Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Helen Hayes and Lindsay Hoyle

Monday 16th June 2025 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

I call the Chair of the Education Committee.

[Helen Hayes (Dulwich and West Norwood) (Lab)]

One of the biggest challenges affecting the delivery of support for children with special educational needs and disabilities is the extent of local authority funding deficits. They are currently dealt with through the statutory override, which allows local authorities to set a balanced budget without accounting for their SEND deficits. Given that the statutory override expires in March 2026, does the Secretary of State agree that a White Paper in autumn 2025 provides far too little time for the Government to implement meaningful change without extending the override further, and when does she expect local authorities to be able to have the certainty that they need to plan for the coming financial year?

School Teachers’ Review Body: Recommendations

Debate between Helen Hayes and Lindsay Hoyle

Thursday 22nd May 2025 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

I call the Chair of the Education Committee.

[Helen Hayes (Dulwich and West Norwood) (Lab)]

Teacher pay is absolutely vital for the status of the profession, for the quality of life of teachers and for recruitment and retention of the vital skilled and qualified staff who are the backbone of our education system. It is really important that the Government’s response this afternoon begins the work of restoring teacher pay after the last 14 years, when we saw, by any objective measure, a shocking erosion in teacher pay under the previous Government. That has affected recruitment and retention and had a devastating impact on teacher morale. Those on the Conservative Benches should take note of that, because we would all benefit from a little more humility in the context of the legacy that they left behind.

Can I press the Minister on the extent to which the pay award will be funded? We know that there are already extensive pressures on school budgets, and schools are very anxious about that matter. Also, will this afternoon’s statement include support staff pay, and will it begin the process of restoring that pay? We know how vital our teaching assistants and other support staff in our schools are.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Helen Hayes and Lindsay Hoyle

Monday 28th April 2025 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

I call the Chair of the Select Committee.

[Helen Hayes (Dulwich and West Norwood) (Lab)]

The crisis in the SEND system is a source of distress for parents and children who have to fight far too hard for support, and for professionals working in local authorities and schools who face an extremely challenging funding situation. Does the Secretary of State agree that in this context blaming parents and GPs for the increase in the number of SEND diagnoses, as some Reform party politicians have done in recent days, is both inaccurate and insulting, and that solving the SEND crisis requires listening to parents and professionals rather than denigrating them?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Helen Hayes and Lindsay Hoyle

Monday 10th March 2025 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

I call the Chair of the Education Committee.

[Helen Hayes (Dulwich and West Norwood) (Lab)]

The deep crisis in our SEND system, which is one of both funding and delivery, is letting down far too many children, and requires urgent action. Will the Minister update the House on the timing of the Government’s plans for SEND, and provide assurances that there will be full engagement with parents, professionals and young people with SEND on any such plans?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Helen Hayes and Lindsay Hoyle

Monday 27th January 2025 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

I call the Chair of the Select Committee.

[Helen Hayes (Dulwich and West Norwood) (Lab)]

There are children with special educational needs and disabilities in every school across the country. Often, they face unacceptable barriers to participation, including school buildings that are not inclusive or fully accessible. What is the Minister doing, as part of the Government’s welcome commitment to inclusive mainstream schools, to ensure that all expenditure by the Department for Education on new school buildings and building refurbishments helps to make schools more inclusive?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Helen Hayes and Lindsay Hoyle

Monday 9th December 2024 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

I call the Chair of the Select Committee.

[Helen Hayes (Dulwich and West Norwood) (Lab)]

We know that good quality early years education can play a significant role in closing the disadvantage gap, yet the Government have inherited a situation in which families who live in disadvantaged areas are the least likely to be able to access good quality childcare. How will the Secretary of State ensure that access to good quality childcare and early years education is at the heart of the Government’s child poverty strategy?

Children’s Social Care

Debate between Helen Hayes and Lindsay Hoyle

Monday 18th November 2024 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

I call the Chair of the Education Committee.

[Helen Hayes (Dulwich and West Norwood) (Lab)]

I welcome the action that the Government have announced today to improve children’s social care. The Secretary of State will know that families from the poorest neighbourhoods are 14 times more likely to be referred to children’s social care than those from the richest areas, and that there is a growing body of evidence linking child poverty to the rise in children entering the care system. How will she ensure that the upcoming child poverty strategy delivers more stability and safety for children and ensures that fewer families enter the kind of crises that result in their children being removed from their care?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Helen Hayes and Lindsay Hoyle

Monday 4th November 2024 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

I call the Chair of the Education Committee.

[Helen Hayes (Dulwich and West Norwood) (Lab)]

The additional £1 billion in the Budget for SEND support is very welcome, but the Minister will know that local authorities remain anxious about the forthcoming end to the statutory override of dedicated schools grant deficits in March 2026. What discussions is the Minister having with the Treasury and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government on a plan to prevent the end of the statutory override from becoming a cliff-edge financial calamity for local authorities and children with SEND?

Special Educational Needs and Disabilities

Debate between Helen Hayes and Lindsay Hoyle

Thursday 24th October 2024 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

I call the Chair of the Select Committee on Education.

[Helen Hayes (Dulwich and West Norwood) (Lab)]

The National Audit Office report could not be clearer: children and young people and their families are being failed by a SEND system that cannot meet their needs, and local authorities are being driven to the edge of a financial precipice by a £3.4 billion funding gap. This Government have inherited an appalling legacy. The Government are clear that their focus is on the early identification of need and the inclusivity of mainstream schools, but the report notes that there is currently no process or funding to support early identification, and no specific funding or Ofsted measure on SEND support or inclusivity. Can the Minister say more about how the Government will provide the resources and the levers of accountability to address the scale of the crisis?

[Mr Speaker]

Order. Can Members please all look to the Chair? You are speaking to me, not the Minister. Look to the Chair, so I can hear, and then I can help. Minister, you can be a good example for everybody.