Breakfast Clubs: Early Adopters
Debate between Munira Wilson and Bridget Phillipson(3 days, 22 hours ago)
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Munira Wilson (Twickenham) (LD)
With three in 10 children growing up in poverty, any measure to tackle child hunger is to be welcomed to enable them to learn and flourish, so I congratulate the 750 schools selected as breakfast club early adopters. The learnings from those pilots will be absolutely critical as the Government seek to scale up the programme.
A number of questions that I have previously put to Ministers still stand, and I hope that the Secretary of State will address some of them. Many school leaders have raised concerns about the proposed funding rates, which are reportedly around 60p per child per day. If the pilots clearly show that those rates are insufficient, will Ministers commit to reviewing and increasing them? Schools simply cannot afford to make savings elsewhere, such as in teaching budgets.
Will Ministers review school food standards to ensure that breakfasts are specifically addressed, as the recent House of Lords report on childhood obesity recommended? What consideration has been given to how the 30 minutes of universal free childcare provision will interact with existing breakfast club provision? Most commuting parents need more than 30 minutes of childcare in the morning.
The Child Poverty Action Group has highlighted that breakfast clubs will probably secure only around 40% take-up. The most vulnerable children, especially those in temporary accommodation who travel long distances, may not make it to school in time for breakfast. The Children’s Society has argued, as have the Liberal Democrats, that where money is scarce, we should target resources at those who most need them. As such, why will the Government not prioritise expanding eligibility for free school meals—a hot, healthy meal in the middle of the day when children are guaranteed to be in school —so that all children in poverty, whether in primary or secondary, are being fed? Is it not high time that Ministers introduced automatic enrolment into free school meals for all children?
Finally, on the Secretary of State’s childcare announcements, can she confirm how much of that money will go into plugging the gap left by the rise in employer national insurance contributions, which will put significant pressure on providers and push up costs for parents?
Bridget Phillipson
I am grateful to the hon. Lady for her questions. Turning first to the question of funding, there has sadly been some misunderstanding about the funding rates, so I will set those out for the benefit of the House. In the summer term, funding will be paid in two parts: an up-front, one-off payment of £500 to cover initial set-up costs and, alongside that, a lump sum payment of £1,099 to cover fixed staffing costs for the summer term. That is in addition to the per pupil funding rates that exist in both mainstream and specialist provision; of course, rates will be higher in special schools, recognising the additional needs and staffing requirements that exist there. Schools will receive support to manage the requirements of the scheme, and will be provided with opportunities to learn from one another.
On food standards, we always seek to keep all those areas under review. We want to make sure that all the food served in our schools is healthy and nutritious, so that children are well fed and ready to learn. The school food statutory guidance, which regulates the food and drink provided in schools, already applies to breakfast. We want to ensure that healthy meals are offered as part of breakfast clubs, and we will continue to keep these areas under review.
The hon. Lady is right to ask about existing wraparound provision. We expect the two offers to be complementary; schools will be able to provide a paid-for offer alongside the 30 minutes of childcare and food through the universal offer. I note her concerns about child poverty, and strongly agree that there is a need for further action to tackle the shocking rates of child poverty we see in our country. That is why, together with the Work and Pensions Secretary, we are leading work across Government as part of the child poverty taskforce. We look forward to setting out further findings from that work in due course, including to this House. We are considering a range of measures and ways in which we can support children out of poverty—the shocking legacy left behind by the last Conservative Government.
The hon. Lady asks about the additional investment going into the sector. The big investment that we are putting into the early years pupil premium and the expansion grant will be crucial to providing the support that the sector needs to deliver the places and staffing required ahead of September. I look forward to continuing to work with her to make sure we get this right.
Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between Munira Wilson and Bridget Phillipson(1 month ago)
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Munira Wilson (Twickenham) (LD)
Last week’s National Audit Office report found £13.8 billion-worth of maintenance backlogs in our schools. With thousands of students who are taking A-levels and GCSEs studying in schools with crumbling reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete and the Joint Union Asbestos Committee warning that pupils and teachers face a tsunami of deaths after being exposed to asbestos on the school estate, what urgent steps are Ministers taking to ensure that our children and school staff can focus on teaching and learning and not have to worry about whether they are safe?
Bridget Phillipson
The hon. Lady is absolutely right. Far too often our staff have had to focus on maintenance and buildings rather than driving up standards in our schools. The Conservatives talk about their record, but their record was children cowering under steel props because of the RAAC crisis that they left behind.
Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between Munira Wilson and Bridget Phillipson(2 months, 2 weeks ago)
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Munira Wilson (Twickenham) (LD)
A new report from the Institute for Public Policy Research shows that the most deprived areas have a third fewer childcare places than the most affluent. If the Government are serious about improving school readiness among our children, will the Secretary of State look at the Liberal Democrat proposal to triple the early years pupil premium so that we can tackle the disadvantage gap when it matters most?
Bridget Phillipson
I do recognise the challenge the hon. Lady sets out and the very real challenge the Government have inherited in the provision of places. Our approach of rolling out nursery space within primary schools is crucial to creating the places that are required. There is more that we need to do. The system and sector overall require reform, and we will set out more in this area before long.
