Oral Answers to Questions

Laurence Turner Excerpts

Monday 19th January 2026 Commons Chamber

[Olivia Bailey]

The hon. Member will be pleased to know that I will be meeting with the Minister he mentioned later this week on a visit to Northern Ireland, and I will be happy to discuss this matter with him.

[Laurence Turner (Birmingham Northfield) (Lab)]

9. What recent progress her Department has made on establishing the School Support Staff Negotiating Body.

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

In 2010 the Tories scrapped the School Support Staff Negotiating Body. In Labour’s first 100 days in government, we legislated to bring it back. With the Employment Rights Act 2025 now passed, we expect the SSSNB to start operating later this year. We on the Government Benches value the vital role that support staff play. They deserve a voice at the table and, under Labour, they will get one.

[Laurence Turner]

I draw attention to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests and my chairship of the GMB parliamentary group. The School Support Staff Negotiating Body, established under Labour’s landmark Employment Rights Act, will make a real difference for more than 1,600 people in my constituency who have been undervalued and denied decent wages and terms and conditions for too long. Can the Secretary of State, who has been a determined champion of this policy, update the House on what progress has been made to establish the SSSNB in recent months, and on when my constituents can expect to receive published information from her Department on what this policy will mean for them?

[Bridget Phillipson]

I thank my hon. Friend for all his work to make the SSSNB a reality, both before he was elected to Parliament and in his time here—he is a real champion of working people. We will publish our consultation response in the spring, confirming which staff are in scope and what it means for them. We are also developing wider guidance for employees and for employers to be shared before the SSSNB starts operating. We expect outcomes to come into effect from April 2027.