LGBT+ History Month

Sarah Owen Excerpts

Thursday 12th February 2026 Commons Chamber

[Sarah Owen (Luton North) (Lab)]

It is a real honour to follow my hon. Friend the Member for Jarrow and Gateshead East (Kate Osborne). I reiterate my congratulations on her fine work on the report on banning conversion therapy in Europe. That is greatly needed, and I hope that the Government will soon follow suit.

I thank my hon. Friends the Members for Nottingham East (Nadia Whittome) and for Llanelli (Dame Nia Griffith), who are both brilliant members of the Women and Equalities Committee, for their speeches. I note that other members of the Committee are here, too. My hon. Friends called out queer icons, but let me say that they are my icons. Not only do they serve the LGBT community, but they serve our movement—thank you.

Today, we are learning about history and how to learn the lessons of the past, so I am deeply disappointed that there are not more Opposition Members here. I am not surprised that Reform Members are not here—they are unwilling to learn, come together or bring people together—but I am surprised that there are no Green, Lib Dem or SNP Members. I have to say, I am pleased that the hon. Member for Bridlington and The Wolds (Charlie Dewhirst), who was sitting next to the shadow Minister, has left his place. He did not listen with respect to the brilliant opening speech by my hon. Friend the Member for Nottingham East. Instead, he rolled his eyes. I feel that, although we try to bring everybody together—

[Madam Deputy Speaker]

Order. The hon. Member possibly remembers and knows that when we refer to other Members of the House, we let them know in advance. Has she had time to do that?

[Sarah Owen]

I shall be doing so. I had expected the hon. Member to stay and perhaps learn from the subsequent speeches. Perhaps he could come back and learn a bit more.

In every year that I have spoken in this debate, it seems that the LGBTQ+ community has had a tougher year than the one before. That is sadly as true today as it was last year. The mainstream has moved dangerously further right, to focus not on what brings people together but on what tears people apart. That is not leadership. The politics of the right is one of fear—it is cowardly. True strength is shown in the ability to learn, understand and lead people to a better future. Progress is not inevitable; we will have to fight for it. I say to the LGBTQ+ community: “You are not alone in that fight.”

I would understand why many people feel alone right now, however. Between March 2024 and March 2025, more than 18,000 hate crimes were motivated by sexual orientation alone, and there were more than 3,000 trans-related hate crimes. Although 2024 saw a slight dip in reported hate crimes, there has still been a 44% increase over the past five years, and horrifyingly, there has been an 88% increase in hate crimes against trans people in that time.

Those horrifying statistics make it clear that some elements of the public are taking their lead from the current political discourse. Reform’s candidate in Gorton and Denton wants tax cuts for people who have children, which is deeply offensive to not only people like me, who have struggled to have a child, but to many LGBTQ+ people as well. We know that Reform ultimately does not want LGBT people to have children. Reform’s leader has gone on record with his belief that children are better off brought up in heterosexual households, rather than just with parents who love them. They are not hiding how they feel; they are saying it with their full chest, and they are reaping the benefits of a culture war where everyone is a casualty apart from them—a culture war that none of us sees an end to without serious leadership.

We know that when they are done with trans people, they will go after the LGB part of the community, and I wonder how long it will be before Reform and some elements of the Conservative party call for an end to same-sex couples being allowed to adopt. What was unthinkable years ago is not just being muttered quietly under their breath any more; it is now a full-throated attack under the cynical guise of “safety”—all a smoke- screen for the abuse and real danger that women and children face.

I wish I could say that this toxicity only exists in the right-wing parties, but sadly not. I cannot express how disappointed I was when my own party took the decision to exclude trans women members from our women’s conference. It has led me to my decision, which is, sadly, not to attend women’s conference for the first time in a very long time. It used to be one of my favourite parts of the conference season—a place for inclusivity and sensible discussion; I have even chaired some of the debates, which are so memorable in my mind—but if all women cannot go, neither will I. I have attended every party conference and many trade union conferences for nearly 20 years—yes, I am that old—and my safety was never put at risk from trans women, trans men or the LGBTQ+ community, but it was by cis men with power. These men are unaccountable to anyone—something that many are slowly cottoning on to in this place and others.

