Commons
Ministerial Statement
30 June 2026
Defence Investment Plan
As the UK trade envoy to Italy, I thank the Secretary of State for confirming the GCAP funding in his statement. As MP for Newcastle upon Tyne North, I add my voice to those who want to see this as an opportunity to genuinely spread investment and opportunity that will build strength and resilience …
Commons
Debate
20 May 2026
Defence Readiness
It is an honour to follow the right hon. Member for South West Wiltshire (Dr Murrison). It is clear that when it comes to defence readiness, there is much on which we can all agree. Let me also—before he leaves the Chamber—pay tribute to the right hon. Member for Chingford and Woodford Green (Sir Ia…
Commons
Oral Questions
24 March 2026
Household Energy Bills
I am pleased to chair the newly formed all-party parliamentary group for warm homes. Newcastle is leading the way with its hugely impactful warm homes local grant scheme run by Warmworks in conjunction with Newcastle city council. Does the Secretary of State agree that we need to see more of these l…
Commons
Debate
17 March 2026
Clinical Negligence
I beg to move,
That leave be given to bring in a Bill to make provision for a fixed recoverable costs scheme to limit the costs that may be recovered in respect of certain cases of clinical negligence; to provide for regular review of the limits set by such a scheme; to amend the Law Reform (Person…
Commons
Debate
17 March 2026
Youth Unemployment
I refer the House to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests. As co-chair of the all-party parliamentary group for youth employment, I welcome the Secretary of State’s statement on these new measures. Members will know that Newcastle is home to the country’s best retail and hospital…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
20 January 2026
Mobile Phones and Social Media: Use by Children
I thank the Secretary of State for this statement, acknowledging the real harm that social media is causing for children. As a former Schools Minister, I know how welcome these announcements will be for teachers and parents, who are contacting us in droves. However, as she knows, time is of the esse…
Commons
Debate
26 November 2025
3 contributions
Budget Resolutions
I would normally extend the courtesy of saying that it is an honour to follow the hon. Member for Angus and Perthshire Glens (Dave Doogan), but that speech was all a bit dreich.
I have reflected hard on this Budget, as it is the first since I left my role in the Government as Minister for School St…
I share those concerns, as I know does the right hon. Member for Godalming and Ash (Sir Jeremy Hunt). We have cross-party interest in making better use of those resources. I thank the Chancellor for her comments about the infected blood contamination scheme, which is proudly delivered from my consti…
+1 more contribution in this session
Commons
Oral Questions
21 July 2025
6 contributions
Topical Questions
My hon. Friend clearly knows that the decision to create any new GCSE is made by an independent awarding organisation, but I have also met the Ukrainian Education Minister, and I know how important this issue is to Ukrainian families living in the United Kingdom and to others. The Secretary of State…
Indeed, we are building a reformed system in which children and young people’s needs will be identified early, so that evidence-based support can be provided at the earliest opportunity. Earlier this year, I was pleased to open Benton House, a special school in my constituency that is also run by th…
+4 more contributions in this session
Commons
Oral Questions
21 July 2025
3 contributions
SEND: Education, Health and Care Plans
Given the “lose, lose, lose” system that the last Government left behind—in their own words—we are working hard to reform the system so that every child can achieve and thrive. Any reform will be guided by how we improve support for children with SEND. There will always be a legal right to additiona…
As part of our reforms, we will commence a phased transition process, which will include working with local authorities to manage their SEND systems, including their deficits, alongside an extension to the statutory override until the end of 2027-28. We will set out more details about the plan for h…
+1 more contribution in this session
Commons
Oral Questions
21 July 2025
2 contributions
Virtual Teachers
This Government are committed to ensuring that every child can access the tools they need in order to achieve and thrive. We inherited a challenging workforce picture from the previous Government, which is why we are committed to recruiting an additional 6,500 teachers. We are backing teachers and r…
Technology has the potential to enhance time efficiency for teachers, reduce workload and improve student engagement and attainment, but it cannot replace the valuable relationship between teachers and pupils. We know that high-quality teaching has the biggest impact on a child’s educational outcome…
Commons
Oral Questions
21 July 2025
3 contributions
Children with SEND
We are engaging extensively with families and experts as we seek to improve support for children with special educational needs and disabilities. We have invested £1 billion into high-needs budgets and £740 million into creating more specialist places. We are rolling out schemes, from the partnershi…
We have yet to decide on the future of education, health and care plans, but we are extremely focused on strengthening the support system so that every child can receive timely, high-quality help. We will set out further details about our approach to special educational needs in this autumn’s White …
+1 more contribution in this session
Commons
Oral Questions
21 July 2025
3 contributions
Primary School Assessment
Mr Speaker, may I take this opportunity to thank all those who work in our schools and wish them a well-earned break over the summer holidays? High and rising school standards are a non-negotiable for this Labour Government as we seek to build a school system that enables every child to achieve and …
It is our ambition that all children get the chance not just to achieve at school but to thrive. SATs are carefully developed to ensure that they are accessible. It is clear that schools should not over-prepare children for the assessments at the expense of their wellbeing.
