Early Education and Childcare
Stephen Morgan Excerpts(1 week, 5 days ago)
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The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Education (Stephen Morgan)
With permission, I will make a statement to update the House on this Government’s vital work to give every child the best start in life.
Within months of taking office we published our plan for change, a promise to improve the lives of working people and break down barriers to opportunity for people in this country. That plan set a target that a record proportion of children will start school ready to learn. Why? Because the foundations of the stronger society that we want to build must be laid down from the very beginning of children’s lives. In July, we published our “Giving every child the best start in life” strategy, setting out how we will achieve that target, and the Government’s vision for the future of the early education and childcare sector.
We have heard the calls of families and providers. Education begins long before primary school, and this step change will give our children the focus and priorities that they deserve during their critical early years. We will help our youngest children by increasing the availability of childcare, improving the quality of early education and boosting support for families, building on the best of Sure Start by rolling out Best Start family hubs in every local authority in England. Taken together, those three approaches will make the difference to families and set up children for success in education and in life. It is yet another example of this Government working, with promises made, and promises kept.
We promised to make childcare more affordable for parents and more accessible across the country. Today we are delivering on that promise, with hundreds of thousands of parents now getting 30 hours of funded childcare each week, from when their child turns nine months until they start school. For too long, families have struggled to get childcare places that match their individual needs, and provision has been either unavailable or unaffordable. The least well-off parts of our country often have far fewer childcare places per person than the most affluent, but wide provision of high-quality childcare and early education makes a huge difference to many lives. It helps parents by giving them the flexibility to balance work and family life, and it helps businesses and the economy by helping parents return to work and growing the childcare sector and employment.
This marks a fundamental shift in how we support families right from the start: reducing costs, increasing choice, and helping parents to balance work with family. Those making full use of the offer will save, on average, around £7,500 a year. For Victoria in Gloucester, the 30 hours is helping her to balance being a single mother and an educator. She works five days a week, and the extended Government-funded childcare hours will save her around £600 a month. They also mean that she can continue her career. As Victoria says:
“This roll-out is a significant step forward in women’s rights and workplace participation.”
We are on track to reach over half a million children who will benefit from the scheme this term, already exceeding initial estimates for delivery, and the roll-out is a major step forward in our ambition to give every child the best start in life. We know that that ambition is shared by our brilliant and dedicated early years and childminder staff who work hard day in, day out to make it possible for families. Private, voluntary and independent nurseries, as well as childminders, have helped the Government to reach this important milestone, and they have grown their capacity in response to increased demand for childcare places. More providers are delivering the entitlements, with the number up by 5,800 private providers.
The sector plays a vital role in supporting families and nurturing young children, so we must ensure that its provision is available where it is most needed. That is why we are also delivering tens of thousands more childcare places via new and expanded school-based nurseries. Schools have reported that 110 nurseries from phase 1 of the programme opened this week at the start of term, and they are providing 2,500 places for families in parts of the country where provision is needed. Those nurseries join a diverse childcare market that offers families different choices to meet their needs. School-based nurseries can strengthen ties between parents and schools, and ease the transition into reception. For families with children of different ages, they offer easier drop-offs and pick-ups. School-based nurseries also play a key role in inclusion by caring for proportionally more young children with special educational needs and operating in disadvantaged areas. We have already funded around 300 new and expanded school-based nurseries, and thanks to the hard work of schools, they are on track to deliver up to 6,000 new nursery places.
We are laying the foundations of success for tens of thousands of young children, and today I am proud to tell the House that we are launching phase 2 of the school-based nurseries programme. Backed by £45 million, it will deliver 300 more new or expanded school-based nurseries. It will focus on disadvantaged areas where places are needed, and where they can make a big impact. We will build on the success of the first phase of the programme, and as before, schools can apply to establish new nurseries in partnership with private, voluntary and independent providers and childminders.
Last week I had the pleasure of visiting Cinnamon Brow Church of England primary school in Warrington. It had collaborated with an existing local private nursery to refurbish an unused mobile unit, creating a new nursery on the school site. I was so pleased and impressed by the partnership between everyone involved. It is a great example of how schools can work with established nurseries to expand childcare provision and break down barriers to opportunity.
The programme is already making a difference to families in 66 local authorities, and we are looking ahead to further grow provision for future generations. Phase 3 of the school-based nurseries programme will launch in early 2026, and will focus on meeting the long-term needs of local communities. Local authorities will be invited to develop multi-year funding proposals, in collaboration with schools and childcare providers. Backed by over £400 million, the programme will deliver on our manifesto commitment to parents of more places in school-based nurseries, and more affordable childcare for parents.
Families know that childcare needs do not stop when children start school. That is why we recently extended the holiday activities and food programme, investing over £600 million in young people’s futures. The programme provides nutritious meals and enriching activities for children from lower-income households, it helps to close the development gap between those children and their peers, and it eases the financial pressure on parents during the school holidays. The holiday activities and food programme has already reached half a million children in the past year, and during that time it has saved families over £300 each. It is another part of our mission to break down barriers to opportunity, so that every child can get the best start in life.
Our “best start in life” strategy sets out how we will support this country’s children to thrive as they grow up. Alongside the £9 billion that this Government will be investing in early years, we will spend nearly £1.5 billion over the next three years to strengthen the childcare sector and revitalise family services. By expanding funded childcare and growing provision where it is needed via school-based nurseries, more children will arrive in reception ready to learn and succeed in education. The measures I have set out today reflect this Government’s deep commitment to ensuring that every family can access high-quality childcare and early education, and that all children can reach a good level of development and start school ready to learn. That will help families to save money, earn more and give children the best possible start in life. I commend this statement to the House.
Madam Deputy Speaker (Ms Nusrat Ghani)
I call the shadow Education Minister.
Saqib Bhatti (Meriden and Solihull East) (Con)
I thank the Minister for advance sight of his statement, and it is a pleasure to be at the Dispatch Box for the very first time as shadow Education Minister.
Education is the greatest enabler of success and opportunity in this country. All Members of the House regularly visit our local schools, colleges and universities, and we see at first hand the power of a good education. Britain has some exceptionally talented young people. I look forward to working constructively with the Minister to help drive up educational standards across the country, so that those young people can get the very best start in life. Of course, when we were in government, we were ranked fourth in the world for reading, and top in the western world for maths.
It is fantastic news that, from this week, parents will benefit from 30 hours of funded childcare a week for children aged from nine months to four years. I am proud that this Conservative plan—our policy—is having its final roll-out to provide childcare for working parents, which is what they need and deserve. This Conservative policy will save parents £7,500 a year per child. I also welcome the extension of the holiday activities and food programme, after its long-term future has remained unclear for many months.
It is fantastic to see how enthusiastic the Education Minister is about the plan. I remind the House that only two years ago when we announced our childcare policies—the policies that are having their final roll-out announced now—the Secretary of State for Education herself labelled our childcare plans “broken” and a “total mess”. Only one year ago, she refused to commit to rolling out our childcare plan altogether, so I am grateful for the change of heart and that she has put party politics aside to deliver the support that working parents need. Our children should always come first.
We welcome the expansion of childcare, but the announcements mean little when the industry itself is crumbling as a result of the actions taken by this Labour Government, most notably the damaging jobs tax. Earlier this week, 27 leading organisations representing children, parents and childcare providers wrote to the Education Secretary calling for urgent action following the hike in national insurance contributions. Without such action, the sector has warned that it will not be able to provide the final roll-out of childcare, with one in 10 childcare providers saying that they will face closure within the next two years without help, leaving the sector at risk of collapse.
The Early Education and Childcare Coalition stated that the hike in national insurance has created a “perfect storm”, leaving many providers in a position where offering childcare is simply unviable. Instead of listening to the experts and organisations tasked with looking after our children, the Department’s shameful response was to label the claims as lies and “utter nonsense”. How disrespectful to parents, children and the childcare sector. What is utter nonsense is the fact that the Minister expects childcare providers to absorb the national insurance increases without the financial support needed, while keeping fees the same. We need to be clear: it is not just the sector that will be punished because of the Minister’s lack of coherent planning; hard-working parents and their children across the country will suffer too.