Accountability is incredibly important—it matters—so where is it? Where is it for the people who consistently trade off one person’s rights for another’s, only to serve their own agenda? Does the Minister believe the Equality and Human Rights Commission is up to the challenge of this ever more toxic environment? Is it resourced properly? I hope it is, because we need a defender of all our rights. Otherwise, as we watch America tear itself apart, I fear we are just one sneeze away from catching the disease of state-sanctioned hatred that sees leaders openly attack gay people, disabled people and ethnic minority people. We can do so much better than that.

There are many questions for the Minister, but I want to pose one that has already been raised: when will we see the ban on conversion therapy? As many young trans people wait for the puberty blocker trials to go ahead, what support is being given to them and their families in this time of uncertainty? I know our Labour Government are so much better than what we are seeing overseas right now, and I know the British public are so much better than to want what they are seeing overseas right now, but I also know that we can do better. Our country is not just tolerant but at its best when we celebrate difference, learn from one another and come together to celebrate the brilliant country we are. That is the country I want back.

Oral Answers to Questions

Sarah Owen Excerpts

Monday 19th January 2026 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

Can I just say to the hon. Member for Twickenham (Munira Wilson) that it is no use shaking her head and pointing at others? I have to try to help everybody in the Chamber.

[Sarah Owen (Luton North) (Lab)]

T4. Many schools with SEND provision, including Beechwood primary school, would benefit from a sensory room and more family workers, while staff at Woodlands secondary school need more resources to enable them to work safely and support students. Will the Minister commit to better resourcing for SEND, and join me in visiting one of our brilliant schools to see the difference the funding could make?

[The Minister for School Standards (Georgia Gould)]

I thank my hon. Friend for our recent discussion about this issue. The £3 billion we are investing in schools is precisely for sensory rooms and other investments to make schools more accessible for young people. I would be delighted to join her on a visit.

Oral Answers to Questions

Sarah Owen Excerpts

Monday 20th October 2025 Commons Chamber

[Josh MacAlister]

There is a choice here. We are debating how the Government, within only a few months of being elected, are making big progress across the education system. That includes big decisions made at fiscal events to invest capital into programmes such as this one, which at every opportunity the Conservatives have failed to support. We are able to make these decisions to improve our school estate only because of the decisions made at fiscal events.

[Sarah Owen (Luton North) (Lab)]

9. When the British Sign Language GCSE will be available in schools.

[The Minister for School Standards (Georgia Gould)]

This is a really important qualification that is a step forward in opening up British Sign Language. However, the GCSE is a new qualification, and a lot of work is going into ensuring that the new assessment works for a wide range of students. Ofqual has consulted on its proposed assessment arrangements and expects to publish its final qualification rules this autumn.

[Sarah Owen]

[In British Sign Language: I thank the Secretary of State for her commitment to introducing a GCSE in BSL.] Beyond qualifications, what work is being done to ensure that deaf children and their whole families can access BSL teaching without cost, especially in the early years, when their deaf babies’ brains are developing language skills?

[Georgia Gould]

I thank my hon. Friend for her question and her passion for opening opportunities for deaf children. I hope she can support me to be able to answer questions in kind at future oral parliamentary questions. Funding is available through the adult skills fund for qualifications focusing on British Sign Language up to and including level 2. I welcome the opportunity to meet my hon. Friend to discuss this issue further.

Oral Answers to Questions

Sarah Owen Excerpts

Monday 27th January 2025 Commons Chamber

[Stephen Morgan]

As I mentioned, we will keep our approach in all Government programmes, including eligibility for free school meals, under continued review. We are aware of local measures on auto-enrolment being trialled and are supportive of the overall aims of such schemes.

[Sarah Owen (Luton North) (Lab)]

2. If her Department will provide sixth-form colleges with the funding required to support a 5.5% pay award for teaching staff.

