Giving Every Child the Best Start in Life
Lizzi Collinge Excerpts(6 days, 1 hour ago)
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Bridget Phillipson
Our announcement today is about making sure that more parents and children are able to access high-quality parenting, healthcare and education services. The half a billion we are investing over the spending review period will allow us to reach half a million more children, including in my hon. Friend’s community and constituencies right across the country.
Lizzi Collinge (Morecambe and Lunesdale) (Lab)
As a mother of two, I saw the decline in children’s services under the last Government in real time, so I welcome this statement. I particularly welcome identification and intervention for SEND kids. Will the Secretary of State say how this announcement changes the funding for vital children’s services in my area?
Bridget Phillipson
The measures I have announced mean that local authorities that do not currently receive funding, including my hon. Friend’s local authority, will receive funding through a share of a development grant to make sure that they can get up and running from next April. In the autumn we will confirm allocations across all local authorities for the next phase. We want to make sure that disadvantaged children and families are able to access services, and we will ensure that local authorities have the clear direction to make that a reality.
Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill
Lizzi Collinge Excerpts(6 months ago)
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Lizzi Collinge (Morecambe and Lunesdale) (Lab)
Every child deserves the best possible start in life, no matter their background or where they live, and this Bill is a vital step towards ensuring that for every child in the country. The Bill addresses ordinary families’ concerns, cuts the cost of the basics needed for school and ensures that every child has what they need to learn. The Bill is also the most significant piece of child protection legislation in a generation. It will protect the most vulnerable children and families.
The introduction of free school breakfast clubs in all primary schools is a significant step in supporting children’s learning and wellbeing. I am also pleased to see the cap on branded uniform items included in the legislation. Too often the cost of uniforms is prohibitive. In Morecambe and Lunesdale we have huge uniform hubs to try to deal with that problem.
Additionally, the Bill’s steps to regulate home education are crucial to stop vulnerable children from falling through the cracks. The introduction of a register for children not in school will ensure greater safeguards, particularly for those who may be at risk of exploitation or neglect. It is vital that every child has access to safe, high-quality education regardless of where that is given.
I also welcome measures to crack down on illegal schools, where unfortunately we have seen many serious cases of abuse, including sexual abuse. Measures in the Bill will protect children from both poor schooling and the use of illegal schools to terrorise children. I put on record my thanks to Humanists UK, which has led a campaign for over a decade to crack down on illegal schools and has shone a light on some really horrific practices.
I thank the Secretary of State for giving me and other MPs time to discuss the details of the Bill, including definitions of what “full time” means in the legislation, and a potential concern I have about opening up a gap to avoid the cap on faith selection. With little time left, I want to put forward a personal view on faith selection in schools: it should have no place in state-funded education. It is social selection by proxy and, at the very least, I would like to see a firm commitment to keeping the 50% cap on all schools.