Will the Minister outline what engagement he has had with the sector to ensure that providers are not forced to shut their doors or reduce the hours they provide? Will he finally admit how damaging the jobs tax has been to the childcare sector, and what the impact and costs will be? Will he update the House on the impact of the jobs tax on childcare provision, and how he will continue to monitor its impact?
On the detail of the Minister’s announcement, will he clarify how the Department is identifying the most disadvantaged areas, and how he plans to make the biggest impact? Will he put parents up and down the country at ease and confirm that the Chancellor will not fill her £50 billion black hole with the education budget? While we welcome the expansion of childcare, the reality is that Labour’s decisions are making childcare less accessible and more expensive.
The Education Secretary says she is standing up for hard-working parents, but they are the ones who will suffer as a result of this Labour Government—our children will suffer, too. It is time for her to stop making broken promises and to ensure that early years provision is her No. 1 priority.
Stephen Morgan
I start by welcoming the shadow Minister to his place on the Opposition Front Bench, but it is shocking that even now the Conservatives cannot bring themselves to recognise the significance of Labour’s childcare expansion, nor can they celebrate the new school-based nurseries that make more affordable childcare places available across the country. Despite the Conservatives’ scaremongering, nine in 10 parents have one of their first choice childcare places. This Labour Government inherited a pledge without a plan but, once again, we are delivering for families, giving parents more choice and setting children up with the best start in life.
The people of this country are well aware of what happens when Conservative Members make pledges ahead of elections, such as 40 new hospitals or levelling up, and of the reality that Liz Truss crashed pensions and mortgages. What did Conservative Members do? They cheered her on. Let me spell it out to them and tell them a truth that the British public were keen to ensure that the Conservatives heard at the election last year: when they will not even take the blame for the things that they did, they certainly will not get the credit for the things that they did not do. Over 14 years, they dismantled the support for families. More than 1,000 Sure Start centres, which boosted early learning, provided healthcare and built communities, were ripped away from communities across our country. It is no wonder that the Conservatives do not want to admit that what we are rebuilding, they destroyed.
This Government are delivering on our promise of change: thousands of new nursery places, expanded childcare hours, Best Start breakfast clubs in every primary school across our country and support throughout the school holidays. Labour is delivering on our promises to parents. We are saving families thousands of pounds, giving parents work choices and improving children’s life chances. That is what the country expects and that is what I am proud this Labour Government are delivering.
Madam Deputy Speaker (Ms Nusrat Ghani)
I call the Chair of the Education Committee.
Helen Hayes (Dulwich and West Norwood) (Lab)
I welcome the Minister’s statement: the expansion of funded childcare hours this week; the future expansion of school-based nurseries; and confirmation of a further three years of funding for the holiday activities and food programme.
My Committee is today launching an inquiry on the early years. We will examine in detail the Government’s work in this area, looking at the sustainability of the workforce, families’ access to services across the country and the quality of outcomes for children. May I therefore ask the Minister what additional work he believes is needed to ensure that children in families who are not in work—who often have the most to gain from high-quality early years education—are not left behind by the expansion of funded hours for working families? How confident is he that the significant problems in recruitment and retention of early years practitioners will be addressed to secure the workforce needed to deliver on the Government’s commitments?
Finally, will the Minister join me in paying tribute to everyone in my constituency and across the country who has spent the past six weeks running holiday activities and food programmes? I know they are utterly exhausted this week, but they should know that their hard work has helped to tackle poverty and disadvantage, and to provide vital opportunities that keep children and young people safe and help them to thrive.
Stephen Morgan
The Chair of the Select Committee is a real champion for maintained nurseries across the country, and I know that she shares the Government’s vision of ensuring that every child gets the best start in life and has the chance to succeed and thrive. As she knows, we set out our vision for early education in our landmark strategy in July. I look forward to receiving formal notice of her Committee’s inquiry and to working with her and the Committee in a constructive manner, putting the needs of children and young people first. I pay tribute to all those who worked over the summer to deliver for children and young people. As a former playworker, I see the huge value of the HAF programme. I commend all those who work so hard over the summer holidays.
Munira Wilson (Twickenham) (LD)
High-quality early years education is the best possible investment we can make in our future. Whether we are serious about tackling the SEND crisis or the attainment gap, or are simply concerned to give every child the best start in life, proper investment in the early years is one of the strongest levers we have.
We all know that for far too long the previous Conservative Government neglected the early years sector, leaving a legacy of sky-high fees and childcare deserts in their wake, particularly in disadvantaged areas. We Liberal Democrats therefore welcome the Government’s announcement of more school-based nurseries, alongside the extension of funded childcare hours—but let us not forget the deep problems facing the private and voluntary sector. Without addressing the massive financial strain on those nurseries and childcare providers, we can never hope to deliver for families. Their survival is absolutely central to supporting families up and down the country to thrive.
The Government’s jobs tax, I am afraid, has only added fuel to the fire. The financial pressures of underfunded hours, the national insurance contributions rise, and inflation have left many providers on the brink. Indeed, some nurseries are already telling parents that they may be unable to sign the new contract due to financial pressures. Earlier this week, in a letter published by the Early Years Alliance, a survey of more than 800 providers found that 44% could not meet demand this September, while one in six has already cut funded places. That is coupled with a crisis in recruitment and training of staff in the sector; if the providers and the staff are not there, how can the Minister expect his expansion to deliver for parents up and down the country?
Will the Minister commit to urgently reviewing the funding rates, so that they reflect the real cost of delivering high-quality early education? At the same time, will he work with his colleagues in the Department for Business and Trade to ensure that we extend and fully fund parental rights so that families up and down the country have a real choice between whether they want to stay at home for a longer period in the early months, or go out to work full time?
Stephen Morgan
I thank the hon. Lady for welcoming our expansion of childcare. I note again that nine in 10 parents received one of their first choice childcare places. We are determined that our childcare expansion will deliver safe, quality care for children. I know that the whole House agrees that the safety and wellbeing of children is of paramount importance. That is why alongside this expansion, which will support hard-working families, we are increasing the frequency of Ofsted inspections and enhancing recruitment checks to prevent unsuitable individuals from working with children, alongside new whistleblowing requirements. The strengthened safeguarding requirements have been added to the statutory framework from this month, giving parents greater confidence that as we expand childcare access, it will be of high quality.
The hon. Lady makes a number of points about the challenges faced by the sector. The number of people working in the sector has increased by 18,000, and as I mentioned in my statement, there are now 5,800 new private providers delivering the entitlement. We will review funding distribution later in this academic year. I welcome the opportunity to continue to work with the hon. Lady on these issues, as we continue to increase access to high-quality education across our country. I look forward to meeting her in due course.
Ms Stella Creasy (Walthamstow) (Lab/Co-op)
I welcome the Minister’s recognition of the impact of this policy on equality. He will know that this Monday was Mums’ Equal Pay Day. Mums earn 33% less than dads, so from 1 September, mums in this country basically work for free. Affordable childcare is critical to closing that gap. As new organisation Growth Spurt points out, a third of women who are not in work at the moment say that it is caring responsibilities that stop them from working. Will the Minister meet me and Growth Spurt to look at how we can get jobcentres, which do not routinely tell parents about tax-free childcare and the funded hours process, to help in this respect, so that together we can end the motherhood penalty?
Stephen Morgan
My hon. Friend is a real champion for mothers, and I commend her for all her hard work in this place over the years. In our “Giving every child the best start in life” strategy, published in July, we set out that we plan to make the process simpler for parents, and we will be working across Government to ensure that issues are addressed so that all children are able to access the entitlement offer. I would be delighted to meet her to discuss these issues further.
