Oral Answers to Questions
Bridget Phillipson Excerpts(2 weeks, 6 days ago)
Commons ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
Irene Campbell (North Ayrshire and Arran) (Lab)
The Minister for Women and Equalities (Bridget Phillipson)
Tackling child poverty is a moral mission for this Government, and someone’s background should not determine what they go on to achieve in life. I am proud that we have now published our historic child poverty strategy, which will deliver the largest reduction in child poverty within a single Parliament by scrapping the two-child limit, expanding free school meals and backing families.
Patrick Hurley
Earlier this week, I visited the Bishop David Sheppard school in my constituency and saw at first hand the difference that breakfast clubs are making to children from disadvantaged backgrounds. Will the Minister explain how the Government’s commitment to expanding breakfast clubs will tackle child poverty and reduce inequalities across the country?
Bridget Phillipson
My hon. Friend is a real champion for local families, and I would be grateful if he extended my thanks to all the staff team at the Bishop David Sheppard primary school for the work that they are doing. Breakfast clubs make a huge difference to parents and children by expanding learning and giving our children a great start to the day, and this Labour Government will deliver a national roll-out of breakfast clubs across our country.
Baggy Shanker
In Arboretum in my constituency, half the children are growing up in poverty. That means hungry mornings, cold homes and kids who are four times more likely to face mental health problems by the time they are 11. What urgent action are the Government taking, across Government, to tackle child poverty and eliminate health inequalities so that all children can grow up in warmth and stability?
Bridget Phillipson
Alongside the expansion of our new free breakfast clubs, we are massively expanding free school meals and extra childcare for families. That runs alongside our work to roll out Best Start family hubs in every area, building on the proud Labour legacy of Sure Start to support families early when their children are young.
Irene Campbell
In my constituency of North Ayrshire and Arran, healthy life expectancy is currently 52.5 years for women and 52.6 years for men. That is, shockingly, the lowest in Scotland and provides clear evidence of increasing health inequalities compared with other parts of Scotland. Years ago, the Glasgow effect was often cited when looking at life expectancy and healthy life expectancy, but I fear that we now also have a North Ayrshire effect. Does the Minister agree that this is no way for people to start their lives and that the Scottish Government must do more to address these inequalities, given that they have had the biggest financial settlement in the history of devolution?
Bridget Phillipson
Those are truly shocking statistics. I know that my hon. Friend, Anas Sarwar and all Scottish Labour colleagues are working to kick out the SNP and show how Labour can make the NHS fit for the future, alongside our child poverty strategy, which will lift thousands of children in Scotland out of poverty. That is the difference that a Labour Government here in Westminster are making in Scotland.
Shivani Raja (Leicester East) (Con)
The best way to lift poverty is to support people into work and create jobs. What assessment have the Minister and her colleagues made of the impact that their crippling national insurance hike has had on families with children living in poverty?
Bridget Phillipson
Our child poverty strategy will deliver the biggest reduction in child poverty in any Parliament ever. That is the difference that a Labour Government are making. The hon. Members will surely recognise that the majority of children in poverty are in working families—people doing the right thing and working hard—and we are determined to support them.
Caroline Voaden (South Devon) (LD)
We know that poor housing contributes to child poverty. I have recently heard concerns about social housing providers in my constituency failing to carry out vital repairs to tackle damp and mould—some even choose to sell off homes rather than bring them up to the standard required under Awaab’s law, because it is too expensive to do so. What are the Government doing, particularly in the Women and Equalities unit and the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government, to stop social housing providers selling off homes and to ensure that every child has access to safe, warm, dry and affordable social housing?
Bridget Phillipson
Housing issues were a key feature of our work on the child poverty taskforce. Colleagues across Government are taking up such work. I am concerned about the cases that the hon. Lady raises. If she would like to share some details, I will make sure that a Minister looks into them and provides a response.
Mark Pritchard (The Wrekin) (Con)
Of course, poverty of aspiration contributes to inequalities. As the Minister will know, over 100,000 children in this country are in looked-after care, in secure homes, children’s homes and foster care. Every single one of those children has a skill, an ability, something to contribute to society. With her Secretary of State for Education hat on, will she consider scholarships for looked-after children so that they can develop those skills?
Bridget Phillipson
The right hon. Gentleman raises children’s social care reform, which has been an important focus of the Department for Education. We are supporting more families through kinship arrangements, expanding fostering and ensuring that we support children earlier in order to stop crises escalating. I would be happy to discuss further any other ideas that he might have.
Douglas McAllister (West Dunbartonshire) (Lab)
The Minister for Women and Equalities (Bridget Phillipson)
Next week is Race Equality Week, with the theme “Change needs all of us”. The Government’s race equality engagement group, chaired by Baroness Lawrence, is ensuring that we hear directly from those most affected by race inequality. Yesterday we marked Holocaust Memorial Day, and across the House we remembered the 6 million Jewish people murdered by the Nazis. We redouble our efforts to combat prejudice, hatred and antisemitism in all its forms.
Douglas McAllister
The gender pay gap for full-time employees in Scotland widened from 2% in 2024 to 3.5% in 2025. It is utterly unacceptable that, on the SNP’s watch, women in Scotland are earning less for the same hours. What can the UK Government do to improve matters for women across the country?
