Oral Answers to Questions

Lee Pitcher Excerpts

Monday 14th September 2026 Commons Chamber

[Lee Pitcher (Doncaster East and the Isle of Axholme) (Lab)]

T5. As Doncaster Sheffield airport moves towards reopening, I want young people in my constituency to be excited about a future career in aviation. With the first officer pilot apprenticeship now at risk of being withdrawn, what will the Secretary of State do to ensure that young people still have clear and affordable routes into aviation careers, and will she work with the British Airline Pilots Association and the industry to help make that happen?

[Lucy Powell]

I think I originally branded my hon. Friend Mr Doncaster airport, and I am pleased that he is still living up to that name today. He is absolutely right: this is why we are working very closely with mayors, local employers and others, so that local areas like his in Doncaster can ensure that young people have access to the qualifications and work experience they need for the local economy.

Pica Eating Disorder: SEND

Lee Pitcher Excerpts

Wednesday 9th September 2026 Westminster Hall

[Margaret Mullane]

The hon. Gentleman is right, and I thank him for raising that matter. While this debate will focus on training in schools and other educational settings, it is important to note that there is a desperate need for pica recognition and training across the NHS, local authorities, care providers and even housing providers. However, that is not the focus today.

Sadly, pica is still not fully understood, which often results in people being dismissed or the condition being treated as a behavioural issue. While there is a growing consensus that pica must be treated as the serious medical and safeguarding issue that it is, the lack of awareness means the condition is overshadowed. As such, it is not considered by policymakers. That has to change.

[Lee Pitcher (Doncaster East and the Isle of Axholme) (Lab)]

I thank my hon. Friend for her work to champion this cause. I was also at that roundtable and she is quite right; every single one of us was brought to tears. Does she agree that, given the potentially serious health risks associated with pica—she mentioned the compulsion to eat glass or coal—we should not have a postcode lottery on whether teachers and SEND staff recognise the seriousness of the condition, and that there is a case for national guidance and training so there is awareness and we can help people at their most vulnerable times?

[Margaret Mullane]

My hon. Friend is quite right. That is ultimately what we seek in the long term. We do not want anyone to have to go through what some families have already gone through. Only if we adopt national training will that actually stop.

Earlier this year, I held a pica awareness parliamentary drop-in session with Suzy and the National Pica Advisory Service, representatives of which are in the Public Gallery. I met Tolu, Belinda and the team, who do amazing advocacy work to support parents of children with pica. Speaking to advocates and parents, the consistent theme was a lack of professional knowledge across sectors, whether at schools or—this is another important point—when people present at hospital. Parents are fed up of hearing, “The item will pass through; don’t worry about it.”

At my event, the National Pica Advisory Service told the story of a parent of a child with pica. Had that parent not persisted in pushing that their child did not just have an upset tummy, one of the child’s organs would have failed and they would have died. There was a screw lodged in the child’s intestines that was discovered only when the parent demanded an X-ray. That should have been the first port of call when the parent explained that their child had pica, not something that, once again, a parent had to fight for.

I heard another story of a child in a private-rented property who would lick paint. Sadly, due to the age of the property the paint had high lead content. In such circumstances, had the child continued and—again—had the parent not persisted, it would have led to the child’s death. Early diagnosis and early intervention are key, but so too is ensuring that adaptions are made, environments are made safe and that caregivers and educators are equipped with the knowledge and training to monitor those with pica.

In 2023, pica came to prominence in the media due to the tragic case of Owen Garnett, a student at Welcombe Hills, a specialist SEND provision school in Stratford-upon-Avon. Owen had pica and was in an educational environment that understood that, yet after choking on a paper towel unsupervised, Owen sadly died, aged 19. The coroner’s report highlighted that

“the school’s risk assessments…recorded that Owen should ‘Never be left alone when out’ and…in bold ‘NB due to Pica, a named person must watch Owen at all times’”.

The report concluded that

“Owen’s carer specifically raised concerns surrounding blue paper towels at a meeting…On 4 January 2023 Owen was discovered to have blue paper towel in his mouth and a message was sent to his carers saying this had occurred… On 9 January 2023, contrary to the…risk assessment, Owen was outside of the classroom and was unsupervised. When Owen was located, it was discovered that he had crammed a significant amount of blue paper towel into his mouth and throat and was choking.”

He was transported to Warwick hospital. He suffered a hypoxic brain injury. A decision was taken to remove life support and, sadly, he died on 11 January.