Children’s Social Care
Debate between Munira Wilson and Bridget Phillipson(3 months, 1 week ago)
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Munira Wilson (Twickenham) (LD)
The review of children’s social care carried out by the hon. Member for Whitehaven and Workington (Josh MacAlister) in 2022 found that, without reform, there could be almost 100,000 children in care by 2032, costing an extra £5 billion a year, so it is essential that we recognise the scale and urgency of this crisis and move quickly, unlike the previous Conservative Government. Today’s announcements are therefore a welcome step forward.
Tackling profiteering will help not only to address the financial crisis facing councils, but to deliver better outcomes for our most vulnerable children and young people. These are children for whom we in this place all bear a huge responsibility, and it is simply unacceptable that they have become a cash cow for private equity companies raking in profits of 28% or more, so could the Secretary of State spell out when we will see these reforms implemented, and when she anticipates the backstop taking effect?
Cracking down on profiteering is only one side of the bargain. To put provision on a stable and sustainable footing, we must also ensure that councils can provide these services themselves, where necessary, so will the Government work to support local authorities in running children’s homes, where they want to do so and where there is need? Many of these private equity firms are also profiteering from special schools, and we are starting to see them in the early years sector, too. Is the Secretary of State looking at those areas, and will she apply some of today’s announcements to them?
A new focus on family care is very welcome, as early support for families can keep children out of care who do not need to be there. Kinship carers are unsung heroes who often step up at a moment’s notice to look after family members. Will the Secretary of State please commit to moving beyond the very limited pilots that have been proposed, to a universal allowance for kinship carers, on a par with that received by foster carers? Will she also take the opportunity offered by the Employment Rights Bill, which is currently before the House, to legislate for paid employment leave for kinship carers? All the evidence points to that leading to better outcomes—and it would achieve cost savings immediately, not just in the long term.
Bridget Phillipson
The hon. Lady has rightly championed the cause of kinship carers for many years in this House, and I pay tribute to her for drawing attention to this crucial area. The measures we set out in the Budget represent the single biggest investment in kinship care ever made by a Government. This is an important first step, but it is not the only action we need to take in this area. I will, of course, work with her and with Members on both sides of the House to make sure that kinship carers have all the support they need.
The hon. Lady is right that, in this House, we all bear a responsibility to represent the needs of vulnerable children, whose voices are often not heard in our deliberations. We will seek to bring forward measures as soon as parliamentary time allows, because we know that the crisis we face is urgent.
Yes, we will work with councils on the services they can provide, either directly or by working with charities and others. I have seen great examples across the country of that already happening. Councils need the Government to give them further backing to do this on a bigger scale, and the plans we are setting out today will provide for precisely that.
Today, I am calling time on excessive profiteering, and if providers do not respond, we will not hesitate to bring forward measures to cap their profits. We are looking very closely at special schools, too.
Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between Munira Wilson and Bridget Phillipson(3 months, 3 weeks ago)
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Bridget Phillipson
As was announced at the Budget, we expect to provide £8.1 billion for the early years entitlements in 2025-26, which is an increase of about 30% on the previous year. We will continue to deliver the roll-outs, because this Government have sought to protect education priorities in the Budget.
On the hon. Member’s precise question, we are looking in more detail at what the changes mean for providers in the early years sector, and we will have more to say shortly. Alongside the changes to the national insurance employer contribution rate, we are increasing the employment allowance to £10,500 and are expanding this to all eligible employers, so smaller providers may pay no national insurance at all in 2025-26.
Munira Wilson
Alongside formal childcare, many parents want to have the option of spending more time at home with their babies in those precious early months that are so crucial for a child’s development. Does the Secretary of State agree that at less than half the minimum wage, statutory maternity pay is far from “excessive”? What discussions has she had with ministerial colleagues about boosting support for those parents who want to spend more time at home, rather than being rushed back to work, in order to give families real choice in how they care for their children?
Bridget Phillipson
I agree that it is important we get the balance right. That is why the Deputy Prime Minister and the Secretary of State for Business and Trade are looking carefully, as part of our wider reforms to employment support and employment law, at what more we need to do around parental leave entitlements. I share the hon. Member’s concern about the comments we have heard from the now leader of the Conservative party, the right hon. Member for North West Essex (Mrs Badenoch), about maternity pay. I want to make sure that parents have choices about what works for them, what is best for them and what best supports their children’s development in those crucial early years.
Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between Munira Wilson and Bridget Phillipson(5 months, 2 weeks ago)
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Munira Wilson (Twickenham) (LD)
Disadvantaged pupils between 16 and 19 are likely to be up to four grades behind their more affluent peers. We know that funding drops by about a third at 16, yet 16-to-19 tuition was axed in July, and the pupil premium has never applied to that age group. If the Secretary of State is serious about smashing the glass ceiling, will she consider increasing funding targeted at this group?
Bridget Phillipson
I share the hon. Lady’s concern about making sure that we target funding in the most effective way. That is why I have said that my No. 1 priority is ensuring that we support children and young people at the earliest possible point, and give a real commitment around early education and childcare, because that is the single biggest way to ensure that our children arrive at school really well prepared and to stop those gaps opening up as children progress through education.