Children’s Social Care: Enduring Relationships Strategy

Chris Webb Excerpts

Thursday 4th June 2026 Commons Chamber

[Josh MacAlister]

I thank the right hon. Member for his question, and for giving me the job of doing the independent review of children’s social care in the first place; I would like to think he made a good decision, but time will tell.

The problem is that at the moment, the provision of support with kinship care is very uneven across the country, and it is quite hard to tell the variation in the rates of support that are offered from place to place. The same is true for allowances and fees for foster carers, so there is something to be done about transparency in the existing system. However, the kinship zones programme, which includes the allowance pilot—it has been supported by colleagues in the Treasury to ensure that it does not impact on universal credit, and it is genuinely non-means-tested—means that we will have a good-quality impact evaluation to assess in seven different areas what impact that has overall on the flow of families. Sometimes that flow is rightly away from the fostering system—which puts children into care even though they are living with relatives—and keeps them in the right place, which is with the people who already love them, supported through an SGO or a kinship child arrangement order. I am hopeful of the findings from that evaluation. If they are positive, I will be doing everything I can to ensure that it gets support across Government.

[Chris Webb (Blackpool South) (Lab)]

I warmly welcome today’s announcement, as many colleagues have done, and I congratulate my hon. Friend on his commitment to ensuring that children in care and care leavers have the same opportunities for love, support and belonging as every other young person. I know that it has been a personal endeavour of his for many years. As he will know, Blackpool has a significant number of children in care, and we know that strong, enduring relationships can be life-changing. Will he say a little more about how this programme will help local authorities, such as Blackpool, identify and reconnect young people with trusted adults in their lives and ensure that those relationships can continue to support them as they move into adulthood?

[Josh MacAlister]

Blackpool faces some real challenges, and I thank all the practitioners on the ground and the council for contending a situation where they have some of the highest rates of children in care. Blackpool is also a destination for distance placements, because of property prices. It means that many children who are in care are sent to Blackpool, which adds additional pressures. I was lucky enough earlier this week to meet Poppie, Hannah, Mackenzie and Tia. Those young people have benefited from one of the Family Finding programmes that this Government have funded called Lifelong Links. It demonstrates what should be the core purpose of the system, rather than a pilot programme or an innovation sitting on the edge of the system. I point to the type of practice done by Lifelong Links, supported by the Family Rights Group, and others, as the core work that we should see the care and leaving care systems doing. It would mean, for want of a better phrase, a “Who Do You Think You Are?”-style process, as seen on TV. This process looks back through the whole history of that child’s experience with important adults, and then gets those people back into the young person’s life.

Oral Answers to Questions

Chris Webb Excerpts

Monday 20th October 2025 Commons Chamber

[Josh MacAlister]

I am happy to correspond with the hon. Member about the situation facing that school. In relation to school buildings, a number of schemes are available to provide support.

[Chris Webb (Blackpool South) (Lab)]

In Blackpool, too many young people needing SEND placements have been sent outside the borough, often an hour away. There is a proposal on the table for two new SEND schools in Blackpool with 120 places, but it seems to be in limbo. Will the Minister agree to meet me to discuss this and how we can get adequate support for our great young people?

[Georgia Gould]

This Government want every child able to be educated in their community, not having to travel long distances. That is why we have set out the £740 million investment in specialist places. I am very happy to meet my hon. Friend to discuss the circumstances.

Oral Answers to Questions

Chris Webb Excerpts

Monday 21st July 2025 Commons Chamber

[Stephen Morgan]

The Government are committed to ensuring excellence for everyone so that children have the support, skills and opportunities that they need, and that starts in early years. We are actively working with parents and experts on solutions, including more early intervention to prevent needs from escalating. Any changes we make will improve support for children and parents, stop parents having to fight for support, and protect current effective provision.

[Chris Webb (Blackpool South) (Lab)]

8. What steps her Department is taking to ensure adequate funding for SEND provision.

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

I am grateful to my hon. Friend that important question. Labour is providing £1 billion more for high-needs budgets, and also providing councils with £740 million of capital funding to improve support for children with SEND in specialist and mainstream schools. This investment will lay the foundation for the better system that children with SEND need. Working with experts, we will set out our plans in the schools White Paper in the autumn.

[Chris Webb]

The last Government left behind a SEND system that was failing children and families. Parents were made to fight for support, with education, health and care plans denied or delayed and vital services taken away. Tory cuts to early years support, rising poverty and extreme deprivation in Blackpool, as well as the pandemic hitting our children harder than most, have all combined to deepen the crisis facing our most vulnerable young people. What steps is the Education Secretary taking to ensure children in disadvantaged communities like mine, where the need is high and support often falls short, receive the targeted SEND support they urgently require?

[Bridget Phillipson]

My hon. Friend is a powerful champion for his constituents and for Blackpool, and he is right that far too many children are not currently getting the support they need in order to thrive. Early intervention is key—more support at the earliest possible point to identify where children might be struggling, and to make sure that they get the help they need. That is why I was very proud to announce to the House that, building on the proud Labour legacy of Sure Start, we will be rolling out Best Start family hubs to make sure that we have better family support services in every part of our country, including my hon. Friend’s community.

Free School Meals

Chris Webb Excerpts

Thursday 5th June 2025 Commons Chamber

[Stephen Morgan]

I absolutely agree with my hon. Friend. This is the difference that a Labour MP and a Labour Government can make. I pay tribute to Laura for raising these issues with us. Through constituents’ lobbying and by hearing their concerns, we are delivering positive change for our country.

[Chris Webb (Blackpool South) (Lab)]

I applaud the Government’s decision to extend free school meals to children across the country. This initiative is a vital step in supporting families in need and will undoubtedly benefit many children across Blackpool, which the Minister will know, as he joined me in visiting primary schools last year. Many, including the Jamie Oliver Food Foundation, have called for accelerated efforts to ensure that every child has access to nutritious meals irrespective of their background. Does the Minister agree that it is imperative that we unite in our efforts to guarantee that every child in Blackpool and across the country has the best possible start in life, with access to healthy food, quality education and opportunities for success?

[Stephen Morgan]

It was a pleasure to visit primary schools in my hon. Friend’s constituency, and I know that he cares deeply about tackling child poverty. That is why I am delighted that we are taking this intervention to lift over 100,000 children out of poverty. He makes a number of points regarding good-quality nutritious food, and I hope he will work with us as we set out plans to make changes in this area in due course.

Oral Answers to Questions

Chris Webb Excerpts

Monday 28th April 2025 Commons Chamber

[Catherine McKinnell]

We are always looking for good approaches to raising standards, whether in phonics, maths or oracy, and to giving children the confidence that will set them up for life. I would be keen to hear more details about the programme that the hon. Gentleman describes.

[Chris Webb (Blackpool South) (Lab)]

I have recently been informed that teaching assistants employed through agencies in Blackpool are being paid under the national living wage and sent into schools with positive Disclosure and Barring Service checks, and that the profit margins of those agencies are as high as 35% to 40%, with agencies making £100 a day on candidates. Will the Minister agree to meet me to discuss those issues that are facing Blackpool?

[Catherine McKinnell]

Support staff, temporary staff and agency staff can provide important support to schools where it is needed, but that must be done in a fair way that helps to manage school budgets and provide the outcomes for children that we know a stable teaching force can bring. I would be more than happy to discuss the particular issues that my hon. Friend raises with him.