The Health and Safety Executive said that the school had failed to ensure that all risks associated with pica were identified and had failed to respond to family concerns. The multi-academy trust was fined £300,000 and told to learn from its mistakes but, let us be honest, people at the trust can move on with their lives; a family has lost a son and their lives will never be the same again. It was an exceptional case and not a common occurrence but it serves to highlight what can happen if pica is not taken seriously in an educational setting. All children deserve a safe, secure and happy educational journey, whether in mainstream education, a specialist school or other educational settings, but at present that is not being delivered for children with pica.

Parents with children who have pica live their lives in a state of constant vigilance, and they need the assurance that their child is being cared for with the same vigilance at school. That is why, alongside parents in my constituency and across the country, and the National Pica Advisory Service, I believe that educators who are responsible for a child with pica must receive mandatory pica training. This will support teachers to grow their knowledge of the condition and how to support anyone who has pica.

Training must be about planning for pica. Classrooms are full of potentially life-threatening dangers to children with pica. Risk assessments should take account of all harmful and hazardous substances, including staples, batteries, glassware, sharp or poisonous items and magnets. They should be replaced with safer items where possible, such as non-toxic Play-Doh, paints and crayons.

It is crucial that all educators who are responsible for a child with pica must have knowledge about that individual and have read their plan. That is to help them to develop a good understanding of the child’s pica behaviours, how to keep them safe and how to redirect them. It should include completing a pica monitoring form regularly. Through this process, if an individual has particular pica items, those can be identified and removed from the space as part of an ongoing risk assessment.

Finally, all educators must learn to understand the signs of choking, poisoning and possible blockages in individuals with pica, so they can seek medical assistance as soon as possible if something goes wrong. Herein lies one of my main worries about the Government’s proposal to reform SEND provision. I have heard many stories of pica oversight in specialist schools—places that have very good, well-trained professionals who should be able to risk-assess and keep children safe. However, because of the lack of specific pica training and the significant pressures in any SEND environment, there are justified parental concerns that pica is treated as an afterthought. As many local authorities are pushed to deliver SEND provision in mainstream settings, there is every possibility—given larger class sizes and more general training—that the new model will not build in specialist training on pica or other specific disorders.

I will end as I started, by requesting that pica training is considered for inclusion in any SEND reform, making it a statutory requirement across educational settings and under SEND provision.

--- Later in debate ---

[The Minister for School Standards (Georgia Gould)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mr Betts. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Dagenham and Rainham (Margaret Mullane) for bringing this deeply important discussion to Westminster Hall. The story she told shows her effectiveness as a local MP. I know that she has listened to parents, professionals and school leaders at a number of different events in her local community. Bringing their voices directly to us is much appreciated.

I am grateful to the parents and professionals in the Public Gallery for making the time to be here today and for their leadership in campaigning on this issue. I would be keen to sit down with the hon. Member for South Devon (Caroline Voaden), my hon. Friend the Member for Dagenham and Rainham and campaigners to discuss it in more detail. We have heard powerfully the profound impact that pica can have and the huge stress it can bring to parents who are desperately monitoring their child’s circumstances and safety.

As I have been going around the country talking to parents and visiting schools, I have seen schools with brilliant and extraordinary provision, and young people with pica who are really thriving. I have also spoken to parents who present stories similar to those we have heard today and who feel that support is not in place, leaving them in fear. Sometimes they have had to give up work to support their children.

The tragic cases we have heard today show how important this issue is: it goes to the heart of the relationship between special educational needs and health. All Members, I think, mentioned the importance of us working in partnership and having clarity on the role of teachers in supporting and safeguarding pupils, and the role of health professionals in diagnosing and giving advice and guidance. My hon. Friend the Member for Doncaster East and the Isle of Axholme (Lee Pitcher) talked about the importance of that guidance and of roles and responsibilities of health and schools.

Earlier this year, we consulted on revised statutory guidance on supporting children and young people with medical conditions. That reflects our commitment to ensuring that every child or young person can participate effectively in education, notwithstanding their medical conditions. Schools, colleges and early years settings should understand the risks that a medical condition poses and manage them proactively. That includes ensuring that staff understand the relevant medical conditions and their impact and can recognise and respond to an emergency.

We had a really positive response to the consultation and are still working through the responses. We had a lot of detailed feedback, including on specific medical conditions. The draft guidance did not make reference to pica. Given the conversations we have had, the responses to the consultation and today’s discussion, I can confirm that we will rectify that when we finally publish the guidance, to provide clear information and guidance around pica for schools.