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

The Government do not set or recommend pay in further education. However, in the midst of tough decisions taken at the Budget to fix the foundations, after having been left with a £22 billion black hole by the Conservatives, we have reprioritised an additional £300 million for further education.

[Sarah Owen]

I declare an interest, because my husband works at Luton sixth-form college, although this question does not affect him. I am proud to have Luton sixth-form college and Barnfield college in my constituency—places where young people develop not only their education but their ambitions. Excellent sixth forms stay that way only by attracting and retaining the best staff. However, with the funding shortfall left by the last Tory Government, I am concerned that it is our younger generations who will feel the loss. Will the Minister outline how sixth-form colleges can use their funds to deliver the deserved 5.5% pay rise for teaching staff?

[Janet Daby]

I recognise the vital role that sixth-form colleges play, including Luton sixth-form college, and I agree that high-quality staff are what helps to make them great, as well as our amazing students. That is why we announced an additional £300 million for further education in the Budget, and it is why we are releasing £50 million of that funding in this academic year, so that colleges can respond to priorities, including workforce recruitment and retention, and use those funds as they see fit.

Childcare Entitlements

Sarah Owen Excerpts

Tuesday 23rd April 2024 Commons Chamber

[David Johnston]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right: we inherited some families being able to get 12.5 hours of childcare. Thanks to the Government’s expansion, they will now be able to get 30 hours each week from when their children are nine months old until they start school.

My hon. Friend raised two other important issues. First, on people who work irregular patterns, it is important to say that we do not require the childcare pattern to be 9 to 3; we want that flexibility for people working awkward hours, and to make it easier to have that provision in other settings. He is also entirely right about trying to encourage more men into the sector. In addition to our big recruitment campaign just to get more people into the sector, we have a specific focus on trying to encourage more men.

[Sarah Owen (Luton North) (Lab)]

For all the Minister’s glib responses, he has failed to address the fact that the children’s organisation Coram has reported that just 6% of local areas have sufficient childcare places for children with special educational needs and disabilities. What is he doing to ensure that all children with additional needs in constituencies such as mine can access childcare and that providers have the staff, the resources and the space they need to do so?

[David Johnston]

I do not think the hon. Lady has listened to the content of any of the answers I have given. We work with every local authority in the country. Local authorities have a statutory duty to ensure that there are a number of places available, and we work with every local authority to ensure that they have sufficient places, including for children with special educational needs. Not a single local authority is reporting that it does not have sufficient places.

Oral Answers to Questions

Sarah Owen Excerpts

Monday 11th March 2024 Commons Chamber

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Dame Eleanor Laing)]

Order. Before I call the second question, Mr Speaker would like me to convey to the House his apologies for his unavoidable absence from questions this afternoon as he has to attend the Commonwealth service in Westminster Abbey, which is about to start at any minute now.

[Sarah Owen (Luton North) (Lab)]

2. What assessment her Department has made of the impact of funding decisions on maintained schools since 2010.

[The Minister for Schools (Damian Hinds)]

In 2010-11, school funding was £35 billion. Next year, it will be £59.6 billion. That is the highest ever level in real terms per pupil.

[Sarah Owen]

Recent figures show that the worst impacted schools in Luton North have endured more than £2 million of real-terms cuts since 2010. There are school roofs with holes in, buckets scattered across corridors collecting rainwater, and entire buildings held up by scaffolding. Those are the defining images of 14 years of Conservative Government, 14 years of budget cuts and teaching staff expected to do more with less. We need change. Children in Luton North deserve better. If the Minister agrees, why will he not give children what they deserve?

[Damian Hinds]

On the condition of school buildings, the hon. Lady will know that there is £1.8 billion-worth of capital for maintaining and improving school buildings. On the broader questions about school funding, she might have been alluding—I am looking for some visual recognition—to figures put together by the National Education Union. If so, I have to tell her that we believe those figures to be flawed in multiple respects, including in assumptions they make about the money and the number of children in schools in previous years. I hope she will join me in celebrating the record resourcing rightly going in to educating children.

