Giving Every Child the Best Start in Life

Debate between Bridget Phillipson and Peter Prinsley

Monday 7th July 2025 Commons Chamber

[Bridget Phillipson]

I agree with my hon. Friend, and I am pleased to hear about his experiences. It is important that services delivered through Best Start family hubs respond to the needs of mums, dads and carers alike. The example he gives demonstrates the importance of listening to parents about what they want to see. Through the measures announced today, his local authority area will benefit from extra investment in order to get up and running in the next year and on an ongoing basis. That shows once again the difference that a Labour Government are bringing to his community.

[Peter Prinsley (Bury St Edmunds and Stowmarket) (Lab)]

I congratulate the Secretary of State; her measures will certainly give every child the best start in life, and Best Start is one of her many best ideas. We have a crisis of basic nutrition, where children are obese while also malnourished, and have decayed teeth. Does the Secretary of State agree that Best Start will go far to address this issue?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Bridget Phillipson and Peter Prinsley

Monday 27th January 2025 Commons Chamber

[Bridget Phillipson]

I appreciate the hon. Lady’s interest in this area. She will know that the proposed exascale supercomputer is one programme that the Government are considering. We are currently assessing the best way to take this forward. The previous programme was announced under the last Government, for which full funding was not allocated. We are committed to developing a strategy setting out a 10-year plan for our country’s needs. That plan will be published in the coming months alongside the spending review, but I will ensure that officials in the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology pick up her concern and that she receives a full response.

[Peter Prinsley (Bury St Edmunds and Stowmarket) (Lab)]

5. What steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to help retain clinical academics in universities.