Free School Meals

Terry Jermy Excerpts

Tuesday 18th March 2025 Westminster Hall

[Terry Jermy (South West Norfolk) (Lab)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mr Dowd. I congratulate the hon. Member for Eastleigh (Liz Jarvis) for raising this important issue.

Prior to being elected to this place, I was a youth worker in Norfolk and served as a local councillor for many years. In both roles, I spent much time supporting local families, and issuing food bank vouchers was sadly a routine part of my role. The referrals for families nearly always included many children. It is estimated that a third of all children in South West Norfolk live in poverty, with rurality being a significant additional burden, alongside a real challenge with low wages. More people using our local food bank were in work as opposed to out of work, so they were earning a wage but still struggling.

Nationwide in 2023-24, the Trussell Trust supplied more than 3 million emergency food parcels—the highest number it has ever distributed in a single year. I am grateful for the support of Trussell and the food banks at Thetford and Downham Market in my constituency. It is worth noting that when Labour left office in 2010, Trussell had 35 food banks nationwide. In 2013, that had increased to 650, and in 2019 it was 1,300.

I draw on those experiences from my time as a councillor because I came across so many families who were accessing the food bank but who were not registered for free school meals. That was often for a number of reasons, but primarily because they believed that they were not eligible or that they had missed the boat for the whole year. Often, people had a change of circumstances part way through the year and suddenly found themselves in a completely different situation.

It is believed that 14% of all pupils in the UK who are entitled to free school meals are not claiming them. However, in the east, it is nearly a quarter of all pupils. In Norfolk, it is 17%, but the figure in neighbouring Suffolk—which is one of the worst in the country—is 32%. These are people who are eligible for free school meals but not claiming them.

There are still so many people who could and should be being supported by free school meals. We must do more to encourage enrolment and consider all options to get more people supported. I am really pleased with the progress the Government are making, particularly on breakfast clubs. There is one in a very rural village in my constituency, and I am looking forward to seeing what difference it makes as part of the trial. However, the challenge is great, and we must do more.

I was particularly pleased that the hon. Member for Eastleigh mentioned pupil premium. Sadly, in my constituency, as elsewhere, we have more than our fair share of conspiracy theorists and right-wing rhetoric. Schools and councils tell me that it is increasingly a struggle to encourage parents to access support and share information. One school told me recently that parents do not want to reveal income and employment information, such is the growing distrust of the state. That is having a real impact on schools’ ability to access a fair share of pupil premium and other support intended to help not only those children who may directly benefit, but the school as a whole. Will the Minister speak to those specific concerns?

SEND Education Support

Terry Jermy Excerpts

Tuesday 25th February 2025 Westminster Hall

[Terry Jermy (South West Norfolk) (Lab)]

It is an honour to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Twigg. I pay tribute to my hon. Friend the Member for Suffolk Coastal (Jenny Riddell-Carpenter) for securing this debate. I know she is doing all she can to improve SEND provision in her constituency and in the wider county of Suffolk.

SEND issues in my South West Norfolk constituency are a constant in my inbox. After 14 years of neglect, families are at the end of their tether and are desperate for support. The size of the task facing the Government in repairing trust in the SEND system is clear and frankly daunting. As my hon. Friend the Member for Suffolk Coastal mentioned, we must not forget that in areas like Suffolk and Norfolk the challenges are exacerbated because of rurality and difficulties accessing services that are often miles away.

I have been here before to speak about SEND, and have spoken to the Minister a number of times, but today I want to make a particular point about tribunals. Many county councils are losing scores of tribunal cases. In Norfolk, the Conservative-controlled county council is losing 98% of all tribunal cases—there seem to be no real consequences to the failure to act in the first place—and has racked up a bill of almost £1 million in legal costs in one financial year fighting SEND cases. Money that could have been spent on providing services for families is used to pay legal bills. Local authorities usually engage solicitors and barristers, which was never the intention for SEND tribunals. The way they were set up was supposed to mean that neither side needed legal representation.

I urge the Minister to speak to the concerns about tribunals specifically. I recognise that solving the crisis in SEND will not happen overnight, but I am encouraged by the Government’s action so far and by the additional money.

