Oral Answers to Questions

John Whitby Excerpts

Monday 2nd March 2026 Commons Chamber

[Georgia Gould]

The hon. Member is right: the timeliness of EHCPs has been unacceptable, and it is something that we are taking seriously. That is why we have put the extra resource in—as part of the schools White Paper, we are putting £200 million directly into councils to support their capacity—but this is something that we will be monitoring closely. I am happy to talk to him in more detail about his concerns.

[John Whitby (Derbyshire Dales) (Lab)]

4. What steps she is taking to help prevent the use of phones by children in schools.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Education (Olivia Bailey)]

Mobile phones have no place in our schools. We have published strengthened guidance that is clear that all schools should be mobile phone-free environments by default for the entire school day. Ofsted will be checking this at every inspection.

[John Whitby]

What assessment has been made of the magnetic lockable pouches that are being used in some schools as a way of preventing any smartphone access during the entire school day, including lunch time and breaks? Could a national roll-out of those be considered?