, will make a real difference in tackling the unacceptable exploitation that sadly blights the lives of too many children across our country.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Bridget Phillipson and Natasha Irons

Wednesday 18th December 2024 Commons Chamber

[Bridget Phillipson]

I strongly agree with my hon. Friend that, while the Conservatives have said that they think parental leave is excessive, we want to give families more choices. Through the Employment Rights Bill, we will make paternity leave available from day one in a new job and enable it to be taken after shared parental leave. We are also committed to reviewing the parental leave system to ensure that it better supports working families.

[Natasha Irons]

Independent research from the Social Mobility Foundation highlights a stark class pay gap, with professionals from working-class backgrounds earning, on average, 12% less than their more privileged counterparts in the same roles, and one in 10 people from lower socioeconomic backgrounds finding it difficult to get higher-skilled managerial and professional occupations. Despite the fact that socioeconomic background remains one of the biggest determinants in chances for life for young people in this country, few large organisations monitor it. Will the Minister consider mandating larger organisations to monitor socioeconomic backgrounds, so that we can properly highlight social mobility and give it the attention that it deserves?

[Bridget Phillipson]

I share my hon. Friend’s concern in this area, which is why we are committed to enacting the socioeconomic duty of the Equality Act 2010, and we shall give more information on this in due course. I also encourage businesses and organisations to collect data where they can, so that we can take action to tackle some of those deep-rooted inequalities that my hon. Friend describes.