Toilet-training: Support for Parents

Baroness Bousted Excerpts

Monday 5th January 2026 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Blake of Leeds (Lab)]

I am looking forward, as I am sure the noble Baroness is, to the professional strategy for nursing and midwifery, which will come out with our workforce plan through the 10-year plan for the health service. These are really important areas; we need to have a real focus. I am pleased that she recognises just what an important issue this is, how it can actually indicate further problems and what can be done to resolve them.

[Baroness Bousted (Lab)]

Does the Minister agree that the exponential rise in child poverty in the period in government of the previous Administration caused huge harm to children in school readiness, in toilet-training, and in speech and language development? Teachers reported that children came to school significantly harmed by the poverty in which their families lived. Does she agree that that is one of the major causes of the problems we now see?

[Baroness Blake of Leeds (Lab)]

My noble friend is right to highlight this. A situation where 4.5 million children in this country live in poverty and over a million children are reliant on food banks is a terrible indictment of what has happened to families and their children over the past decade or so. I am delighted that tackling child poverty is a top priority for this Government and look forward to rolling out the recommendations.