As part of the SEND reforms, we are looking at developing national inclusion standards that will provide a baseline of ordinarily available provision that we expect of all schools. We have an expert panel working on those standards and on specialist provision packages, which will determine the support needed in an area for a range of different special educational needs and disabilities. Currently, our independent panel, which sits across health and education, is leading that work. I commit today to ask the panel to take a specific look at the issues that my hon. Friend the Member for Dagenham and Rainham raised in relation to pica, specifically those that relate to research and identifying gaps in support.

More broadly, a number of questions were asked about the SEND reforms, including about how we will support early intervention and ensure that the right training is in place and that we have the right professionals in schools. As part of the SEND reforms, we are investing £4 billion in early intervention. That includes £1.6 billion going directly into mainstream schools, and all schools are being asked to develop inclusion strategies. We are putting £1.8 billion into an experts at hand service, which includes occupational therapists, educational psychologists and specialist teachers. I had a brief conversation, just outside this Chamber, with an occupational therapist who specialises in pica. We talked about their critical role, and it is important to reflect on that as part of the experts at hand service.

We are also developing a new package of teacher training, into which we are putting £200 million. The purpose of that training is to support all schools to be inclusive, including by identifying needs and adapting classroom practice to support children. It will not be detailed training on specific conditions, but it will include how to provide wider support and adaptions for pupils. We should also give teachers the tools and strategies to find the relevant information about specific issues as they occur in the classroom. We are currently working with parents, disabled children’s organisations and teaching organisations to develop that training, and I welcome Members’ thoughts about the process.

Many Members mentioned the importance of engaging with parents. One of the components of the training will be ensuring that teachers are listening to the voices of parents and having strong relationships with them, so that schools can pick up on what is happening at home and put that into their plans.

[Lee Pitcher]

I thank the Minister for all the work behind the scenes prior to the debate to allow some commitments to be given today; it is absolutely phenomenal. We can see the impact that is having on people in the Public Gallery and how much it is welcomed.

On sustainability and thinking about the future, I am a very “head and heart” person, and I talk a lot from the heart, but in terms of the head, if we are to continue to provide funding, support and resources for things like pica, we first need awareness, so that we can start to understand the numbers, and for that we need a record. I realise that the Minister cannot answer this right now, but can some thought be given to recording the number of people with pica so that we can use that in future business cases and when funding is considered?

[Georgia Gould]

I will absolutely take away the issue of reporting.

Members spoke about the need to invest in inclusive spaces. We are continuing to invest £3.7 billion in the creation of new specialist places. That money can go into new special schools, inclusion bases or adaptions in mainstream schools. I have visited really high-quality inclusion bases, and I know that part of that investment has been about creating safe spaces for children with pica. We have also issued new guidance about how to create estates that are inclusive by design, which includes guidance to schools about how to work with children and understand their experience of the school. That will make sure that schools are genuinely inclusive for those young people. That is another area that is relevant to the conversation.

The hon. Member for South Devon made a really important point about accountability across our systems and about working in partnership. We are working closely with Health Ministers on this issue, as we recognise how critical that is. The hon. Lady also spoke about experts at hand and the workforce. We are investing £40 million in training up new ed psychs and speech and language therapists, and a lot of work is going on with Health colleagues about workforce planning to ensure we have a sufficient workforce to support experts at hand and specialist settings. It is critical that we have that specialist resource to deliver early intervention.

I was asked about how the funding will work in the new system. It is envisioned that for children with individual support plans, schools will get dedicated funding that is ringfenced for pupils with SEND, so that the necessary staff can be employed and the right support can be put in place. At the moment, the funding often comes quite late in the day after a huge battle for support, and it leaves with the child. The idea is to give schools sustained budgets so that they can build the necessary provision. For pupils accessing a specialist provision package, the funding will come with the package and the child into the school. Depending on where the child sits in the system, the funding will flow differently.

I welcome the tone of the debate—there has been cross-party recognition of the scale of the issue—and the way that Members throughout the House are working together to address these really difficult questions. I have heard so many stories of families who have been badly let down. We all acknowledge that things need to change and that we need to get it right. I am committed to continuing to work in partnership with all Members, and really appreciate their bringing stories like the ones we have heard today to me, so that we can continue these really important conversations. Critically, we must talk to young people and families. I really hope this is just the start of the conversation, and that we will have a longer conversation soon so that we can look at the issues raised today.

