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Division Vote (Commons)
11 Mar 2026 - Finance (No. 2) Bill - View Vote Context
Elsie Blundell (Lab) voted No - in line with the party majority and in line with the House
One of 286 Labour No votes vs 0 Labour Aye votes
Vote Tally: Ayes - 174 Noes - 292
Division Vote (Commons)
10 Mar 2026 - Courts and Tribunals Bill - View Vote Context
Elsie Blundell (Lab) voted No - in line with the party majority and in line with the House
One of 308 Labour No votes vs 7 Labour Aye votes
Vote Tally: Ayes - 203 Noes - 311
Division Vote (Commons)
10 Mar 2026 - Courts and Tribunals Bill - View Vote Context
Elsie Blundell (Lab) voted Aye - in line with the party majority and in line with the House
One of 301 Labour Aye votes vs 10 Labour No votes
Vote Tally: Ayes - 304 Noes - 203
Written Question
Reading
Tuesday 10th March 2026

Asked by: Elsie Blundell (Labour - Heywood and Middleton North)

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to ensure schools are promoting reading as a substitute to social media use.

Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

We know that reading for pleasure is hugely important and brings a range of benefits. However, we also know that just one in three children aged 8 to 18 read in their free time, and a recent Omnibus Survey by the department found that 31% of parents of primary-aged children and 40% of parents of secondary-aged children said their child prefers spending time online or playing video games, citing this as a barrier to encouraging reading in their free time.

We have launched the National Year of Reading 2026, in collaboration with the National Literacy Trust, to address long-term declines in reading enjoyment through engaging new audiences, reshaping public attitudes and building the systems needed to embed lasting, meaningful change.

The National Year of Reading encourages everyone to see how reading, in all forms, can unlock more of our existing passions and interests, from reading a story in a print book or on an e-reader, to reading a magazine article or an online blog, to listening to an audio book on a phone or tablet. With this in mind, digital technology is not incompatible with the National Year of Reading.

The national rollout of Best Start Family Hubs is underpinned by £500 million of government investment to help families in every part of the country. This includes increased investment in home learning and parenting support in the early years, enhancing support for families through integrated advice, targeted outreach and partnerships to empower more parents and carers to chat, play, and read with their children every day to nurture early reading skills and language development from birth.

This government is also providing £5 million of funding for secondary schools to purchase books to encourage reading for pleasure, as well as committing over £10 million in funding to guarantee a library for every primary school by the end of this Parliament.

Division Vote (Commons)
9 Mar 2026 - Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill - View Vote Context
Elsie Blundell (Lab) voted Aye - in line with the party majority and in line with the House
One of 298 Labour Aye votes vs 0 Labour No votes
Vote Tally: Ayes - 315 Noes - 163
Division Vote (Commons)
9 Mar 2026 - Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill - View Vote Context
Elsie Blundell (Lab) voted Aye - in line with the party majority and in line with the House
One of 293 Labour Aye votes vs 1 Labour No votes
Vote Tally: Ayes - 307 Noes - 173
Division Vote (Commons)
9 Mar 2026 - Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill - View Vote Context
Elsie Blundell (Lab) voted Aye - in line with the party majority and in line with the House
One of 300 Labour Aye votes vs 0 Labour No votes
Vote Tally: Ayes - 321 Noes - 106
Division Vote (Commons)
9 Mar 2026 - Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill - View Vote Context
Elsie Blundell (Lab) voted Aye - in line with the party majority and in line with the House
One of 301 Labour Aye votes vs 0 Labour No votes
Vote Tally: Ayes - 306 Noes - 182
Division Vote (Commons)
9 Mar 2026 - Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill - View Vote Context
Elsie Blundell (Lab) voted Aye - in line with the party majority and in line with the House
One of 305 Labour Aye votes vs 0 Labour No votes
Vote Tally: Ayes - 309 Noes - 181
Division Vote (Commons)
9 Mar 2026 - Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill - View Vote Context
Elsie Blundell (Lab) voted Aye - in line with the party majority and in line with the House
One of 297 Labour Aye votes vs 0 Labour No votes
Vote Tally: Ayes - 315 Noes - 109