+1 more contribution in this session
Commons
Westminster Hall
16 July 2025
2 contributions
Further Education Institutions
I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Shipley (Anna Dixon) for securing this incredibly important debate on further education colleges. Their importance and the passion for them have been clearly demonstrated by the number of interventions that she has skilfully taken, while also allowing for the co…
I am really sorry, but I do not think I will have time if I am to respond to all the issues that have been raised; I do not think I will manage even that.
We are offering targeted retention incentive payments to FE teachers, particularly in key science, technology, engineering and mathematics and t…
Commons
Westminster Hall
15 July 2025
5 contributions
SEND Provision: South-east England
I congratulate the hon. Member for Tunbridge Wells (Mike Martin) on securing this debate about an incredibly important subject. He, like many others here today, has a real interest in supporting families in his constituency to navigate the complex and challenging special educational needs and disabi…
Yes, we absolutely recognise that the current system is really difficult for parents, carers and young people to navigate, and it is not delivering the outcomes we want to see. While we will set out the longer-term approach to reform in the schools White Paper in the autumn, we are clear that the ch…
+3 more contributions in this session
Commons
Proceedings
10 July 2025
Educational Attainment of Boys
I add my congratulations to my hon. Friend the Member for Bishop Auckland (Sam Rushworth) on securing this very thoughtful and important debate. He made a powerful opening speech. I add my welcome to Cian and Alex, who are on work experience here in Parliament, supporting my hon. Friend. He touches …
Commons
Debate
7 July 2025
3 contributions
SEND Provision: London Borough of Barking and Dagenham
Congratulations to my hon. Friend the Member for Dagenham and Rainham (Margaret Mullane) on securing this debate on an incredibly important subject. I know that she and other hon. Members in the Chamber have an interest in supporting families in their constituencies in navigating the special educati…
I know the hon. Gentleman cares passionately about this issue, and he is clearly keen to see the expansion of provision. As he knows, we are investing in the capital estate in the round, and supporting mainstream schools to expand. We have already given local authorities the funding, and we hope tha…
+1 more contribution in this session
Commons
Westminster Hall
3 July 2025
7 contributions
Music Education
Let me begin by expressing my gratitude to my hon. Friend the Member for Southgate and Wood Green (Bambos Charalambous) for opening this valuable debate on the future of music education. He made it clear what a great advocate he is for music education. He chairs the APPG on music education and is a …
That sounds like a very sensible suggestion, and my hon. Friend now has it on the record. We will make sure that it is raised in the appropriate way.
We continue to support the crucial music hubs programme, for which grant funding of £76 million has recently been secured for the full academic year …
+5 more contributions in this session
Commons
Debate
24 June 2025
4 contributions
Department for Education
indicated dissent.
Every child deserves the opportunity to achieve and thrive in education. That is why this Government have—as Labour Governments always do—prioritised education, with the Department’s budget for day-to-day cash spending increasing by almost £6 billion compared with the last financial year. Within tha…
+2 more contributions in this session
Commons
Statutory Instrument
23 June 2025
2 contributions
Draft Combined Authorities (Adult Education Functions) (Amendment) Order 2025
I beg to move,
That the Committee has considered the draft Combined Authorities (Adult Education Functions) (Amendment) Order 2025.