Damian Hinds (East Hampshire) (Con)
There were five major expansions of early years education and childcare entitlement under the last Government; what the Minister has announced today would have been our sixth. But since we formed this policy, the new Government have made a massive increase in the tax on jobs. When will Ministers next publish their assessment of the economics of running a nursery and of how they ensure that there will continue to be adequate supply of high-quality places, in places like Alton, Petersfield and Horndean?
Stephen Morgan
As I mentioned earlier, we inherited a pledge without a plan. I commend the hard work of early years providers and local authorities to deliver this key milestone for working families across the country this week. This year alone, we plan to provide over £8 billion for early years entitlement, rising to £9 billion next year. We announced the largest ever increase in the early years pupil premium, and a £75 million early years expansion grant has delivered support to the sector to increase the places and workforce that was needed. On top of that, we will review funding rates during the course of the next academic year.
Mark Sewards
Will the Minister join me in encouraging parents in my constituency of Leeds South West and Morley to take advantage of everything this Government have done to make the lives of parents and children easier?
Stephen Morgan
Well, I thank my hon. Friend for that very good question! It was a real privilege to visit his constituency and to see the brilliant work that childcare providers are doing in his patch, ensuring that every child gets the best start in life. He is a real voice on these issues, and will be working closely with me and the team to deliver further change for our country.
Sir Julian Lewis (New Forest East) (Con)
After that tough question, may I ask an easy one? Can the Minister explain to the House what the funding level is for the new places, and in particular whether it fully compensates for an average £18,000 increase in the bills that nurseries have to face as a result in the rise in national insurance contributions?
Stephen Morgan
As I mentioned earlier, £8 billion will be spent on the entitlement offer this year, increasing to £9 billion next year. The core funding rates do include forecasts around earnings, inflation and increases to the national living wage, but as I mentioned, we will review the funding distribution in due course and will consult on that formally.
Darren Paffey (Southampton Itchen) (Lab)
I thank the Minister for his statement. As schools and early years providers start the new term across Southampton this week, we have two new nurseries—at St Mary’s Church of England primary school and at Valentine primary school—which will add to that provision thanks to the investment of this Labour Government. That is going to make an enormous difference to families in an area where one in four children are growing up in low-income families. Will the Minister join me in thanking everyone working across all Southampton early years settings to give children the best start in life, and in urging parents to ensure that they take this support and all the other support that has been mentioned that is also being delivered by this Government?
Stephen Morgan
I thank my hon. Friend from along the south coast for his question. I know that Portsmouth football club are very much looking forward to playing Southampton this season. We promised to make childcare more affordable and we are delivering on that. I pay tribute to him and the work that he did in local government, and is now doing in this place, to ensure that childcare is more affordable and accessible for children in his constituency.
Caroline Voaden (South Devon) (LD)
I welcome the Government’s commitment to and recognition of the importance of early years provision, and the support for school-based nurseries, like the new Little Thinkers at Kings Ash academy and the nursery at Furzeham primary school. However, like others, I am deeply concerned about recruitment in the sector. Daisy and Rainbow Childcare said to me this morning:
“Our biggest difficulty is managing the drop off in funding as the child gets older, while negotiating a 37% increase in ENICs, ongoing increases in minimum wages and a rate for three and four-year-olds that has never kept pace. Is it any wonder that practitioners are voting with their feet and leaving the sector to take their skills elsewhere? We’ve been advertising for a qualified practitioner now for three months with zero applications.”
Will the Minister explain what the Government are going to do to ensure that recruitment in the sector is maintained?
Stephen Morgan
The early years workforce is at the heart of our Government’s mission to give every child the best start in life. I mentioned earlier that we have seen an uplift in the number of people working in the sector by 18,000 this year. Our best start in life strategy set out a range of measures that we will take to encourage more people to work in the sector. I am proud that we have the “Do Something Big” campaign—a real effort to increase the number of people working in the sector—which is making a real difference across our country.
David Williams (Stoke-on-Trent North) (Lab)
Back in the early 2000s, I worked for Labour’s incredible Sure Start children’s centres in my constituency of Stoke-on-Trent North and Kidsgrove. With Labour back in office, we have the roll-out of breakfast clubs at Greenways and Milton primary academies, a new school-based nursery at Smallthorne, extended family hubs and extended funded places. Does the Minister agree that it is only with a Labour Government that families really get on and that young people get the best start in life?
Stephen Morgan
My hon. Friend has just reminded us of the value of voting Labour at the last election, and why it is so important to have people like him speaking up for working families across the country. As he mentioned, the childcare entitlement, the investment in free breakfast clubs and making more children eligible for free school meals can make a real difference and help to ensure that every child gets the best start in life.
Greg Smith (Mid Buckinghamshire) (Con)
Today is my youngest child’s first day at school, so may I put on record my thanks to Chearsley and Haddenham Under Fives for providing exceptional early years education to both my sons, Charlie and Rupert, over recent decades? I mean years—it feels like decades!
There is much to genuinely welcome from the expansion of the childcare revolution that the Minister has outlined today, which was started by the previous Government. However, coalface reports from providers like the Big Top Nursery, which has sites in Waddesdon and Berryfields in my constituency, say that Government funding only just covers or does not quite cover the full cost of them providing the exceptional care and education that they do. The double whammy of the national insurance jobs tax increase makes that all the more difficult, so may I urge the Minister, who has met me before to discuss this subject, to really look at the true cost of providing exceptional education to children in Mid Buckinghamshire, and make the case to the Treasury that the funding needs to be higher?
Stephen Morgan
I wish the hon. Gentleman’s children good luck as they start school this week. As I mentioned earlier, in this financial year alone we plan to provide more than £8 billion for early years entitlement—an increase of more than 30% compared with the last financial year. We have also announced the largest increase in the early years pupil premium since its introduction, which is a significant boost, and investment in targeted support for the most disadvantaged in our communities. As I mentioned earlier, we will review funding rates in due course, and I am very happy to meet the hon. Member to discuss these issues.
Sam Rushworth (Bishop Auckland) (Lab)
While the leader of Reform UK, the hon. Member for Clacton (Nigel Farage), is off in America encouraging them to ruin the livelihoods of families in Bishop Auckland, I am really pleased that this Government are saving my constituents thousands of pounds in childcare, but this is not just about childcare. We know that the ages of nought to five are the most important in deciding a person’s outcomes later in life, which includes the interventions in the Best Start family hubs. The previous Government closed 13 Sure Start centres in my constituency; this Government are making a good start, but we will still only really have one hub. Will the Minister meet me to discuss some of our goals locally to open a couple more centres and see how we can support that best start for children in our area?
Stephen Morgan
I am very happy to meet my hon. Friend. The 1,000 Best Start family hubs that we have been rolling out across the country will make a huge difference, ensuring that every child gets the best start in life, alongside the parent hub that we launched earlier this week, which will provide practical support to parents on breastfeeding, access to childcare and other issues. I note that no Reform Members are in the House today, and I know the public will note that too.
Jess Brown-Fuller (Chichester) (LD)
I thank the Minister for his statement. Maintained nurseries such as Chichester nursery school provide bespoke support for children, especially those with special educational needs and disabilities, but less than 400 maintained nurseries remain open. Will he outline what steps he is taking to ensure long-term financial stability for those nurseries so that they can keep the lights on and continue supporting the children they care for in their critical early years?
Stephen Morgan
We aim to ensure that every child with developmental differences and special educational needs is supported at the start of their life. The hon. Lady will know that we will publish a White Paper on those issues later this year. I commend the work of maintained nurseries; they provide a unique role in communities across the country, and I hope they have a bright future ahead of them in the light of the ambitions we set out in the “best start in life” strategy in July.
Dave Robertson (Lichfield) (Lab)
I thank the Minister for all the work he has done in bringing us so far, so quickly. I have three school nurseries opening in my constituency this year, which will mean dozens of families and scores of children being given the very best start. Can he advise me on how best I can remind those parents that while we hear platitudes from Opposition parties, they have either voted against or failed to support all the measures we are taking to fund this provision? The Minister mentioned a plan without a pledge; it is this Government who are delivering on a plan for that pledge.
