Oral Answers to Questions

Melanie Ward Excerpts

Wednesday 23rd October 2024 Commons Chamber

[The Deputy Prime Minister]

I am loving this love-in; I do not often get it. What I will say to the right hon. Gentleman is that people in their own time often go and campaign, and that is what we have seen. It happens in all political parties—people go and campaign, and they do what they want to do in their own time with their own money.

[Melanie Ward (Cowdenbeath and Kirkcaldy) (Lab)]

Q7. Like many in my constituency of Cowdenbeath and Kirkcaldy, my family knows what it means to raise and support a disabled child. Charities such as The Yard in Kirkcaldy do an amazing job providing vital additional help for disabled children and their families. Last month, a survey found that our country is so broken that three quarters of parents of children with special educational needs and disabilities have been forced to give up work or cut their hours. Does the Deputy Prime Minister agree that our Labour Government must tackle this intolerable reality?

[The Deputy Prime Minister]

I absolutely agree with my hon. Friend, and I pay tribute to those who work with children with special educational needs and disabilities. I myself have my amazing son, who does tremendously well given the challenges he has faced in life. I know from personal experience that the system is just not working for children and families. Future funding decisions will need to be taken as part of the upcoming spending review, but we will work with the sector to deliver our shared mission and restore parents’ trust.