Safety of School Buildings

Sarah Owen Excerpts

Wednesday 6th September 2023 Commons Chamber

[Bridget Phillipson]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. If Ministers are confident about everything they have done and the decisions that were taken, they will back our motion today, allow us to see the papers, and be transparent with this House.

[Sarah Owen (Luton North) (Lab)]

I should be shocked by the lack of humility from Conservative Front Benchers, but sadly, I am not. Schools are literally collapsing around us, and the Conservatives want people to thank them for it. Does my hon. Friend agree that the Education Secretary needs to get a grip and explain why her offices got a £34 million refurbishment while schools are crumbling under this Tory Government?

[Bridget Phillipson]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend, who makes a very important point.

Finally, let me turn to the wording of the motion. I know that many Conservative Members share Labour’s concerns, and I ask them today to think of the young people and the school staff in their constituency. However loyal they have been in every past debate, I ask them to help us put truth and transparency first, and to force responsibility on their Front Benchers. It is time for the full truth to come out about why our schools are unsafe today, and whose decision that was. It is time at last for Ministers, and the Prime Minister in particular, to take and accept responsibility for the broken country they will leave behind. I commend the motion to the House.

Fair Taxation of Schools and Education Standards Committee

Sarah Owen Excerpts

Wednesday 11th January 2023 Commons Chamber

[Munira Wilson (Twickenham) (LD)]

The whole argument about how we tax private schools is underpinned by a much more important question: why do so many parents choose to send their children to private schools? Some parents, particularly those whose children have complex special educational needs, feel that they have no other choice, as Government cuts in council funding mean that councils often struggle to provide the support that their children need. Others look at the sports, art, music, drama, debating skills, coding clubs and other opportunities that private schools offer, to a far greater extent than could be dreamt of by many of our state schools. They see that the pupil-teacher ratio in private schools is half that in state schools, as the Government fail year after year to meet their own teacher-training targets. They see that a private school has an on-site counsellor, when their child has been waiting months, sometimes years, to be assessed by child and adolescent mental health services and subsequently treated if they need help.

As the Government continue to let our pupils down, having failed to invest properly in covid recovery, we cannot blame parents for wanting the very best for their children. However, the Government cannot brush off criticisms of the status quo as an attack on aspiration. They know just how badly distorted the playing field in our education system is distorted.

At the root of the inequalities I have outlined is money. According to the Institute for Fiscal Studies, the average private school fee is £6,500 more than state school funding per pupil. More than half of private schools are charities, required to operate for the public benefit, yet current case law allows private schools to decide for themselves what that public benefit is. It lets some private schools get away with the bare minimum. Others, on the other hand, are doing far more.

In October, I attended the launch of Feltham College in a neighbouring constituency. It is a new sixth form run out of Reach Academy in Feltham, which is an inspirational school founded by an inspirational man called Ed Vainker, who happens to be a constituent of mine. Reach is run in partnership with Hampton School in my constituency and Lady Eleanor Holles School, also in my constituency, as well as in partnership with Kingston University and various other partners. The two independent schools offer 28 taught periods per week across a range of subjects, particularly the sciences. The teachers from LEH and Hampton have also offered additional tutoring and coaching sessions for students at Reach who want to apply to Oxbridge or to medical school and need to go for interviews.

The partnership is producing results: students at Reach achieve the best chemistry and biology results that the school has ever had. Children and young people from some of the most disadvantaged backgrounds in an area that historically has sent far too few of them into higher education are seeing the most extraordinary results. I want every private school to offer that sort of support to the state sector, not by imposing top-down solutions—as some previous Education Secretaries have attempted—but, rather, by partnering with neighbouring state schools to identify needs in the local community and to share resources and expertise effectively.

[Sarah Owen (Luton North) (Lab)]

The hon. Lady is making an excellent speech. I wholeheartedly support some of the work that she has outlined around partnerships. Does she not agree that, fundamentally, this goes to the heart of how we see education: education is not a charity but a fundamental basic right?

