Topical Questions

T1. If she will make a statement on her departmental responsibilities.

The safety of our youngest children is of the utmost priority to this Government. Early years settings should be places where children receive the best start in life, and where they are safe and happy. That is why we will provide Ofsted with additional funding to strengthen safeguarding measures, with over £4.5 million this financial year and at least £8 million in future years. That will mean an additional 3,000 unannounced visits a year, an increased number of inspectors for larger settings and more face-to-face registration interviews before providers open, alongside accelerating modernisation of Ofsted digital systems. This builds on recent changes on whistleblowing so that staff can share concerns quickly and with total confidence. I will be setting out further changes shortly, because nothing is more important than keeping our youngest children safe.

This year, two of Devon’s school food providers have shut down due to rapidly rising business and food costs. The Government school food standards consultation closed on 12 June, so will the Secretary of State now ensure that funding for school meals is sustained and that procurement supports healthy, fresh and local food?

That is exactly our intention. The plans on which we are consulting represent the first time in over a decade that this has been properly looked at, to ensure that when our children are at school, the food is of the highest quality and it is healthy and nutritious. I am grateful to all those who shared their thoughts through that consultation. I am also delighted that from September this Labour Government will be delivering a huge expansion in free school meals, ensuring that all families in receipt of universal credit will now benefit.

A new Best Start family hub is opening in Cotmanhay, bringing together support for families in one of the most deprived communities in my constituency and across Derbyshire. As the Government roll out the hubs nationwide, what steps is the Minister taking to ensure that they improve school readiness and help close attainment gaps before children even reach the classroom?

I thank my hon. Friend for all that he has done to secure that new hub in Cotmanhay. All the evidence shows that children who start school on the backfoot find it much harder to catch up. The Conservatives gutted Sure Start and let school readiness flatline, but this Government want the best start for every child. That is why we are setting a stretching target for record proportions of children to be ready for school, and why we are transforming early education and family support services with record investment and a strategic focus that has long been lacking.