It is a pleasure to serve under you as Chair, Mr Stuart. The draft order was laid before the House on 19 May 2025. If it is approved, the Department for Education wil…
I appreciate the hon. Member’s interest in this issue, and his support for the outcomes of the draft order, which, as he acknowledged, is technical in nature. I appreciate his concerns about devolution, and the extent to which local areas are empowered to maximise outcomes from the funding. The inte…
Commons
Debate
19 June 2025
3 contributions
Water Safety Education
I join Members in congratulating my hon. Friend the Member for Southampton Itchen (Darren Paffey) on securing a debate on this incredibly important topic in this very timely week and on his powerful opening speech. I was truly saddened to hear of the deaths of his constituent Joe Abbess and Sunnah K…
The right hon. Member is right to recognise how fundamental swimming is, but it is really important to recognise that it is not enough, as has come across very strongly in this debate. But being able to swim is the foundation that every child should have. As the right hon. Gentleman will know, it ta…
+1 more contribution in this session
Commons
Oral Questions
Education
16 June 2025
5 contributions
Topical Questions
Labour is delivering a new era of high and rising school standards, because we know that when standards slip it is disadvantaged children who suffer, and we will not let that happen. That is why Labour’s regional improvement for standards and excellence teams are spearheading a stronger, faster syst…
We are investing significantly to make mainstream schools more inclusive for SEND students. By strengthening our evidence of effective inclusive practice, we are equipping teachers with proven tools and strategies to deliver excellent inclusive education supported by expert teaching and a world-clas…
+3 more contributions in this session
Commons
Oral Questions
Education
16 June 2025
3 contributions
SEND Strategy
Colleagues across the House have already heard today about the “lose, lose, lose” system that we inherited from the Conservatives. Improving the special educational needs and disabilities system is a priority. We are working to improve outcomes for all children. Parents should not have to fight for …
I know that my hon. Friend cares very deeply about this issue. I can reassure her that we are actively collaborating with sector parents and experts on how we drive forward our SEND reforms. That includes working closely with Dame Christine Lenehan, our strategic adviser on SEND, and Tom Rees, who l…
+1 more contribution in this session
Commons
Oral Questions
Education
16 June 2025
3 contributions
Outdoor Education: National Curriculum
It is important for young people to enjoy the benefits of spending time in nature, as part of a balanced curriculum. Beyond the curriculum, the Department is also working on an enrichment framework to support schools in developing their offer, which includes a variety of outdoor education opportunit…
I join my hon. Friend in recognising the value of outdoor pursuits and the value of the Duke of Edinburgh’s award, which I benefited from taking part in myself when I was at school. The Department has funded 300 schools in areas of high deprivation to start offering the award, and the Department for…
+1 more contribution in this session
Commons
Oral Questions
Education
16 June 2025
4 contributions
Employer National Insurance Contributions: School Redundancies
I am pleased to inform the House that the Government are over a third of the way to meeting our plan for change milestone: compared to last year, we have over 2,300 more teachers in schools and over 1,000 more in training. Whether on private school tax breaks or on teacher recruitment and retention,…
There is absolutely no complacency on the Government Benches—we saw complacency over the past 10 years, and we are picking up the pieces and fixing the system. We have committed significant funding to schools. We are providing mainstream schools and high needs settings with over £930 million to supp…
+2 more contributions in this session
Commons
Westminster Hall
11 June 2025
3 contributions
Outdoor Education
It is a pleasure to serve with you in the Chair, Dr Huq. I was so gripped by speech made by the hon. Member for Westmorland and Lonsdale (Tim Farron) that I forgot to get any water; I will pour some while I am starting, in case I get a frog in my throat.
I congratulate the hon. Gentleman on securin…
Yes. The particular Nature Education Park is for schools to use and adapt as required. I appreciate the concern that the hon. Gentleman raises. Ensuring that all children have access to an excellent education is a priority for this Government, and that includes children with special educational need…
+1 more contribution in this session