[Munira Wilson]

I agree that education is a fundamental basic right. I am about to talk about the nature of charitable status. It should not be seen as a club. Some private schools perhaps do operate in that way, but lots do not. The hon. Lady goes to the heart of my point: if we are to give private schools charitable status, they need to do much more across the board to earn and to keep that status. We should expect the level of collaboration I have outlined between Reach, Hampton and LEH. We should expect that sort of collaboration from every school with charitable status. A charity is not a club. It should not use resources to benefit only its own members, even if it occasionally waives the entry fee. If it does, the Charity Commission should have the power to revoke its charitable status.

I also believe—this point has been made by some Members—that education is a public good. Our VAT system recognises that essentials such as food and healthcare should not be subject to additional taxes. Currently, all education provided by eligible bodies, including schools, universities and providers of English as a foreign language, are exempt from VAT. That is important because it is a statement that education—however it is provided—is as much a public good as bread, eggs and cheese.

I am in politics because I am passionate about education. The importance of education was instilled in me and my sisters from a very young age. I believe that every child, no matter what their background, should be given the opportunity to excel and flourish in life, because every child has something special in them that we need to draw out.

That is why I believe, and Liberal Democrats believe, that education is an investment in our children’s future and our country’s future. We want every parent to be able to send their child to a good, local school where they can fulfil their potential. Parents want a fair deal from their local primary or secondary school. Liberal Democrats want that, too. We want a qualified mental health professional in every school; opportunities for every child, no matter their background, to take part in music, sport, drama, debating and so on every day; a recruitment and retention plan to attract the very best teachers, not to burn them out within five years. We want properly funded local councils that will tailor support to a child’s individual and complex needs, rather than parents having to go to court to secure their child’s right to support; and a hot meal for every child living in poverty.

That is what pupils need. That is what parents want. That is what Liberal Democrats will campaign for.

Oral Answers to Questions

Sarah Owen Excerpts

Monday 4th July 2022 Commons Chamber

[Alex Burghart]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. Local skills improvement plans, drawn up by employer representative bodies, will start to bring about that collaboration. There are already excellent training options for aspiring heat pump installers, such as the level 3 heat pump engineering technician apprenticeship or the T-level in building services engineering for construction—both of which are backed by Government funding.

[Sarah Owen (Luton North) (Lab)]

The fantastic Luton Sixth Form College in my constituency is successfully offering BTECs for biomedical science. What is the Department doing to promote that qualification with universities, medical colleges and employers, so that more BTEC students can become the much-needed doctors that we need them to be?

[Alex Burghart]

I thank the hon. Lady for her question. As she will know, we are currently reviewing level 3 qualifications. The overlap list was published a couple of months ago, and we will be responding to it in the new year. We are going through technical qualifications at the moment to make sure they provide students both with a route into work and with experience while they are studying for their qualification. That is what T-levels are all about.

--- Later in debate ---

[Nadhim Zahawi]

Yes I do. The more runways that we can build from which people’s careers can take off, the better.

[Sarah Owen (Luton North) (Lab)]

T9. I am sure that I am not alone in hearing worrying reports of faith-based bullying and sexual harassment in schools. If this week has taught us anything, it is that we need to lead by example. Will the Secretary of State tell us when the Department for Education’s own bullying and harassment policies were last reviewed and updated?

National Tutoring Programme and Adult Education

Sarah Owen Excerpts

Wednesday 9th March 2022 Commons Chamber

[Mr Walker]

I do not have those figures to hand, but it is important to state, as in a number of debates, it has been suggested that there will be a major underspend in the programme, that I do not necessarily anticipate that to be the case. I think that we can spend the money and do so effectively, and part of the reason for that is the flexibilities we have introduced to ensure that this can be delivered across all three strands of the programme.

I turn to adult education. My ambition for schools is matched by that of my ministerial colleagues with responsibility for adult education. That ambition is backed by our investment of £3.8 billion more in further education and skills over the course of this Parliament.