Stephen Morgan
I can tell from my hon. Friend’s question how passionate he is about these issues. This Government want to break down the barriers to opportunity to ensure that every child succeeds and thrives. I have already set out a number of measures that we are undertaking to deliver that, and I really look forward to working with him to ensure that every child in his constituency gets the best start in life, whatever their background.
Tom Gordon (Harrogate and Knaresborough) (LD)
I welcome the positive step towards providing affordable childcare. Coppice Valley primary school in my constituency is part of phase 1 of the scheme that the Minister outlined. However, it worries me that what he has outlined might come at the expense of private and voluntary sector providers, which deliver the majority of early years places. The new early years funding contract is putting huge strain on such providers, which are having to pass the unaffordable costs on to parents. The Minister has said that there will be a review of the funding in due course, but can he give us some more specific dates and timelines? Nurseries and parents cannot afford this issue in the meantime.
Stephen Morgan
It is really important that early years education is delivered in a way that is fair and affordable for parents. As a key part of the strategy we published earlier this year, I am very pleased that there are schools in the hon. Gentleman’s constituency that will deliver the school-based nursery programme. As I mentioned in my statement, I visited one in Warrington last week that was a really good partnership between the school and a private provider. I really encourage him to look at that model to see how that could work in his constituency.
Several hon. Members rose—
Stephen Morgan
We will in due course set out more details on how we will evaluate the programme, but we have already learned lessons from the first phase on how we want to receive and evaluate applications. I really encourage the hon. Member to meet me to look at the detail, and I am very happy to discuss these issues further.
Siân Berry (Brighton Pavilion) (Green)
The work I did this year with Mandu Reid, the former leader of the Women’s Equality party, found a continuing crisis among the providers of childcare. Our call was for broader investment in pay, conditions and training, to mitigate national insurance contribution burdens and to take real action on morale. How will the £45 million announced today really help those existing childcare workers who are right on the verge of leaving the sector?
Stephen Morgan
The hon. Lady is absolutely right about the valuable role that childminders play in the childcare we are delivering across our country. We have seen the number of childminders halve in recent years, which is why we are investing in their workforce. They are key to our plan for change, and we are committed to working with the sector to deliver the changes that we set out at the election.
Gareth Snell (Stoke-on-Trent Central) (Lab/Co-op)
I think the whole House can welcome the investment that has been announced today. We know that going through early education makes young people more ready for school, and closing the school readiness gap also closes the attainment gap later on in education settings. When I visit primary schools across Stoke-on-Trent Central, the one thing they tell me is that they are bursting at the seams—they are full. Will the Minister set out what conversations he has had, either inside the Department or between his Department and the Treasury, about identifying the capital funding necessary to ensure that schools have the high-quality physical spaces in which these nurseries will be based?
Stephen Morgan
I know my hon. Friend is a real champion for encouraging children to learn and to engage in their local community, and I have met him to discuss the work we are doing on literacy, and I am very happy to take away the points he raises. We are investing in the school-based nursery programme and in school capital funding. If he has particular examples that he wants me to follow up on in the Department, I am very happy to do so.
Lincoln Jopp (Spelthorne) (Con)
I visited a nursery in Staines in my constituency, and the head there reported to me that, because of the charging regime and what they can and cannot charge for, every Saturday morning she ends up doing many hours of work on education, health and care plans, for which she cannot pass on the cost. Does the Minister recognise that phenomenon? If so, is it widespread?
Stephen Morgan
The hon. Member makes a number of points with regard to charging. It is worth saying that we updated the statutory guidance on Government-funded entitlement so that it gives additional information to parents on what they can and cannot be charged for. That is about bringing transparency to the system so that parents can access more information on what they can and cannot expect, and it confirms the ruling from the High Court judgment earlier this year on what providers can and cannot charge for. I mentioned earlier that we are reviewing the broken SEND system that we inherited from the Conservatives. We are getting on and delivering a system that is fairer and ensures that confidence and trust is rebuilt with parents.
Matt Rodda (Reading Central) (Lab)
I warmly welcome the Minister’s announcement today. Will he say a little more about the wide range of potential benefits to families, to children, in terms of their educational development, and to the wider economy as a result of helping parents to get back to work?
Stephen Morgan
My hon. Friend is a real champion on these issues in his constituency. What we are announcing today will give more choice and convenience to parents, helping to cut the double drop-off and making daily life easier for them. More families will save money with funded childcare worth up to £7,500 a year, and more children will start school ready to learn, with high-quality early years provision in their communities.
James MacCleary (Lewes) (LD)
As chair of the all-party parliamentary group for early education and childcare, I speak frequently to representatives of the private and voluntary childcare sector, who tell me that they are in crisis. Staffing shortages and an unsustainable funding model mean that they do not know how they will deliver the very laudable aims outlined in the Government’s statement. Does the Minister understand that those aims are unachievable without the support of the private and voluntary sector? Will he agree to attend a meeting of our APPG to hear directly from key voices in the sector?
Stephen Morgan
I know that the hon. Member will have listened closely to my statement. I commend the hard work of the sector across the country in delivering the milestone that we have met today—an increase in those providing the entitlement offer by 5,800 and an uplift in the workforce of 18,000. We will be spending £9 billion on early education next year, and I am really keen to continue my work with the sector to bring about the change that people voted for at the election last year.
Kirsteen Sullivan (Bathgate and Linlithgow) (Lab/Co-op)
As a mother who at one point had three children under four and had to take time out of the workplace, I welcome the great strides made by this Labour Government to support parents and children. In Scotland, parents have access to 1,140 funded hours, but for too many parents—particularly those who want to work in the hospitality, retail and care sectors—that just does not work, due to the inflexible nature of those hours. Will the Minister commit to learning the lessons from Scotland and consider flexible hours going forward?
Madam Deputy Speaker (Judith Cummins)
I remind Members that a lot of people want to get in. Please keep your questions short.
Stephen Morgan
I thank my hon. Friend for her question. Of course, these issues are devolved, but I look forward to hearing her thoughts and views on them. I encourage her to write to me, and I can certainly raise her points with the relevant teams across the Department and across Government.
Vikki Slade (Mid Dorset and North Poole) (LD)
I know that Ministers are probably sick of hearing about national insurance increases and my repeated calls for business rates exemptions, as they have in Scotland. However, the strain of costs is leading to practices that are affecting families—for example, a nursery chain in my constituency that has numerous branches only allows families to take their funded hours in the afternoons, forcing them to pay for the mornings that they actually need. Those families are now worse off than when they had fewer hours. What is the Minister going to do to help such families?
Stephen Morgan
I have mentioned the investment that we are putting into early education—£8 billion this year and £9 billion next year. We have announced the largest ever increase in the early years pupil premium, and case studies from across the country are demonstrating the difference that this programme is making. However, as I mentioned, we want to make the process simpler for parents and learn lessons from the past, and we will set that out in due course as part of our wider reform agenda.
Luke Akehurst (North Durham) (Lab)
I am looking forward to visiting Bloemfontein primary school in my constituency, where a new school-based nursery is about to open. Can the Minister outline what the measures announced today will mean for hard-working parents in North Durham who are trying to juggle work and family life?
Stephen Morgan
As I mentioned earlier, there will be more choice and convenience for parents, helping to cut the double drop-off at school and making daily life easier. More families will save money through funded childcare worth up to £7,500 a year, and more children will start school ready to learn. It is a huge programme of work that I know will make a huge difference in my hon. Friend’s constituency.