Higher Education: Government Support

Lee Pitcher Excerpts

Monday 12th January 2026 Commons Chamber

[Mr Alaba]

Absolutely; this closure affects the community in Southend and in Colchester. Four hundred members of staff will be made redundant across both campuses. Another consequence is the uncertainty that this is causing the student community, the staff and the whole wraparound community that supports the institution.

I welcome the Government’s actions to support students and universities financially, including through an inflation-based increase to both maintenance loans and tuition fees.

[Lee Pitcher (Doncaster East and the Isle of Axholme) (Lab)]

I am also desperately sad to hear the news, as a former student of the University of Essex. It gave me the platform to get here and speak today. On the subject of student loans, I have Doncaster Sheffield airport in my constituency, and at the moment, those who want to do a formal course to become a pilot cannot access student loans. It is really difficult for people in an area like mine, with great deprivation and many disadvantaged students, to fulfil their ambition to become a pilot. Does my hon. Friend agree that we need to look at future courses, and at how we support and fund students to do those too?

[Mr Alaba]

I thank my hon. Friend for his contribution, and I agree. I have met members of the aviation community. In my constituency, we have London Southend airport, so I have met its senior leadership team, who have expressed the need to get more talent—to get more pilots through. That is hard, and it is prohibitively expensive for people from particular socioeconomic backgrounds. More work needs to be done to enable people from all backgrounds to access all courses and career opportunities.

It is encouraging to see the efforts being made to help our world-leading higher education institutions work with industry partners to capitalise on the research they produce. On that note, I am hopeful that the £30 million of funding recently awarded to universities and research experts will incubate growth and create jobs for the future. Those measures, paired with rejoining the Erasmus study scheme, are expected to deliver a brighter financial outlook for our universities following more than a decade of underfunding.

Given the scale of the challenge facing higher education providers, I urge the Government to continue exploring additional support. Although I am focusing on Southend, it is vital that we acknowledge and address the increasing pressures emerging across the nation. There are things that we can learn from our international counterparts, where close ties between institutions and industry have often given rise to pioneering companies. These relationships not only fuel innovation but offer universities a reliable source of income that can shield their success from unpredictable financial pressures. We have the talent to do the same here, and we should support universities in commercialising their intellectual property through public investment and by encouraging private backing.

Although I welcome this Government’s plans to streamline the Intellectual Property Office, I hope that universities and other higher education providers will be given adequate thought when carrying out those reforms. Beyond IP and investment, we should be supporting students to build industry connections during their time at university by offering a year’s work placement on every course and skill-building discovery modules. It is also worth expanding the investigation of the university grant reintroduction to reduce over-reliance on finding an ever-increasing number of international students.

As I have acknowledged, universities offer far more than research and economic growth, and any plan for support must be accompanied by engagement with the wider community. The issues posed by the planned closure of the University of Essex’s Southend campus continue to evolve and develop. I thank the residents who have been in contact with me in recent weeks to share their stories; I share their very real concerns.

I am also grateful for the support from unions such as Unison and the University and College Union on this matter. Unison recently launched its “Stop the Cuts” campaign in the hope of keeping the campus open and avoiding compulsory redundancies across Essex University. My colleagues and I are committed to continuing to push the senior leadership team to achieve a solution that works for staff, students and the whole of Southend. Will the Minister speak to how the Government are supporting higher education providers across the UK to prevent situations similar to that facing the University of Essex in Southend?

Care Leavers

Lee Pitcher Excerpts

Monday 3rd November 2025 Commons Chamber

[Sally Jameson]

I agree; I will come later in my speech to a couple of local examples of supported lodgings, which, if applied nationwide, would have a transformative effect on the support that care leavers receive.

These young people often do not have the benefit of family support to help them find accommodation, or with rent and security deposits. Because of that, they are incredibly vulnerable not just to homelessness but to a whole raft of predators who see an opportunity to exploit them. Will the Minister work across Government Departments to increase the setting up home allowance, give priority to care leavers on housing lists in authorities where they have resided for over six months, reform universal credit so that care leavers are entitled to the over-25 weighting, and commit to work with the Department for Transport and regional mayors who have powers in the area to give free bus travel to care leavers up to the age of 25? While I am at it with the asks, can we also include free prescriptions for care leavers? In the context of wider Government spending on the population, the numbers are small, but I think everyone in the Chamber—that includes the Minister—knows that doing those things would make a huge difference to the most vulnerable group in our society, including the young people I have quoted and those on the minds of hon. Members in the Chamber.