Apprenticeships are more important than ever in helping businesses to recruit the right people and develop the skills that they need. I pay tribute to my right hon. Friend the Member for Harlow for his work over a long period to raise the profile and esteem of apprenticeships. We are increasing apprenticeships funding, which will grow to £2.7 billion by 2024-25, and we have already seen more than 164,000 starts in the first quarter of the academic year, which is roughly a third—34%—higher than in the same period in 2020-21 and 5% higher than in 2019-20, before the pandemic. We encourage people of all ages to consider apprenticeships. There is now more choice than ever before, with 640 high-quality standards across a range of sectors.

I note my right hon. Friend’s interest in and continuing passion for teacher apprenticeships and agree that apprenticeships should give a route into a range of professions. I am assured that there is a range of apprenticeships in education, including a level 6 teaching apprenticeship. But we should continue to look at this area while of course maintaining the esteem of teaching being a graduate profession. His suggestion is absolutely in line with that.

I note that my right hon. Friend the Member for South Northamptonshire (Dame Andrea Leadsom) had to leave the debate earlier than we might have anticipated. She has been passionate about advocating the importance of apprenticeships for the early years. She has done fascinating work in that space in championing the value not only of the early years but of its workforce. I was pleased that, at the spending review, the Chancellor announced a £300 million package to transform services for parents, carers, babies and children in half of local authorities in England. That includes £10 million for trials of innovative workforce models in a smaller number of areas to test approaches to support available to new parents. With that work, we can look at some of the areas she has championed such as early years mental health support, breastfeeding support and the early years development workforce as potential areas for the development of new apprenticeship standards.

We are also supporting the largest expansion of our traineeship programme to ensure more young people can progress to an apprenticeship or work. We are funding up to 72,000 traineeship places over the next three years. As part of our post-16 reforms, as set out in the skills for jobs White Paper, employer-led local skills improvement plans will be rolled out across England. Those will help to ensure that learners are able to develop the critical skills that will enable them to get a well-paid and secure job, no matter where they live.

[Sarah Owen (Luton North) (Lab)]

Before I go any further, I want to declare an interest as somebody who used to help to deliver union learning in workplaces across the country, so I know that access to in-work, lifelong learning has the power to transform lives. Does the Minister accept that the decision to axe the union learning fund undermines any warm words about skills, further education and in-work learning?

[Mr Walker]

I do not accept that. Some valuable education was provided by Unionlearn, but the Department has to make sure that it is delivering skills in the most effective way. I am sure that the Minister responsible for skills, the Under-Secretary of State for Education, my hon. Friend the Member for Brentwood and Ongar (Alex Burghart), can speak for himself about decisions that have been taken in that respect.

My hon. Friend the Member for Penistone and Stocksbridge spoke very passionately about the role of Northern College in Barnsley and the support that it gets from the combined authority. I know that she is due to meet the skills Minister shortly and he will no doubt be able to come back to her on the residential uplift.

The Government are investing £2.5 billion in the national skills fund. That includes investment of up to £550 million to significantly expand skills boot camps and to expand the eligibility for delivery of the free courses for jobs offer. We know that improving numeracy skills can have a transformative effect, unlocking employment and learning opportunities. That is why we are allocating up to £559 million over the spending review period for our national numeracy programme, Multiply, which is launching this year. But that is not all. Many people need more flexible access to courses, helping them to train, upskill or retrain alongside work, family and personal commitments. That is why the lifelong loan entitlement will be introduced from 2025, providing individuals with a loan entitlement to the equivalent of four years of post-18 education to use over their lifetime.

I recognise the passion of my right hon. Friend the Member for Harlow for careers advice and he continues to press the case for more episodes of careers engagement at school. I have seen some fantastic examples of that, including apprentices coming into sixth-form colleges to talk about the value of what they do, but we share his aspiration in that sense.

In conclusion, the national tutoring programme and our work to reform adult education share a core mission: to help those falling behind and to provide the framework for as many individuals as possible to reach their potential, regardless of their stage of life or location. I am proud of what the Government are doing to deliver that. We will continue to target investment at changes that will make the most difference, and I unreservedly commend this estimate to the House.