David Chadwick (Brecon, Radnor and Cwm Tawe) (LD)
I wish to declare that I have two young children under the age of four. While the expansion of free childcare is welcome news for parents in England, does the Minister recognise that families in Wales are being left at a serious disadvantage because his colleagues in Cardiff Bay have refused to match that offer, leaving Welsh families with the least generous childcare provision in Britain? Will he join me in urging the Welsh Labour Government to stop holding Welsh families back, and to commit instead to delivering 30 hours of Government-funded childcare from nine months to four years old, which is something the Welsh Liberal Democrats have long campaigned for?
Stephen Morgan
As the hon. Member will know, these are devolved matters and it would therefore be appropriate for him to put his question to Wales Office colleagues. We are a Government who are committed to breaking down the barriers to opportunity, and we will be setting out a UK-wide child poverty strategy later this year, to ensure that every child gets the best start in life.
Michael Payne (Gedling) (Lab)
Our amazing schools play a central role in giving every child the best possible start in life. Will the Minister join me in congratulating Mrs Toner and her entire team at the Good Shepherd Catholic primary academy on their recent and incredibly well-deserved outstanding Ofsted report?
Stephen Morgan
That is fantastic news to hear. My hon. Friend regularly engages with schools and nurseries across his constituency to make sure he is aware of the issues and challenges they are facing, and he works really closely with those schools and nurseries to ensure that we bring about the change that people voted for last July.
Freddie van Mierlo (Henley and Thame) (LD)
Nursery fees are crippling, running to thousands of pounds per child per month after the expansion of funded hours. Parents are making reproductive choices solely on the basis of the cost of childcare—is it any wonder that the total fertility rate in this country has plummeted? Does the Minister consider this to be “job done”, or will he commit to radically reducing the cost of childcare?
Stephen Morgan
This is absolutely not “job done”—it is the start of the next journey of change, to make sure that every child gets the best start in life. We want to make life easier for parents across the country. The things I am announcing today will make a difference, but there is more for this Government to do.
Natasha Irons (Croydon East) (Lab)
I welcome this Government’s commitment to breaking down barriers to opportunity, as well as their investment in Fairchildes and Monks Orchard primary schools in my constituency so that they can expand their nursery provision. Can the Minister outline the role that school-based nurseries play in Labour’s Best Start strategy, and will he join me in urging parents in Croydon East to visit beststartinlife.gov.uk to see the support that is available to them thanks to this Labour Government?
Stephen Morgan
I know that my hon. Friend is really passionate about these issues and wanting to make life so much easier for families in her constituency. School-based nurseries will help drive quality in early education and ensure good-quality access for parents. I mentioned the double drop-off that many parents face; accessing a school-based nursery and then dropping off their older child at primary school is a much simpler and more convenient approach. I am very happy to follow up on my hon. Friend’s points to ensure that this scheme is a success in her constituency.
Mr Tom Morrison (Cheadle) (LD)
I thank the Minister for the way in which he has engaged with my constituents John and Katie, who are running a campaign to make our nurseries safer following the tragic death of their daughter Gigi. A key part of that campaign is introducing safer sleeping guidance in our nurseries, and I understand that the Government are considering plans to update the early years framework on that. Can the Minister give me an idea of the timeline by which those plans will come before Parliament? It is vital that we make our nurseries safer with that safe sleeping guidance.
Stephen Morgan
I thank the hon. Member for his question and for his engagement on these extremely important issues. I pay tribute to the family he represents. I have met with them personally to understand the changes they are keen to see. The safety of our youngest children is of the utmost importance to my Department. I am keen to continue to engage with the hon. Member as we hear the family’s concerns and bring about the change that they expect.
Shaun Davies (Telford) (Lab)
I was delighted to hear recently from headteacher Mrs Solomon and school legend Lynne Purcell, who are excited about rolling out their school-based nursery this week and the difference it will make to communities across Telford. I have also spoken to Mrs McQuiggin and school business manager Sarah Nicholls at Lawley primary school, which serves Telford, about the difference that their breakfast club is making to parents and children. Minister, when can we have some more in Telford?
Stephen Morgan
My hon. Friend likes to lobby me on these issues, and I pay tribute to his hard work in delivering for his constituency. I also thank those who work in nurseries and schools across his constituency, who we have worked really hard to rebuild the relationship with after the failures of the previous Government.
Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)
I thank the Minister for his very positive statement. He works very closely with the Minister in Northern Ireland, who announced back in May a package of measures worth some £55 million for the same purpose. The uptake has been huge, and has demonstrated the need for working families to receive help and for children to have support. However, more grandparents are having to work later in life, which means that childcare is at a premium. Has the Minister had the opportunity to discuss that problem with the relevant Minister in the Northern Ireland Assembly, to share ideas and help all regions of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland to work together?
Stephen Morgan
The hon. Member will know that I have prioritised getting to know the Minister responsible in Northern Ireland in order to discuss these issues, and I am really pleased that the Northern Ireland Minister, my hon. Friend the Member for Putney (Fleur Anderson), is sat next to me. I will continue to engage with the Government in Northern Ireland on the issues of workforce and sufficiency, and where we can, I am very keen to support the community in dealing with the challenges they face.
Jim Dickson (Dartford) (Lab)
The latest figures show that Dartford has seen the second largest rise in families with children of any area in the country, so my constituents will hugely welcome the additional free childcare hours and the new school nurseries that will result from this week’s announcement. Does the Minister agree that not only will these changes give Dartford children the best start in life, they will help Dartford parents get into and sustain work?
Stephen Morgan
Today’s milestone moment is delivering real change for families across the country, including in my hon. Friend’s constituency. We are really pleased by the milestone we have met today, but there is much more to come to make sure we break down the barriers to opportunity for every child in every part of the country.
Mr Luke Charters (York Outer) (Lab)
“Paw Patrol” lunchbox in hand, my son Robin started at a new preschool yesterday, and I can tell the House that I am so proud of him. Will my hon. Friend join me in thanking the staff at York’s preschools and nurseries for their work in expanding free childcare?
Stephen Morgan
As a relatively new dad, my hon. Friend has been a real champion on these issues in this House, and it was a real pleasure to meet him earlier this year to discuss some of the issues he faces. I pay tribute to those who work in the early years sector in his constituency—they are working day in, day out to ensure every child gets the best start in life.
Peter Swallow (Bracknell) (Lab)
I welcome today’s announcement that this Government are again expanding school-based nurseries. That programme is already benefiting my constituents with the expansion of Uplands school nursery in Sandhurst. This summer, I also had the real pleasure of visiting Horseshoe Lake in Sandhurst to meet children trying out sailing and paddleboarding through the holiday activities and food programme. Does my hon. Friend agree that the £600 million expansion of that programme demonstrates this Government’s commitment to every child?
Stephen Morgan
I thank my hon. Friend for visiting the HAF programme in his constituency, where he saw first-hand what a brilliant scheme it is, providing healthy meals, enriching activities and Government-funded childcare places for children from low-income families. That is exactly what this Labour Government want to invest in, and we are.
Sonia Kumar (Dudley) (Lab)
I warmly welcome the statement. Families in Dudley are now benefiting from 30 hours of Government-funded childcare, including new places in school-based nurseries such as at Beechwood Church of England primary school in St Thomas’s, one of the most deprived wards in the borough. Can the Minister set out how this expansion, alongside more support for parents and investment in early years staff, will help children to start school ready to learn and succeed in the future?
Stephen Morgan
It was a real privilege to visit my hon. Friend’s constituency to see at first hand the hard work she is undertaking with school staff and nursery settings. She is absolutely right: our investment in early years will make a huge difference to children’s lives by allowing them to socialise and to develop the skills they need to succeed in life, as well as delivering real benefits for parents across the country, saving them on average £7,500 a year.
Steve Race (Exeter) (Lab)
In just one year, up to 2,970 more children will receive free school meals in Exeter. We have received capital investment for Newtown and St Gabriel’s primary schools. Three primary schools in my constituency—Whipton Barton junior and infants and St Sidwell’s—are in the roll-out of breakfast clubs. This week, we have a new school-based nursery at Exwick Heights primary school. Can the Minister set out how that all helps us to achieve our aim to reduce child poverty in Exeter and across the country?
