Commons
Oral Questions
25 February 2026
Electronic Travel Authorisation: Dual Nationals
In 2018, in the Windrush scandal, many of my constituents suffered the detriment of being denied access to their own country. A part of the learning from that scandal is that people do not always read information that is in the public domain, and they do not always have a hotline to Home Office mess…
Commons
Westminster Hall
25 February 2026
Student Loan Repayment Plans
It is a pleasure to see you in the Chair today, Ms Lewell. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Ilford South (Jas Athwal) for his powerful opening speech and for securing the debate. I declare an interest as a mum of two students who are currently in higher education.
I want to acknowledge the str…
Commons
Westminster Hall
24 February 2026
3 contributions
EU Membership Referendum: Impact on the UK
It is a pleasure to serve with you in the Chair, Sir Desmond. I thank the hon. Member for Arbroath and Broughty Ferry (Stephen Gethins) for his powerful speech in opening the debate.
In June 2016, my constituents voted overwhelmingly to remain in the European Union, following a campaign in which I …
My hon. Friend is right. The Office for Budget Responsibility is clear that Brexit has caused a 4% long-term reduction in GDP and has created a structural challenge in UK manufacturing. The export of UK goods to the EU has fallen by 27% and imports have fallen by 32%.
+1 more contribution in this session
Commons
Debate
23 February 2026
Schools White Paper: Every Child Achieving and Thriving
I welcome the publication of the schools White Paper, the clear statement of intent from the Government on narrowing the attainment gap and the consultation on SEND reform. I appreciate the time that the Government have taken, in preparing these reforms, to listen to parents, carers and children and…
Commons
Westminster Hall
10 February 2026
12 contributions
Inner-London Local Authorities: Funding
I beg to move,
That this House has considered funding for local authorities in inner London.
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship today, Dr Murrison. My constituency includes part of the London borough of Lambeth and part of the London borough of Southwark. Before I was elected to thi…
I am grateful to the hon. Member for his intervention. I will come on to talk about those sites in my constituency that have planning permission but currently are not funded to build the social homes that could be on those sites. I think that is an important part of how we solve these challenges.
T…
+10 more contributions in this session
Commons
Prime Minister's Questions
Prime Minister
4 February 2026
Engagements
Q10. I am proud that Labour MPs voted yesterday to remove the two-child limit and lift 400,000 children out of poverty, but child poverty cannot be eradicated while children are living in overcrowded temporary accommodation without their own bed or anywhere to do their homework. Will the Prime Minis…
Commons
Westminster Hall
4 February 2026
Nurseries and Early Years Providers: CCTV
I thank my hon. Friend for all the work she is doing, particularly on behalf of constituents who have been so badly traumatised by their recent experience. I am grateful to some of those parents for recently meeting the Education Committee privately to discuss the change they wish to see. On Tuesday…
Commons
Debate
3 February 2026
2 contributions
Universal Credit (Removal of Two Child Limit) Bill
Child poverty is a scourge on any society. It is a tragedy for individual children and families, and the untapped potential, worse health and lower attainment resulting from it hold the whole of society back. In the fifth richest economy in the world, it is also inexcusable. Under 14 years of Conser…
I will go on to talk a little about some of the further measures that I believe the Government need to take on this journey of tackling child poverty.
Evidence from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation is clear that, in the medium term, investment to bring down child poverty reduces the demand on public …
Commons
Ministerial Statement
29 January 2026
First 1,000 Days of Life
I thank my hon. Friend for her statement and the Health and Social Care Committee for all its work on this vital stage of childhood. Last year, the Education Committee published our report, “Solving the SEND Crisis”, which highlighted the following: the importance of early identification of special …
Commons
Westminster Hall
26 January 2026
Key Stage 1 Curriculum
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mrs Barker. I thank the hon. Member for South Cotswolds (Dr Savage) for introducing this debate, and the 106,082 people who signed the petition, of whom 182 are my constituents. I pay tribute to the campaigners, who are here today, for their important …
Commons
Ministerial Statement
20 January 2026
Mobile Phones and Social Media: Use by Children
I welcome the launch of the consultation and the Government’s commitment to an evidence-based approach. The evidence is clear that mobile phones have no place in schools. Many schools have managed to implement a ban, but those that have not done so, or which have only implemented a less successful v…
Commons
Oral Questions
Education
19 January 2026
Ukrainian GCSE
Last week, the Education Committee heard from the chief regulator at Ofqual about the demand for GCSEs in both Ukrainian and British Sign Language. He stated:
“There is no legal obstacle to a new awarding organisation that is not currently recognised to deliver GCSEs coming forward and asking to be…
Commons
Debate
12 January 2026
Social Media: Non-consensual Sexual Deepfakes
I welcome the Secretary of State’s statement and the additional steps she has announced today. It is important that action keeps pace with the speed of the technology that it seeks to influence, so can I press her on the timescale for the Ofcom investigation and any subsequent action that may be nee…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
17 December 2025
Local Government Finance
I thank the Minister for her statement. I particularly welcome the restoration of the link between funding for local government and deprivation, and the inclusion of housing costs within the measure of deprivation. It makes no sense to do anything other than that.
