Schools White Paper: Every Child Achieving and Thriving

Ian Lavery Excerpts

Monday 23rd February 2026 Commons Chamber

[Bridget Phillipson]

We will consult on whether to make changes to the national funding formula. But this change is urgent and much needed, and it falls to this Labour Government to deliver.

[Ian Lavery (Blyth and Ashington) (Lab)]

Every MP in the House will have had parents explain the difficulties they face accessing support for their children. They are on their knees; they are desperate; they are distraught. The system is adversarial and quite often has a negative end result. Will my right hon. Friend advise me and reassure this House that any new system set up will be quick, easy, accessible and less adversarial?

[Bridget Phillipson]

Yes, that is exactly our intention. I know that parents have fought really hard, and will continue to fight really hard, to get the support that their children need, but there are lots of families in our country who do not have the fight in them, because of poverty or disadvantage, or because they are marginalised. Those families need early and timely support that does not require them to hire a lawyer or go to a tribunal, and that is exactly what we will deliver.