There are other areas in which care leavers are often disadvantaged; I have seen them myself. When I worked as a prison officer, I was a single point of contact for care leavers in my jail. I learned that, shockingly, it is estimated that 29% of the prison population are care leavers, and they also make up over 50% of the youth estate. Young care leavers are also 10 times more likely to receive an immediate custodial sentence than young people who have not been in care. As a Government, and indeed as a Parliament, we cannot rest while that remains a reality for such a vulnerable group. Will the Minister work with the Prisons Minister in the other place to develop a national care leavers in custody policy, ensuring that support for young people—wherever they move to—is partnership based?

I will take a little time to pay tribute to an organisation in my constituency that has been mentioned previously. Doncaster Housing for Young People, which I am a patron of, provides tailored housing support in the form of supported lodgings with host families as well as floating support to help sustain tenancies. The organisation has shared stories of those who have had to leave foster places when they turn 18. One young woman in that position shared how she was not ready emotionally or financially to live independently, but, thanks to Doncaster housing for Young People, she moved into supported lodgings where she could build life skills, continue her studies and focus on her wellbeing.

[Lee Pitcher (Doncaster East and the Isle of Axholme) (Lab)]

I thank my hon. Friend and constituency neighbour for giving way. Next week marks the first National Supported Lodgings Week. It will celebrate what those lodgings do in offering the wonderful opportunity of a safe, stable home to people who can then grow and have their independence. She and I are both patrons of Doncaster Housing for Young People, and we know that it has lots of experience supporting care leavers. It is going to go big on National Supported Lodgings Week. Does she agree that the Government should treat supported lodgings as part of the core offer for care leavers, and that we should always strive to make sure that that support is a lot more personal and is less institutional?

[Sally Jameson]

I agree completely.

The young person that I was speaking about just before my hon. Friend’s intervention said that they were not ready for their own place but that the supported lodgings made them feel less stressed so that they could relax and get on with what they needed to do. It is quite hard for people who have not been in that situation to imagine what it must be like to be on their own with no support network, no family and often no friends in an area where they did not grow up. When they are out there on their own, those supported lodgings are a lifeline for a lot of young people. I am sure that, when the Minister replies, he will discuss whether we can spread that provision more widely.

Other care leavers have shared how Doncaster Housing for Young People has helped them through linking them up with other agencies, and has offered support and help managing debts and finances. It is that holistic support that is so important to help young people leaving care maintain their confidence and transition into adult life. Doncaster Housing for Young People is one of many charities across the country that offer that tailored support; I thank them all for the work they do for young people. I of course invite the Minister to come to Doncaster to learn from Doncaster Housing for Young People, and to see for himself its incredible work.

Before I finish, I would like to reflect again on this year’s theme for National Care Leavers Month: “Rising as Me: Overcoming challenges, transforming, and finding your identity”. We should all remember that, at the heart of this month, there is a group of young people who innately have the same hopes, aspirations and potential as any of their non-care-experienced peers. They deserve to be ambitious about their future, to realise their potential and to become the adults they want to be.

Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund

Lee Pitcher Excerpts

Thursday 4th September 2025 Westminster Hall

[Josh Fenton-Glynn (Calder Valley) (Lab)]

It is, as always, a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Ms Lewell. I congratulate the hon. Member for Mid Sussex (Alison Bennett) on securing this debate.

I want to speak today of families who make a life-changing decision to care for children through adoption and special guardianship. It is a noble thing to do, but it is not always easy. The children have often faced trauma, instability and loss. I have met a lot of those families in my Calder Valley constituency. They are loving parents, fighting to do the best for their children. They do not ask for praise or reward, but they do ask for support and stability. The adoption and special guardianship support fund was created to provide that support. It has helped thousands of children to access therapy, assessments and the kind of specialist care that can be transformative.

More than half of the children looked after through the special guardianship fund have special educational needs. That figure rises to 80% in some cases. They need things such as trauma support, speech therapy, counselling and sensory support.

[Lee Pitcher (Doncaster East and the Isle of Axholme) (Lab)]

I met the representatives from the Yorkshire Adoption Agency and a number of adoptive parents this week. The one point they made to me is that the earlier that therapy takes place, the better the life chances and opportunities. Does my hon. Friend agree that having that fund available over a longer period is unbelievably important for the peace of mind of parents, families and guardians?

