Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Jacob Collier and Bridget Phillipson

Monday 19th January 2026 Commons Chamber

[Jacob Collier (Burton and Uttoxeter) (Lab)]

14. What steps she is taking to ensure high-quality school places for children with SEND.

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

The Department has announced at least £3 billion in high needs capital between 2026-27 and 2029-30 to support local authorities to deliver sufficient high-quality school places for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities. This will create provision within mainstream schools that can deliver more flexible support, adapted to pupils’ needs.

[Bridget Phillipson]

My hon. Friend rightly identifies that there are pockets of brilliant provision right across our country, and our schools White Paper will ensure that we spread that best practice and make it a reality for all children. Through the £3 billion of investment, we will deliver 50,000 more specialist places for children with SEND to ensure that children get the education and support that they need close to home. It was wonderful to visit my hon. Friend just last year at Peareswood primary, another school in his community that is doing fantastic work, but I would be delighted to go back and see some of the work that is under way to support children with SEND in other provision in his constituency.

[Jacob Collier]

Parents in Burton and Uttoxeter tell me that, under Reform-run Staffordshire county council, their pleas for help are too often ignored, leaving children in unsuitable settings or out of education altogether. Communication is extremely poor, and too often meaningful action comes only at the point of crisis. What action is the Secretary of State taking to ensure that councils such as Staffordshire act earlier and are properly held to account when they fail children with SEND?

[Bridget Phillipson]

We are backing councils with extra capital investment, including in Staffordshire, but we need councils to work with us to create the provision that children desperately need. We are also strengthening accountability. We have heard from parents time and again that their voices are not heard and that change does not happen quickly. That is why making inclusion a key area of Ofsted inspection for the very first time is central to building parents’ confidence.

It would be remiss of me not to remind the House what Reform has had to say about support for children with SEND and their parents: it has said that this is about naughty children, bad parenting, and “a class of victims”. That is just some of the language that Reform Members have chosen to use. I invite them and others to go and speak to parents of children with SEND, and understand just how desperate things have become and the change that is needed.

Child Poverty Strategy

Debate between Jacob Collier and Bridget Phillipson

Monday 8th December 2025 Commons Chamber

[Bridget Phillipson]

It is an investment in our children, their futures and our society and economy. The strategy addresses some of the big challenges that we see, and sets out the important ways that we will tackle the structural and root causes of why so many children in our country are growing up in poverty, whether that is skills, access to work or childcare, all of which we, as a Government, will take action on to support families.

[Jacob Collier (Burton and Uttoxeter) (Lab)]

Thanks to this Government, 3,150 children in my constituency will be lifted out of poverty. Free breakfast clubs are starting to be set up and Sure Start centres are being revived. Under Tory Governments, poverty goes up, but under Labour Governments, it always comes down. Will my right hon. Friend ensure that this Government continue to drive down poverty and support families?

[Bridget Phillipson]

By rolling out breakfast clubs, expanding free school meals, expanding childcare and much more besides, this Labour Government back families and back children to succeed. We will ensure that far fewer children are growing up in poverty at the end of this Parliament than there were at the start—the biggest reduction since records began.

Curriculum and Assessment Review

Debate between Jacob Collier and Bridget Phillipson

Wednesday 5th November 2025 Commons Chamber

[Bridget Phillipson]

I know that this can be done only through the amazing work of our teachers, our support staff and our school leaders. We will work with them as we roll out the new national curriculum. We are investing more this year and every year in our schools. We have also delivered two pay awards for our teachers. This year, we have seen 2,300 more secondary and specialist teachers, and we are retaining more teachers across the board. We have achieved a lot, but there is more to do. I look forward to working with the hon. Member on that.

[Jacob Collier (Burton and Uttoxeter) (Lab)]

At a recent Burton and District chamber of commerce meeting that I hosted, businesses raised the importance of financial education for young people about mortgages, savings and pensions. It appears that the Secretary of State was listening. What support she will give teachers, so that they can deliver that effectively?

[Bridget Phillipson]

I always listen to my hon. Friend’s contributions on these important subjects. Given what we have heard from business, parents and young people, we want to make sure that young people have a better grounding in key concepts in financial education, be that mortgages, savings or the difference between a debit and a credit card—something I was discussing yesterday with in a wide-ranging conversation with a group of year 6 students.

Post-16 Education and Skills Strategy

Debate between Jacob Collier and Bridget Phillipson

Monday 20th October 2025 Commons Chamber

[Bridget Phillipson]

I recognise what the hon. Gentleman has said, and I have heard of similar experiences from my constituents and families across the country who have spoken about the need to reform the SEND system across the board, throughout education. We want to build on what is already working well in post-16 provision, to ensure that more of that successful transition can happen for young people with SEND. We will provide more details in the schools White Paper, but I want to acknowledge the incredible work that many FE colleges already do in supporting that transition. We are continuing to invest through the internships work consortium to ensure that supported internships are there for young people who need them.

[Jacob Collier (Burton and Uttoxeter) (Lab)]

In my constituency, major employers offer excellent apprenticeships, but the number of places is limited. They have told me that they would welcome the ability to share unsuccessful applications with similar employers, such as small and medium-sized enterprises in their supply chains, rather than their being lost to the system. What can the Education Secretary do to encourage such collaboration between employers to boost the take-up of high-quality apprenticeships?

[Bridget Phillipson]

My hon. Friend sets out what sounds like an interesting and useful approach to allow employers to work together more effectively, but we also want to see more collaboration between colleges, and between colleges and universities. The White Paper sets out a vision for a more coherent system that will be easy for both students and employers to navigate, but I would be happy to hear more from my hon. Friend about the work that is going on in his constituency, and to establish whether there are any wider lessons that we can take into the Department to look into what more can be done.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Jacob Collier and Bridget Phillipson

Wednesday 18th December 2024 Commons Chamber

[Bridget Phillipson]

I agree that the hospitality sector is crucial to our economy, and at this time of the year, when many people will be working across Christmas, I pay tribute to them for their work and thank them for their contribution to our economy. On her wider question, the hon. Lady knows as well as I do that the Government inherited a £22 billion black hole from the Conservative party. We have had to make some difficult decisions in order to stabilise our economy and get it back on track.

[Jacob Collier (Burton and Uttoxeter) (Lab)]

3. What steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to help tackle violence against women and girls.