Apprenticeships

Terry Jermy Excerpts

Tuesday 4th February 2025 Westminster Hall

[Terry Jermy (South West Norfolk) (Lab)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Ms Jardine. I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Peterborough (Andrew Pakes) on securing this debate. It is heartening to see so many Members here talking about this important subject, although they seem rather weighted on one side of the room.

I was keen to contribute to the debate because in rural areas such as my South West Norfolk constituency, apprenticeships are crucial. They offer a way into many industries in rural communities, including land management, farming, planning services, engineering, energy and nature conservation. So often, I talk to businesses in my constituency that struggle to recruit. They cannot find the people with the right skills, and as a result, their businesses often suffer. Apprenticeships are an important tool for addressing that challenge.

One business in my constituency that has been successfully leading the way on apprenticeships is Warren Services in Thetford, under the direction of Richard Bridgman and his son Will. Warren Services is an engineering firm with a proud track record of more than 30 years. To its credit, Warren is committed to building the workforce of the future, and it routinely goes to schools, academies and colleges to inspire young people to pursue a career in engineering and manufacturing. It regularly hosts recruitment days; there is one coming up next week, on 13 February. I do not normally advocate for second jobs, but if anyone wants a level 2 apprenticeship, they are available next week.

I am delighted that this Labour Government are doing more to support firms such as Warren and making apprenticeships a key part of their employment offer. In particular, I welcome the focus on green skills and the green skills gap in this country. Building a workforce with the skills needed to transition to a greener society is crucial to tackling the climate and nature crisis.

Oral Answers to Questions

Terry Jermy Excerpts

Monday 9th December 2024 Commons Chamber

[Janet Daby]

I find it shocking that the shadow Minister has taken no responsibility for the many circumstances in which we have found ourselves having to make decisions that are in the best interests of students and colleges. We are conducting various reviews to try to ensure that we put right the mess that we inherited.

[Terry Jermy (South West Norfolk) (Lab)]

2. What assessment she has made of the potential impact of introducing free primary school breakfast clubs on children.

[The Secretary of State for Education (Bridget Phillipson)]

Breakfast clubs break down barriers to opportunity so that children are ready to learn. They are proven to boost attendance, attainment, wellbeing and behaviour, and they also provide essential childcare options for parents. In only a few days, hundreds of schools have applied to become early adopters because they know that these clubs can improve children’s life chances and, crucially, academic standards.

[Terry Jermy]

As a former youth worker and a former school governor, I know that this initiative will make a huge difference, and I have written to all the schools in my constituency encouraging them to apply. Will the Secretary of State please outline the next steps?

[Bridget Phillipson]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for the work that he is undertaking in making his local schools aware of the opportunities that breakfast clubs present. The early adopters scheme will enable up to 750 participating schools to start providing them from April 2025 onwards. We have tripled investment in breakfast clubs following the Budget. Schools have until 20 December to apply for the scheme, and I would encourage many more to do so.

SEND Provision: East of England

Terry Jermy Excerpts

Tuesday 8th October 2024 Westminster Hall

[Terry Jermy (South West Norfolk) (Lab)]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend the Member for Lowestoft (Jess Asato) for giving us all the opportunity to talk about this important issue. I have been a county councillor in Norfolk for the past 11 years. During that time I have helped many families with SEND cases, but nothing could have prepared me for the avalanche of SEND-related casework in my new role as the Member of Parliament for South West Norfolk.

There is an obvious impact on children and their families and that has been ably covered by colleagues today. However, I wanted to highlight the impact on family finances, jobs and the wider economy. It has struck me that in nearly every single family attending one of my surgeries with a SEND case one or both parents have been forced to give up work to care for their child. Most recently, at my Downham Market surgery, a serving member of our armed forces told me how he had had to take a pay cut as he was now undeployable, forced to work from home and care for his child, as I am sure we would all do. There are many similar cases involving lost income and lost jobs. We must recognise the impact on children and families, but also on family finances and the wider economy.

SEND cases are detailed and complex and, unlike the hon. Member for Great Yarmouth (Rupert Lowe), I do not have the skills and qualifications to be able to assess the mental health diagnosis of a child. That is why I have employed a dedicated caseworker specifically for SEND cases, to support families in my area.