[Josh Fenton-Glynn]

I was just about to come to that point. Stability and long-term decisions are key. Families need certainty, not just this year, but for the years ahead. Right now, there is no confirmation of funding for 2026-27. I note that there was a written ministerial statement today, although I do not think we know the exact numbers.

As a recovering member of local government, I know far too well the long-term costs when money is saved in the wrong place. I urge the Minister to hear that point and to make sure that we are making the right decisions on this issue, that we are not saving money in the wrong place and that we are giving that long-term stability and support. I know none of these decisions are easy and they are being taken against a backdrop that is worse than any Government have inherited. Let us make sure that we get this right and that we support the people who need it most.

Oral Answers to Questions

Lee Pitcher Excerpts

Monday 21st July 2025 Commons Chamber

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Education (Stephen Morgan)]

The hon. Member will know that I met the family of Genevieve Meehan recently. That was a tragic case. We need to make sure that we are doing everything we possibly can to protect children in nursery settings. That is why I am pleased that in the “best start in life” strategy, published just two weeks ago, we committed to have early years settings inspected within 18 months and, indeed, within four years. I have offered a meeting with the hon. Member, and I am very happy to discuss these issues further.

[Lee Pitcher (Doncaster East and the Isle of Axholme) (Lab)]

T6. Apprenticeships should be open to everyone. I have met too many young people in Doncaster East and the Isle of Axholme who are more than capable of doing the job—they have the hands-on skills, the attitude and the drive to work—but are being held back from apprenticeships because they have to get a grade 4 in English or maths. When will the Government move forward with reforming the rule so that we stop shutting out good people from good jobs just because they did not get a pass in the classroom?

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Education (Janet Daby)]

I absolute agree with my hon. Friend. This Government will indeed stop shutting good people out of good jobs. He is probably aware that the Department funds apprentices to achieve a qualification as part of their training. We do not set entry requirements; these are decisions for employers. However, we have allowed for more flexibility in English and maths requirements for adults aged 19 and over.

Water Safety Education

Lee Pitcher Excerpts

Thursday 19th June 2025 Commons Chamber

[Lee Pitcher (Doncaster East and the Isle of Axholme) (Lab)]

Sam Haycock is a name that most Members in the Chamber will not have heard before today, but it is my job to make sure that that 16-year-old’s legacy does not end four years ago, when he was swimming in a South Yorkshire reservoir with his friends. I want Sam’s name imprinted on everyone’s brain and etched in everyone’s heart today—not only in the name of Sam, but for his mum and for his dad, Simon, who came to Parliament yesterday and talked with me about my private Member’s Bill on water safety.

I met Sam’s dad for the first time a couple of summers ago; that day at Thorne fire station, when many firefighters and service people were showing how to rescue someone safely from water, he handed me a picture of Sam. Sam’s dad does that work week in, week out, tirelessly. Yesterday I could see the anguish in his eyes still, because that call that he got will never go away. It makes such a difference to him to be able to go out and educate children and their families about swimming safely, the dangers and risks, and what learning about those dangers can mean for protecting lives in the future.

Unfortunately, if we look back to 2023, there were another 236 or so Sams out there. That is 236 parents, friends or colleagues who got that same horrible knock at the door or that awful phone call. Some 50% of drownings happen in the months of June, July and August—so half of all drownings this year will happen in the next three months. Of course, it is hot, and this year in particular has been super-hot in the lead-up to summer. That prevailing weather is only a bigger risk in terms of the potential numbers that could join those other Sams.

Some 5.8 million children finish their GCSEs today or tomorrow, as the hon. Member for Esher and Walton (Monica Harding) said. Sam died on the day that he finished his GCSEs and went swimming with his friends to celebrate. Across the UK, we have some of the most beautiful watercourses. We have 40,000 lakes, 43,000 miles of rivers. We have 22 major rivers, 2,000 reservoirs, 273 major reservoirs and 600 designated beaches. Those offer opportunities for any child to go and swim—just to try it, perhaps for the first time.

Of course, there is a balance here; water can be good. It is good for physical health, and it is great for mental health. It is a great source of tourism, sports and leisure in our communities. Some 7.5 million people take part or have taken part in open water swimming. One of those people is Lindsy James, who lives in and works across my community. She is a world champion duathlete, who has only recently learned to swim as she had a fear of water; she has shown how swimming can build resilience and confidence.

Given the amount of water that we have, the most important thing is education, because we cannot protect all the different sites that I have talked about. That is why I am so proud that my Water Safety Bill had a reception this week. The Bill would make compulsory water safety education part of this Government’s legal duty, which would save lives—that is the reason we are here today. Our job is to enrich lives, to save lives and to protect lives.

