Oral Answers to Questions

Julian Smith Excerpts

Wednesday 16th July 2025 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

We are delivering the biggest boost to social and affordable housing in a generation, and we are proud to do so. Our £39 billion investment will deliver around 300,000 social and affordable homes, with at least 60% of homes delivered for social rent. While we do not intend to remove the right to buy, which helps social tenants to get on the property ladder, we are reforming the scheme to protect social housing stock and encourage councils to deliver more new homes.

[Sir Julian Smith (Skipton and Ripon) (Con)]

Q5.   A much better understanding of the particular needs of autistic and neurodiverse children is vital to expanding capacity in mainstream education for pupils with special educational needs and disabilities. As the Prime Minister looks at the SEND Bill over the summer, can I urge him to introduce mandatory training for all teachers and staff on autism and neurodiversity?

[The Prime Minister]

I thank the right hon. Gentleman for that contribution, because parents and children have been failed far too often. We are committing an additional £1 billion to SEND, but there must be meaningful reform alongside it, and new teachers must have the appropriate training. We are committed to reviewing that and to working with parents and teachers, and we will take away his suggestion. I invite him and others across the House to work with us on this important reform, because I think this issue has been raised with me more than any other at Prime Minister’s questions. It is clearly a broken system; it needs reform. If we can work together across the House to get it right, I think that is the least we owe to parents and children across the country.

Oral Answers to Questions

Julian Smith Excerpts

Wednesday 22nd October 2014 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I want to see district general hospitals with maternity services within them. We have contributed £70 million to the redevelopment of West Cumberland hospital, together with £11 million to the community hospital in Cockermouth, which has been opened to provide further services. Unlike in Wales, the amount of money going into the West Cumberland is going up. It should be enough to provide good maternity services.

[Julian Smith (Skipton and Ripon) (Con)]

Q8. Today Jim O’Neill completes his final City Growth Commission report. Will the Prime Minister and the Chancellor continue their support for Jim to ensure that a future Conservative Government deliver on a northern powerhouse?

[The Prime Minister]

I think Jim O’Neill has done an absolutely first-class job with this report. I shall be seeing him later today, and I want to congratulate him on what he has done. There is a real opportunity here—the Chancellor has spoken about it—to create a northern powerhouse by looking at how we can use high-speed rail and other infrastructure to link up our great northern cities so that we really have a proper rebalancing of our economy. That is what this is all about, and I think that Jim O’Neill’s work is all to the good.