Stephen Morgan
This Government have a clear mission to break down the barriers to opportunity and to remove the stain of child poverty on our society. That is why I was so pleased to announce in the House earlier this year that the down payment on the child poverty strategy will lift 100,000 children out of poverty and ensure that half a million more children can access free school meals from September next year.
Deirdre Costigan (Ealing Southall) (Lab)
Children and parents at Allenby primary school in my constituency of Ealing Southall are already set to benefit from a newly modernised and expanded nursery as a result of funding from this Labour Government. Can I pass on directly to the Minister the thanks of Mr Hickman, the headteacher, who said that the investment is a fantastic opportunity that the local community is truly grateful for? Does the Minister agree that today’s announcement of 300 more nurseries in schools like Allenby will save thousands of families money on childcare and help them to manage the challenging job of parenting and working?
Stephen Morgan
I thank Mr Hickman for that feedback. We are absolutely committed to delivering on our commitment to create tens of thousands more places through new and expanded school-based nurseries, backed by more than £400 million of investment. That will help more families access Government-funded childcare and ensure that every child gets the best start in life.
Chris Bloore (Redditch) (Lab)
Over the summer, thanks to this Labour Government, empty classrooms and underutilised spaces have been turned into high-quality, school-based nursery provision at Matchborough first school in Redditch in my constituency. Does the Minister agree that this Government’s focus on the early years can and will make the biggest difference to children’s lives in my constituency?
Stephen Morgan
My hon. Friend is absolutely right. Phase 2 of the school-based nursery programme, with a stronger focus on supporting families in disadvantaged areas, will make a huge difference. From 22 September this year, schools can apply for up to £150,000 from a £45 million fund, enabling at least another 300 school-based nurseries across the country.
Jessica Toale (Bournemouth West) (Lab)
I recently visited Leaps and Bounds nursery in Winton, and it was clear that the women who work there strive to create a safe and enriching environment for all the young people, so that they are ready to start school when they go. Can the Minister tell me how this Labour Government are making early years education—this critical time in a young person’s life—more accessible and affordable for parents in Bournemouth West?
Stephen Morgan
My sister has worked in the early years sector for 30 years, and the early years workforce are at the heart of our Government’s plan for change to ensure that every child gets the best start in life. We are committed to making childcare more affordable and accessible for families. This week, a key milestone has been met, but there is more to do, and I look forward to working with my hon. Friend to make sure that every child, whatever their background, can succeed and thrive through good-quality early education.
Laurence Turner (Birmingham Northfield) (Lab)
It is so gratifying to see the school-based nursery programme going from an idea to a reality. I place on record an appreciation of the positive role that the trade union movement, and in particular the GMB, has played in nurturing that idea in response to the problem of falling rolls. Will the Minister please set out a bit more information for schools in my constituency that may wish to apply for phase 2 funding on the steps they should take next?
Stephen Morgan
I thank all those who have contributed to the key milestone that has been met today. My hon. Friend mentioned the valuable role of trade unions, and I agree with him. Today, we are launching phase 2 of the school-based nurseries programme, with a stronger focus on supporting families in disadvantaged areas. The application window for schools to apply will open on 22 September, and I know he will be keen to encourage schools in his constituency to apply for this exciting opportunity.
Jonathan Davies (Mid Derbyshire) (Lab)
Sure Start was one of the proudest legacies of the last Labour Government. We must be grateful to Tessa Jowell for her contribution in making that happen. I am pleased that we are recapturing the spirit of Sure Start through such initiatives as free breakfast clubs, including at Morley primary school in my constituency. Can the Minister say a little more about what today’s announcement will mean for parents and children in Mid Derbyshire?
Stephen Morgan
My hon. Friend is right to flag the significance of free breakfast clubs in primary schools, which we are rolling out across every primary school in the country. That is on top of what we have delivered today with our funded childcare, with 30 hours of support each week. That will save parents on average £7,500 a year. We are a Government who take seriously support for children and families across the country, easing some of the pressures they face, but also ensuring that every child gets the best start in life.
Antonia Bance (Tipton and Wednesbury) (Lab)
I am so glad to see the extension of the holiday activities and food programme. Will the Minister join me in paying tribute to the work of Jo Haydon and all the staff and volunteers at the 4 Community Trust in Hateley Heath—one of the areas of highest child poverty in my constituency—and their delivery of the HAF programme this year?
Stephen Morgan
I pay tribute to all those who have helped deliver the holiday activities and food programme in my hon. Friend’s constituency and across the country. We have had 5 million days delivered this year alone. That is a huge investment in our children’s futures and making sure they have access to good-quality enrichment activities, hot food and opportunities that they might not ordinarily get at school or at home.
John Slinger (Rugby) (Lab)
I attended the inaugural meeting of the all-party parliamentary group on play this week, chaired ably by my hon. Friend the Member for Bournemouth East (Tom Hayes), and heard more about the importance of play. I am glad that is referenced several times in the Government’s excellent strategy. Have the Government looked at the approach taken by Finland in ensuring that play forms a central part of early education—specifically play facilitated by educational professionals aimed at preparing children for learning?
Stephen Morgan
My hon. Friend will know that our landmark strategy sets out our first steps towards delivering a decade of national renewal and strengthening family services. We are always keen to learn from other countries, because in order to achieve our ambitions as a country, we need to learn from elsewhere. He will know the value I place, as a former playworker, on play provision, and I am happy to discuss these issues further with him.
Chris Vince (Harlow) (Lab/Co-op)
Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker. You are still a national treasure to me. I thank the Minister for his important statement, which will make a huge difference to young people and families in my constituency. Over recess, I held a roundtable for parents of SEND children in Harlow. The No. 1 thing that they said would support their children was early intervention to ensure they have the best possible start in life, which will support them in schools and later in employment. Will the Minister guarantee that this early intervention—this proactive approach to childcare and education—will be a golden thread that runs through this Labour Government?
Stephen Morgan
I thank my hon. Friend for his proactivity in bringing parents together to hear their thoughts and views. We are a Government who are listening to what parents tell us, and we want to act to ensure that every child gets the best start in life. He is absolutely right that investing in early education and supporting early intervention around any additional needs that children have are vital in ensuring that every child gets the best possible outcomes and life chances. I know that he will continue to work with us to make sure that happens in his constituency and across the country.
Madam Deputy Speaker
That concludes the statement. I thank the Minister and Members for helping each other out and keeping questions and answers succinct.
Oral Answers to Questions
Stephen Morgan Excerpts(1 month, 3 weeks ago)
Commons ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text Watch Debate Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Education (Stephen Morgan)
This Government are committed to improving mental health support for all children and young people. That is why we are providing access to specialist mental health professionals in every school by expanding mental health support teams so that every child and young person has access to early support to address problems before they escalate.
Liz Twist
I thank the Minister for his reply and for last week’s publication of the new relationships, sex and health education—RSHE—curriculum guidance. I was pleased to see that secondary schools are now being asked to talk about suicide prevention in an age-appropriate way. Andy, Mike and Tim, the 3 Dads Walking, have campaigned hard for this change over a number of years, and I am pleased that the Government have worked with them to make this happen. Will the Minister join me in thanking the three dads, and can he say how this will be implemented in schools so that we can help save young lives?
Stephen Morgan
I thank my hon. Friend for the tireless work she has done on these important issues in this place. We are grateful for the contribution of 3 Dads Walking in developing the new RSHE guidance and we pay tribute to their inspirational determination and the courage shown in their work to raise awareness. The guidance contains new content about coping strategies for dealing with issues such as anxiety, but also covers issues such as loneliness and bereavement. It says that schools should “consider carefully” how to address suicide prevention safely.