Sam Haycock’s story does not need to end on that day four years ago; there needs to be a legacy. He may not go on to fulfil all the dreams he had on the day he finished his GCSEs, but his legacy can and will allow others to fulfil their dreams.

SEND Funding

Lee Pitcher Excerpts

Thursday 12th June 2025 Commons Chamber

[Graham Stuart]

The hon. Gentleman is right. There is a capacity issue, as I say, relating to demand. Getting people—not just specialists, but the whole system and everyone in it—to have a better understanding is really important. The hon. Gentleman will see that in his constituency, as I do in mine. It is not enough just to have the SENCO; it is about getting the leadership, the training and the right protocols in place to ensure that the whole system is better able to meet the needs of children, and that will then reduce some of the other impacts, including cost impacts, on the system.

In recent weeks, I had the privilege of visiting Inmans primary school in Hedon, where staff spoke candidly about the mounting pressure created by soaring demand for SEND provision—pressures that far exceed the funding currently available. At St Mary’s school in Beverley, headteacher Laura Wallis expressed her deep concern at the growing gap between pupils’ needs and the resources she has at her disposal, making it ever-more difficult to provide the tailored support every child deserves.

[Lee Pitcher (Doncaster East and the Isle of Axholme) (Lab)]

I have met people from about 18 schools, both here in Westminster and at home in the constituency, and, more recently, have heard the voices of young people on SEND in Doncaster. At every single meeting, the first questions asked are about support, capacity, and young adults’ transition into work. Does the right hon. Gentleman agree that to get the funding right, we need to listen to the voices of people with experience—those at the grassroots—to ensure that we understand their ideas and solutions, and direct funding into the right places?

[Graham Stuart]

I have to agree with the hon. Gentleman, who makes a powerful point. My appeal to colleagues in the Chamber—particularly, perhaps, to newer Members —is to focus on the distribution. It can be quite hard to get one’s head around the many issues that are involved—the overall national issues of quantum, service delivery, training and the rest of it—and distribution can easily get left behind, yet it is vital. I cannot say that it brings a great deal of joy or satisfaction to Members of Parliament to pursue it, because so many people look blank when it is mentioned, but distribution is important, and I hope that colleagues will want to take on the issue.

School Buildings: Northumberland and Newcastle

Lee Pitcher Excerpts

Tuesday 20th May 2025 Commons Chamber

[Joe Morris]

My hon. Friend is a passionate advocate for his constituency and for the north of the county. Too often schools in Northumberland have been victims of the mañana attitude of Northumberland county council. For far too long, whether it is on this or on SEND—special educational needs and disabilities—transport, the council has been asleep at the wheel when it comes to issues affecting the children of Northumberland.

The structural issues at the school have damaged not only the community but the children’s education. One thing that really stuck out to me was a quote from a former Conservative Education Minister saying that those schools were built

“one third cheaper per square metre on average than schools built under the Building Schools for the Future Programme”,

which was Labour’s flagship programme. Educational services should not just be used for political gain when our country and our county’s young people depend on them. The students of Prudhoe deserve and need a safe place to continue their education. They need it in the short term, and they need it in the long term.

When a report was leaked to The Observer that a senior official at the Department for Education had described the “upcoming risk” three years ago that many schools were in such disrepair that they were a “risk to life”, I do not believe that a newly rebuilt community high school in Prudhoe was one of the ones at the top of their minds. The school’s facilities were described as fantastic when it reopened, and they were a welcome investment, but it is clear that something has gone seriously wrong. I completely take the point made by the hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon) about the need to look at a warranty. For my generation, a warranty is something we consider for a mobile phone, not a public institution like a school, but clearly something needs to be done.

I would really like the Minister to reflect on what can be done to investigate how this went so badly wrong and how this community was let down, because the students of PCHS deserve nothing more. They deserve better. They deserve, at the very least, an apology. To experience a school closing for an indeterminate period of time is a disruption that no student should have to experience. It uproots lives, derails routine and destabilises students. No child should have to go through this. No parent should be forced to watch their child go through this. As the hon. Member for Strangford indicated, school is not just a building where children learn; it is a building where children should feel safe, supported and at home.