Bridget Phillipson
My hon. Friend is right: we must narrow that gap. We are ensuring that large employers, including in the Scottish private sector, publish plans on how they will address the gender pay gap. Of course, I am proud that, alongside my hon. Friend, this Labour Government are delivering the biggest upgrade in workers’ rights in a generation.
Claire Coutinho (East Surrey) (Con)
Nurses up and down the country, including the Darlington nurses and Jennifer Melle, are being hounded and harassed by the NHS simply for recognising that biological sex is real. I am grateful that the Minister has previously agreed to meet Jennifer and hope that she still will. The Minister takes up the cause of working-class women—these are working-class women, and they are being abused by people in positions of power—so will she go further by holding accountable those in the NHS, the Nursing and Midwifery Council and the unions who have harassed and victimised those hard-working nurses?
Bridget Phillipson
I look forward to meeting Jennifer soon to discuss her experiences and what more we can do to ensure that women in the NHS are safe at work. I am determined to ensure that the rights, voices and spaces for women who work in the NHS and women who are patients in the NHS are protected.
Claire Coutinho
In the case of Gorton and Denton, we heard this week that the Muslim Vote has decided to endorse the Green party. This is overt sectarism in our midst, and we know that where we have sectarian politics, conflict and strife follow. Even one of Labour’s candidates at the last election was threatened with beheading, but nobody in the Labour party seems to be able to confront this problem. Will the Secretary of State call it out for what it is—sectarian politics that has no place in Britain?
Bridget Phillipson
I am not aware of the particular case that the right hon. Lady describes. What I can say is that violence, intimidation or harassment has no place in our politics. No political candidate or Member of Parliament should be subject to that kind of experience. I am very much looking forward to going to campaign and make the case to the people there.
Oral Answers to Questions
Bridget Phillipson Excerpts(3 months, 1 week ago)
Commons ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text Watch Debate Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
Gill Furniss (Sheffield Brightside and Hillsborough) (Lab)
The Minister for Women and Equalities (Bridget Phillipson)
In October, we celebrated Black History Month. It has been an opportunity to renew our commitment to maintaining all the progress that we have made and ensuring that racial hatred has no place in our society. This year also marks the 60th anniversary of the Race Relations Act 1965, enacted by a Labour Government. We will continue to build on its legacy with our plans to introduce the equality (race and disability) Bill in this Parliament, and we have also established the Race Equality Engagement Group, chaired by the noble Baroness Lawrence.
Gill Furniss
Endometriosis care is in urgent need of reform. I have lost track of the number of young women who have contacted me to share their horror stories, some of whom have waited more than a decade to receive a diagnosis. The system is failing them. I welcome the Government’s commitment to update the women’s health strategy, but can the Minister confirm that menstrual health conditions such as these will be at the forefront of the renewed strategy?
Bridget Phillipson
I am grateful to my hon. Friend for all her campaigning on this issue. She is right that too many women suffer trauma and pain, their symptoms and concerns not taken seriously. We are committed to prioritising women’s health. We have commissioned a number of studies focused on endometriosis diagnosis, treatment and patient experience, alongside six research trials, totalling an investment of approximately £5.8 million. This will be an essential part of our 10-year health plan.
Claire Coutinho (East Surrey) (Con)
In January, the Supreme Court ruled that sex means biological sex. This was a huge victory for women’s rights, but now we hear that the Minister is kicking the Equality and Human Rights Commission’s much-needed guidance into the long grass. The law is not changing—the law is as it has always been—so will she release the guidance and make sure that women’s rights are protected?
Bridget Phillipson
If I may, Mr Speaker, I would just like to say how moved I was by the interview that the right hon. Lady gave to The Times about her experience and that of her son. I am really pleased that both of them are doing so well and that she is back with us in this House today.
We are committed to protecting single-sex spaces. As I set out in this House, I welcome the clarity of the Supreme Court ruling and providers should follow it. The EHRC has given me the code of practice and we are working through that. It is a lengthy document covering all the protected characteristics. Any suggestion of delay is simply wrong. The EHRC should know that I am legally required to consult the devolved Governments. The EHRC has not been asked to carry out a full regulatory impact assessment, but instead a minimum assessment.
Laurence Turner (Birmingham Northfield) (Lab)
Edward Morello (West Dorset) (LD)
Bridget Phillipson
I recognise the concern the hon. Gentleman raises and that many Members from across the House have raised. That is why we will be setting out our plans to make improvements to the system through the schools White Paper. I would welcome the contribution of the hon. Gentleman and his colleagues as part of that process, because it is important that we put children’s interests first and get to the right system, particularly around early identification of need.
Dr Simon Opher (Stroud) (Lab)
Alison Griffiths (Bognor Regis and Littlehampton) (Con)
Mr Speaker, last night I was honoured to speak at an event you kindly hosted with the Royal National Institute for Deaf People. I met Craig, the chief executive of Action Deafness, which delivers vital services across my constituency, as well as Stuart, an academic focused on the needs of deaf young people. They told me that deaf people too often navigate support from siloed health, education and welfare systems that create barriers. What steps is the Minister taking to co-ordinate cross-departmental support for deaf people to prevent them from falling between the gaps?
Bridget Phillipson
The hon. Lady raises an important point. I would be more than happy to make sure that she has a meeting with the relevant Minister to discuss her concerns, and that action is being taken across Government to address them.