Graham Stuart (Beverley and Holderness) (Con)
Great leadership is critical to supporting children to have a healthy mental condition. Will the Minister join me in congratulating Leon Myers, the headteacher of Swinemoor primary school, on the twice-repeated outstanding rating for that school, on his focus on the traditional values of endeavour, resilience and competitive spirit, and on his recent MBE in recognition of the transformation of opportunity he provides to children across the Swinemoor estate?
Stephen Morgan
I thank the right hon. Member for his question, and I pay tribute to the member of staff he mentioned and all those who work across the education system to deliver improvements in life chances for all young people; I thank him very much for his hard work.
Jess Asato (Lowestoft) (Lab)
We know that timely access to mental health support is crucial. Earlier this month, the Education Committee released its report on children’s social care, which recommended that the Government establish mental health teams that are co-located between child and adolescent mental health services —CAMHS—and children’s social care, so that looked-after children can access specialist mental health support more easily. Will the Minister share any assessment that the Department has made of this recommendation?
Stephen Morgan
I thank my hon. Friend for the hard work she has undertaken on the Select Committee. She will know that we will deliver on our commitment on mental health support teams in the course of the next few months and years. By 2026, we estimate that 60% of pupils in schools and learners will have access to national health service tests—NHSTs—and I will take her suggestion back to the Department.
Alison Bennett (Mid Sussex) (LD)
Good mental health at school is sometimes bolstered by out-of-school support, especially for the most vulnerable children. Last week, I met Vicky and her team at Jigsaw Occupational Therapy in Burgess Hill, and I spoke to the families they help. Roughly a quarter of their work involved supporting kinship and adopted children and helping them to regulate following profound trauma. Vicky described the impact on their children of the Government’s cuts to the adoption and special guardianship support fund as “heartbreaking”. Can the Minister offer any words of comfort to Vicky and the families she helps?
Stephen Morgan
We are maintaining the support available to children to ensure that there is reasonable support in place, and providing more funding to local authorities. This Government are committed to breaking down the barriers to opportunity so that every child can succeed and thrive, and that is what we are getting on and delivering.
Robin Swann (South Antrim) (UUP)
Steve Race (Exeter) (Lab)
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Education (Stephen Morgan)
Excellent further education colleges are a key building block of the Government’s opportunity and growth missions. The Government are committed to improving the condition of schools and colleges in England and will invest nearly £3 billion per year by 2034-2035, rising from £2.4 billion in 2024-25.
Catherine Atkinson
The oldest surviving locomotive roundhouse in Britain is in Derby, and what was once at the forefront of Victorian engineering is now a cutting-edge learning environment for local young people who will build the homes of the future. But the site is full to bursting—Derby college needs more space. Does the Minister agree that if it became a construction technical excellence college, it could extend its site, increase its capacity in brickwork, carpentry and joinery by 50%, and teach more students the construction skills we desperately need?
Stephen Morgan
Applications to become construction technical excellence colleges closed on 4 July. We look forward to informing successful candidates in due course. In addition, £375 million of capital investment will be invested between 2026 and 2030 to support post-16 capacity to accommodate the additional learners entering the system.
Steve Race
I know that the Minister will agree with me that in Exeter we have two of the country’s most outstanding FE institutions. Exeter college is rated outstanding by Ofsted and as “strong” in its approach to meeting the skills needs of our area—the first time a college has achieved both. Exeter maths school is also rated outstanding and gives students from across the south-west the opportunity to specialise in maths, physics and computing. But as my hon. Friend the Member for Derby North (Catherine Atkinson) said, that success comes with its own challenges. Both are bursting at the seams and need capital investment to allow them to expand and continue their exceptional work. Does the Minister agree that Exeter college could also be an exceptional candidate to become a construction technical excellence college for the south-west, and will he meet me to discuss the ways in which we can support those changes?
Stephen Morgan
I join my hon. Friend in recognising the success of Exeter college and Exeter maths school, which are both outstanding. As he will know, the Government have announced capital funding to improve the condition of the estate and accommodate rising student numbers as we hope to replicate the success of these settings across the country.
Tim Farron (Westmorland and Lonsdale) (LD)
The sixth form of the Lakes school near Windermere provides further education for young people within the central lakes. The building is beyond being fit for purpose and needs a rebuild. It also happens to be built on the site where the Windermere children who survived the death camps in 1945 were brought to be rehabilitated on the shores of Windermere where they were first settled. On the 80th anniversary of their arrival, will the Minister agree to meet me and local people to look at a rebuild of the school and, at the same time, a memorial to the Windermere children, so that we can honour their memory and support the children of the future, too?
Stephen Morgan
Ensuring that schools and colleges have the resources and buildings that they need is key to our mission to break down barriers to opportunity and ensure that every child can succeed and thrive. As always, I am very happy to meet the hon. Gentleman.
Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)
I thank the Minister very much for his answers, as always. The hon. Member for Derby North (Catherine Atkinson) referred to the construction sector. Is it time perhaps to think outside the circle of what we usually do, through deals and partnerships with construction companies? That would give us the opportunity to improve the education and college estate while making people available and knowledgeable for jobs in their future life, whether in construction or otherwise. It is time for partnerships—let us do something perhaps a wee bit different.
Stephen Morgan
The hon. Gentleman is absolutely right: the construction sector is fundamental to the UK economy. That is why the Government’s industrial strategy includes a construction sector deal. We have committed £625 million to supporting construction skills training, and that funding includes capital investment through the establishment of technical excellence colleges and the creation of an employer match funding pot worth £80 million.
James Asser (West Ham and Beckton) (Lab)
John Whitby (Derbyshire Dales) (Lab)
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Education (Stephen Morgan)
Our landmark strategy on giving every child the best start in life sets out plans to deliver Best Start family hubs to make access to early education easier and more affordable, and to improve quality in settings and reception classes. The strategy is backed by £1.5 billion over the next three years, and Government spending on the funded hours will reach £9 billion next year and will continue to rise over the Parliament.
James Asser
I thank the Minister for joining me at Curwen primary school in Plaistow recently to see its excellent early years education work. He heard from parents about the struggles they often face as a result of serious economic and housing hardship. Will he assure my constituents that the Government will look at communities like mine, where housing and poverty create serious challenges for families, to ensure that all children, no matter their circumstances, get the best possible educational start in life?
Stephen Morgan
I thank my hon. Friend for our excellent visit to Curwen primary school last week, where I saw excellent work on supporting children’s speech and language to deliver for some of our most vulnerable children and families. Our spending review commitments are a downpayment on the child poverty strategy to build on expanding free breakfast clubs and free school meals, boost the national minimum wage and cap universal credit deductions through the fair repayment rate.
John Whitby (Derbyshire Dales) (Lab)
Sure Start, which was created by the previous Labour Government, boosted attainment, improved health outcomes and increased long-term earnings. However, under the Conservatives, more than 30 children’s centres in Derbyshire were closed, and Derbyshire now does not have a single family hub. What action will the Government take to ensure that more young children in Derbyshire can once again access support during their early years?
Stephen Morgan
It was a pleasure to visit my hon. Friend’s constituency recently, too. He is a real champion for children and young people. We will fund Best Start family hubs in every local authority, including in Derbyshire. We estimate that the expansion could reach half a million children across the country. Best Start family hubs will be open to all and based in disadvantaged communities, where they are needed most.
Munira Wilson (Twickenham) (LD)
May I join Ministers in thanking our school and college staff up and down the country for their dedication? I wish them happy and restorative summer holidays.
Children with special educational needs who started reception last year were over a year behind their peers, according to the Education Policy Institute. Staggeringly, those with an education, health and care plan were already over 20 months behind—the widest gap that the EPI has recorded since it started monitoring in 2013. Given the importance of the early years in narrowing the gap, it is crucial that we give every child the help that they need as soon as possible. Will the Minister confirm how much of the £760 million for SEND transformation announced in the spending review will go towards early identification and intervention?