[Lee Pitcher (Doncaster East and the Isle of Axholme) (Lab)]

I have had a visit today from students at St Wilfrid’s school in Branton—the 17th, of the 43 schools in my constituency, that I have seen or visited—and they spoke about the fabric of the school, and of the importance of the buildings to ensuring not just that students have the right learning environment, but that teachers, parents and the community can feel proud to have a place where children can thrive. The fabric of the building is really important for education. Would my hon. Friend agree that we need to do something for all schools across the country to ensure that their fabric is maintained and looked after?

[Joe Morris]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. Like him, I have done my best to visit as many schools in the constituency as I can—having said that, I can feel letters coming in from headteachers to suggest that I have not yet got around to visiting. The fabric of the schools is important. Ensuring that schools feel invested in is important, whether they are the smaller schools in my constituency like Kielder, which is incredibly small and has a tightly focused and tight-knit group of young people and staff, or some of the larger schools—or, indeed, some of the schools out of my constituency, in Newcastle, attended by some children from Callerton and Throckley.

Some of the damage done to the community in Prudhoe is due to the feeling that they were led up the garden path. Prudhoe is an incredible community. It is one of the shining lights of the Tyne valley. It is one of the best places to visit, and to be, in my constituency, although all towns in the Tyne valley are excellent. It deserves so much more—it deserves a Rolls-Royce of a school—but not only was the last Labour Government’s Building Schools for the Future programme scrapped; the replacement programme appears poorly crafted at best.

I want briefly to mention another school in my constituency. Haydon Bridge high school has a dedicated teaching force and a headteacher, in David Nisbet, who works tirelessly for his community and is focused on innovative ways of improving the school, on employability, on moving forward and improving outcomes for students. I do not want to mislead the House, but I believe the school serves a catchment area larger than the M25. The challenges for such a rural school are massive. I visited the school fairly recently and we discussed some of the challenges it faced, including getting adequate funds and support. It did get some minor investment under the last Government, which is obviously welcome—don’t get me wrong—but it did not touch the sides of what was needed. I would like to see Northumberland county council do something about the state of the toilets in that school, which the headteacher told me was the No. 1 issue raised by the student voice. These are little things that could be done; it is a council-maintained school, and the council should step in and take action.

There is a list of inadequacies in the backing provided to those schools—I could go on. How could these conditions for a school building, and inadequate investment, possibly foster an educational environment that helps students to reach their full potential? I want to draw attention to the work of the RISE programme. I had some correspondence with the head of Haydon Bridge, who recognised that the contextual support that Haydon Bridge high school is now getting—that is mindful of its hyper-rural, hyper-sparsely populated location—is welcome. That contextual support, in relation to schools’ structural elements and the socioeconomic make-up of their student bodies, is necessary.

What I have been saying is applicable not just to PCHS and Haydon Bridge high school, but to every school building throughout Northumberland, Newcastle and the north-east that was on the receiving end of 14 years of Conservative neglect. Throughout my constituency, we have wonderful teachers who adapt to the diverse needs of the communities they teach, from the western edge of Newcastle and places like Throckley, and the towns and villages of the Tyne valley, to the most remote communities in the Allen valleys and north Tyne. All those teachers are striving to ensure that their pupils have the best possible start in life. It is only right that their dedication and hard work is delivered in buildings that are fit for the present and for the future.

I will continue to speak up for our young people to ensure that they access not only the education they need, but the education they deserve. I will continue to give a voice to Northumberland, Newcastle and the north-east more broadly. Chronic underfunding, deliberate neglect and thoughtless oversight is what the Conservative contempt for the west of Northumberland brought during 100 years of domination, but that needs to end with this Labour Government.

I once again thank the Department for Education for their dedication and commitment to supporting the community of Prudhoe; I thank Sunderland College for its gracious hospitality in hosting the staff and students of Prudhoe community high school in its Washington campus; and I thank the teachers and staff of PCHS for doing everything they possibly could so students could continue accessing their education, and for reassuring parents during a very difficult transition. Most of all, I pay tribute to the community of Prudhoe and to the councillors who have worked particularly hard, including Angie Scott and Lawrence O’Donnell, who have been fantastic voices for their community during a fraught time.

I am grateful for those who did not jump in and immediately seek to politicise the matter or score points when the news about Prudhoe community high school first broke. Although it is important that we look at this situation in context and at the damage done by the poor decisions made by the previous Government, this is not about scoring points; it is about getting a fair deal for a community that has suffered for too long. It is time that the previous Government are held to account for their failure and neglect, and that starts with what happened to the students and staff at Prudhoe community high school.