Children from Low-Income Families: Education Support

Carol Monaghan Excerpts

Wednesday 30th June 2021 Westminster Hall

[Carol Monaghan (Glasgow North West) (SNP) [V]]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Hollobone. I congratulate the hon. Member for Slough (Mr Dhesi) on securing today’s very important debate. I know that in parts of the UK children are still in school for another few weeks. In Scotland our children are already on summer holiday. Many of the issues we are discussing today apply not just to the UK but to the world at the moment. I believe that the pandemic has hit children and young people hardest of all, particularly when we look at food inadequacies and things such as limited access to technology in order to undertake their digital learning.

We need to look at how advantage has made a difference. The attainment gap exists everywhere between advantaged and more disadvantaged children. Do we treat the symptoms or try to cure it? Countries that have more radical, socially just policies have seen the attainment gap narrow, and that is what we should look at. It is pretty sad that it took a footballer, the fabulous Marcus Rashford, to press the Government into taking more action for children’s free school meals.

We have heard about various concerns this afternoon. The hon. Member for Mitcham and Morden (Siobhain McDonagh) talked about the Ofcom report and specifically about accessing digital technology and broadband. Even when young people have the kit, if they cannot afford the broadband connection there will still be problems. Unfortunately, we are hearing that many children did not have the kit that they needed to start with. Earlier in this Session, I was pleased to support the Bill promoted by the hon. Member for Bristol North West (Darren Jones) seeking social tariff for broadband, because that is what we need to be looking at. We need to be considering broadband as an essential service to every single home. If people cannot afford it, something has to be put in place to ensure that they can.

The hon. Members for Leicester East (Claudia Webbe) and for Luton South (Rachel Hopkins) talked about specific issues with child poverty in their constituencies and how they had seen that increase during the pandemic. Certainly I can join them in that, because in Glasgow North West and across Glasgow, we also saw some of the issues with child poverty being made more acute. I will speak more about that in a moment. And we had, of course, the hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon), talking about his ambitions for his children as a parent and, now, as a grandparent. He gave a lot of credit to his wife, but I am sure that some credit also has to go to him for the raising of his children.

The Ofcom report that talked about the number of young people without access to digital technology was pretty stark. It showed us how big an issue that is. In Scotland, we have tried to tackle it. I would like to see the UK Government taking more action. Every child in Scotland was provided with a digital device, and many were given mobile wi-fi devices to ensure that they could actually access wi-fi as well. I know teachers around Glasgow who actually hand-delivered these devices to young people in the constituency. This has been really important.

The Scottish Government have also acted quickly to try to alleviate issues that have been reinforced by the pandemic, such as by providing free school meals to all primary children. That is what we need to be doing—providing not just free school lunches for some people, but breakfasts and lunches for everyone so that there is no stigma, that it is just what happens at school, and that we know that all young people going to school are fit to learn because they have food in their stomach. The Scottish Government are going further, because they will enshrine in law that right to food. During the summer holidays, which we are now in, in Scotland, young people and children in Scotland will be supported by a £20 million Scottish Government fund that will create opportunities for them to socialise, play and reconnect with one another, because their health and wellbeing is of equal importance to their academic progress. We need to ensure that that is right, so that they are ready to start the next school term come August.

The UK Government must ensure that there is more support for children in low-income families who need it. As of May 2020, more than 6,000 households in Scotland had their benefits capped, with those households losing, on average, £2,600 a year. Just over 4,000 of the households included lone parents and children. The Scottish Government will tackle that head-on with the Scottish child payment. That is a world-leading payment, but we are going further because it will be doubled to £20 a week for every eligible child. These are major steps, and steps that the UK Government should be mirroring. Of course, the universal credit uplift, which has been an absolute lifeline, must be kept in place. Removing that will wipe out much of the benefit that the Scottish Government are putting in place with the Scottish child payment.

The Scottish Government have acted quickly to provide the learning tools and access to technology, but we need the UK Government to do more, so I have a few questions for the Minister. First, I would like to hear what discussions she has had in her Department about a social broadband tariff, because that would be transformational for children who are learning at home—not just in pandemic times, but in other times. I would like to hear about discussions she might have had with the Treasury about retaining the universal credit uplift, which has been a lifeline for parents and families. Finally, I would like to hear what plans she has to mirror the Scottish child payment, which is going to go up to £20 a week per eligible family.