Business of the House

Natasha Irons Excerpts

Thursday 12th December 2024 Commons Chamber

[Lucy Powell]

I thank the hon. Lady for raising the issue of special educational needs. She is entirely right: the crisis that was left in SEND support in our schools was appalling—it was one of the terrible legacies of the Conservative Government— and demand is higher than ever. This is one of the big issues facing the education sector, which is why in the Budget, as the hon. Lady rightly pointed out, we announced an extra £1 billion for SEND, the biggest uplift that it has received for many years. Of course, that will not solve all the problems overnight; it is a down payment on the work that we will do, and are already doing, to reform SEND and get the resources in, which is vital to our education sector.

The hon. Lady also raised the issue of teachers’ pay. I am proud that one of this Government’s first acts was to agree to the independent pay review body’s recommendation of the pay rise that they had long deserved, and we will continue to support our education sector in respect of all its needs.

[Natasha Irons (Croydon East) (Lab)]

This week some year 8 students from Ark Blake academy, in my constituency, wrote to me raising concerns about food security both globally and locally. They highlighted the impact of conflict on access to food, the unacceptable increase in the number of food banks in our country, and the shocking rise in the number of children skipping lunch because their family cannot afford it. Will the Leader of the House allow time for a debate on what the Government can do to improve access to food both here and at home, and will she join me in thanking the pupils from Ark Blake for raising these important issues?

[Lucy Powell]

I am delighted to join my hon. Friend in congratulating those pupils on raising the issue of food poverty, especially at a time of year when the people’s needs in relation to both food and presents—Christmas poverty—are so stark. We all see that in our constituencies. I am sure that this would make a very good topic for a debate, and I expect we will shortly hear from the Chair of the Backbench Business Committee.