Even with the funding settlement, …
Commons
Ministerial Statement
17 December 2025
UK-EU Common Understanding Negotiations
I warmly welcome the announcement that the UK will rejoin Erasmus+. I had the opportunity to live and work in Europe as a young person aged 18, and it was an experience that has continued to benefit me throughout my life. I particularly welcome the extension of the scheme beyond study, and the Gover…
Commons
Debate
8 December 2025
Child Poverty Strategy
I warmly welcome the publication of the child poverty strategy, which builds on the steps that the Government have already taken, including expanding access to free school meals and introducing free breakfast clubs. I particularly welcome the removal of the two-child benefit cap. All the evidence is…
Commons
Debate
4 December 2025
Camden Nursery Sexual Abuse Case
I thank the Secretary of State for her statement.
Vincent Chan’s crimes are utterly horrific—the most egregious breach of trust imaginable, and every parent’s worst nightmare. My thoughts and, I know, the thoughts of the whole House have been with the children who are his victims, and with their fa…
Commons
Oral Questions
1 December 2025
SEND: Funding
This morning I visited the Nido Volans Centre, a specialist college in my constituency, and enjoyed a delicious cup of tea made by two students, Marco and Jason. Nido Volans means “Fly the Nest”, and the college provides education and training on independent living and employability skills for young…
Commons
Westminster Hall
27 November 2025
2 contributions
Domestic Abuse: Children
It is a pleasure to see you in the Chair, Ms Jardine. I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Isle of Wight West (Mr Quigley) on securing this important debate and on his powerful opening speech.
For far too long, our understanding of the impact of domestic abuse on children failed to recognis…
My hon. Friend raises an important issue. I hope that the Minister will be able to respond to that in her remarks.
We have a children’s social care system, and the tragic case of Sara Sharif—which the hon. Member for Woking (Mr Forster) spoke very powerfully about—is an important case in point wher…
Commons
Westminster Hall
24 November 2025
4 contributions
Gaza: Humanitarian Obligations
It is a pleasure to see you in the Chair, Ms Butler. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for North Ayrshire and Arran (Irene Campbell) for opening this important debate. I also thank the 1,351 residents of my constituency for signing the petition, a number that speaks to the extent of distress and con…
I agree with my hon. Friend that we need unfettered access to aid in Gaza. I turn my attention now to the current humanitarian crisis. The ceasefire has restored the distribution of aid to the UN, which is best placed to undertake that complex task and should never have been forced to stop operating…
+2 more contributions in this session
Commons
Ministerial Statement
18 November 2025
Gaza and Sudan
The Foreign Secretary spoke in her statement of Israeli restrictions strangling the Palestinian economy. These are not restrictions; they are strategic attempts to undermine the viability of Palestine by illegal settlement, harassment, intimidation, murder and displacement of Palestinians from their…
Commons
Debate
3 November 2025
Care Leavers
I congratulate my hon. Friend on securing this important debate. Care leavers need support; they need the state to deliver for them when family is sometimes not there in the way that it is for many young people. Does she agree with me and my Select Committee that we need to iron out the differences …
Commons
Westminster Hall
30 October 2025
3 contributions
Children’s Social Care
I beg to move,
That this House has considered the Fourth Report of the Education Committee, Children’s social care, HC 430, and the Government response, HC 1350.
It is a pleasure to see you in the Chair, Dr Huq. I am grateful to the Liaison Committee for granting time for this debate on the Educat…
On the work on extra-familial harms, what engagement is the Minister having with colleagues in the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government? That very much reflects my perspective as a constituency MP and the heartbreaking cases I have seen in my constituency, where a family needed to …
+1 more contribution in this session
Commons
Westminster Hall
29 October 2025
4 contributions
International Baccalaureate: Funding in State Schools
It is a pleasure to see you in the Chair, Sir Roger. I congratulate the hon. Member for Didcot and Wantage (Olly Glover) on securing this important debate.
Post-16 education is a vital stage of a young person’s life. Whether they are following an academic, vocational or technical pathway, it is the…
I think the Government are right to focus on how to improve education for every young person. If the hon. Member will bear with me, I will come on to some wider points about the importance of the IB, and the features of the IB that should be applicable more widely across the education sector. We nee…
+2 more contributions in this session
Commons
Oral Questions
Work and Pensions
27 October 2025
2 contributions
Post-16 Education: Skills Needed in the Economy
6. What steps he is taking with Cabinet colleagues to help ensure that post-16 education provides the necessary skills to support the economy.
My Committee’s recent report on further education and skills highlights the poor amount of information on vocational and technical training opportunities, including apprenticeships, available to young people while they are in school. We recommend that UCAS be expanded to provide a single portal for …