Stephen Morgan
The Government are committed to ensuring excellence for everyone so that children have the support, skills and opportunities that they need, and that starts in early years. We are actively working with parents and experts on solutions, including more early intervention to prevent needs from escalating. Any changes we make will improve support for children and parents, stop parents having to fight for support, and protect current effective provision.
Chris Webb (Blackpool South) (Lab)
Caroline Voaden (South Devon) (LD)
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Education (Stephen Morgan)
Mobile phones have no place in schools. Government guidance is clear that schools should prohibit the use of devices with smart technology throughout the school day. Research from the Children’s Commissioner shows that 99.8% of primary schools and 90% of secondary schools already have policies restricting the use of mobile phones.
Dr Hudson
Many of the young people I meet in schools across Epping Forest are clear that they agree with the local school policy of restricting mobile phones when they are at school. Sadly, however, the Government have repeatedly refused to heed Conservative calls to protect our children with a national ban on phones in schools—even voting against it. Bodies such as UNESCO and the OECD are crystal clear about the negative impacts of phones on young people’s education, so when will the Government listen to the evidence and to our school leaders, and support a ban on smartphones in schools for the sake of our young people’s education and mental health?
Stephen Morgan
I have said that phones should not be out in schools, and heads have the power to enforce that. The Opposition backed those measures. If they felt they needed to go further, they had 14 long years in which to do so.
Caroline Voaden
Last Thursday, I felt the fear in a hall full of parents of primary school children in Totnes as they listened to campaigners going through the evidence of the impact of smartphones on kids at secondary school. There is a clear safeguarding issue around kids seeing videos of hardcore pornography and violence.
I am therefore pleased that Tina Graham, the head of Kingsbridge community college, has just announced a smartphone-free policy from September to protect children, which will mean no phones in school at all except for reasonable adjustments. That is a much better policy than the “Not seen—put it in your bag” policy that most schools follow. In the light of such safeguarding concerns, where every child is only as safe as the least safe phone in school, why will the Minister not do the one thing that could transform our children’s mental and physical health, and school attainment and direct all schools to go smartphone free—
Mr Speaker
Order. Please, this is not fair; I have to get others in. I call the Minister.
Stephen Morgan
The hon. Lady’s question demonstrates that mobile phones have no place in schools, and there is already guidance to reflect that. The mobile phones in schools guidance is clear and schools should prohibit the use of devices with smart technology throughout the school day, including during lessons, transitions and breaks. We expect all schools to take steps in line with that guidance to ensure that mobile phones do not disrupt pupils’ learning. If pupils fail to follow those rules, schools should have the power to confiscate devices.
Laura Trott (Sevenoaks) (Con)
In the other place, Baroness Smith of Malvern, a Minister in the Department for Education, said:
“There is no clear scientific consensus on a negative impact from screen time and social media use on the mental health and neurological or functional development of children and young people.”—[Official Report, House of Lords, 23 June 2025; Vol. 847, c. 55.]
I fundamentally disagree. There is overwhelming and extensive evidence of the harm caused, so I want to know the Government’s position. Does the Minister agree with his ministerial colleague or with me on this issue?
Stephen Morgan
Last year, the right hon. Lady’s Government claimed that action on mobile phones was prohibiting their use in schools and that guidance meant
“a consistent approach across all schools.”
Those are their words. In backing the Tory Government’s measures, was she wrong then, or is she wrong now?
Gareth Snell (Stoke-on-Trent Central) (Lab/Co-op)
Dr Ben Spencer (Runnymede and Weybridge) (Con)
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Education (Stephen Morgan)
Ensuring that schools and colleges have the resources and buildings they need is a key part of our mission to break down the barriers to opportunity and give every child the best start in life. For this project, I can confirm that the Department is in the process of finalising the feasibility study, and we expect to procure the works later this year. Until that process is complete, we will be unable to advise on the length of the construction programme. However, positive progress continues to be made in collaboration with the trust.
Dr Spencer
I thank the Minister for his answer. Can he clarify whether the Magna Carta school will have a full rebuild, due to the presence of reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete, or is it just the science and arts block that will be rebuilt? Will he meet me to discuss this issue and the work that will take place on such a fantastic local school?
Andy MacNae (Rossendale and Darwen) (Lab)
Will Stone (Swindon North) (Lab)
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Education (Stephen Morgan)
Safeguarding children in schools is a priority for this Government, and schools have a critical role to play in protecting children and keeping them safe. Departmental guidance is clear that schools and colleges should have a policy and an emergency plan in place to manage and respond to security-related incidents.
Will Stone
I thank the Minister for his response, and for our recent meeting. Given that we have had two fake bomb threats in Swindon, which have obviously had a negative impact on my schools, will he assess the current guidance so that we can learn lessons from what has happened in Swindon and improve that guidance for the future?
Stephen Morgan
I thank my hon. Friend for our meeting last week. As I explained to him then, the Department for Education publishes the protective security and preparedness guidance, which sets out how schools should respond to bomb threats and how to embed a security culture. Action Counters Terrorism for Education e-learning, which includes information on what to do in the event of a bomb threat, is also available to all school staff.
Alison Hume (Scarborough and Whitby) (Lab)
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Education (Stephen Morgan)
This Government have made a long-term commitment to improve the condition of schools and colleges. We are investing almost £20 billion in the school rebuilding programme through to 2035, delivering rebuilding projects at over 500 schools across England, including eight schools in Scarborough and Whitby. A further 250 schools will be selected within the next two years. By 2035, we will also be investing almost £3 billion per year in capital maintenance for schools and colleges, and that figure will rise to £2.4 billion this year.
Alison Hume
Springhead sixth form in Scarborough has been rated outstanding for the education and care it provides for students with complex special educational needs and disabilities. The staff are amazing, but the sixth form is housed in an old and unsuitable building. When I visited Springhead, I saw one student being tutored in a modified corridor due to overcrowding. What steps is the Minister taking to ensure that pupils with special educational needs are educated in school buildings that can match those needs?
Stephen Morgan
We have increased funding to improve the condition of schools to £2.1 billion for 2025-26, which includes more than £7 million for North Yorkshire to invest in its maintained schools, including Springhead. North Yorkshire has also been allocated £6.8 million for 2025-26 to provide suitable and accessible school places for pupils with SEND who require alternative provision.
Tom Gordon (Harrogate and Knaresborough) (LD)
A number of years ago, Woodfield school in Bilton in my constituency was closed. It has been rebuilt as a specialist school for children with autism. It was meant to open in September last year, but that was delayed until September this year. Will the Minister meet me and confirm whether it will open on time this September?
David Davis (Goole and Pocklington) (Con)
Munira Wilson (Twickenham) (LD)
I echo the Secretary of State’s remarks about the tragedy in Minehead. My thoughts and prayers are with all those affected.
Every parent who puts a baby into childcare wants to know that they are safe. In the light of the crucial role that CCTV played in the harrowing case at Twickenham Green nursery in my constituency, which resulted in a nursery worker being convicted of 21 counts of child cruelty last month, and in the tragic case of Gigi Meehan in Cheadle, will the Secretary of State commit to issuing fresh guidance to nurseries on the use and regular monitoring of CCTV footage?
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Education (Stephen Morgan)
The hon. Member will know that I met the family of Genevieve Meehan recently. That was a tragic case. We need to make sure that we are doing everything we possibly can to protect children in nursery settings. That is why I am pleased that in the “best start in life” strategy, published just two weeks ago, we committed to have early years settings inspected within 18 months and, indeed, within four years. I have offered a meeting with the hon. Member, and I am very happy to discuss these issues further.
Lee Pitcher (Doncaster East and the Isle of Axholme) (Lab)
Laurence Turner (Birmingham Northfield) (Lab)
Victoria college in my constituency is one of the relatively small number of SEND specialist further education colleges in the country. It does outstanding work. For many years, such colleges have not had access to dedicated capital grant funding. Will the Minister be so good as to look into the issue and agree to meet me to discuss it further?
Stephen Morgan
Ensuring that schools and colleges have the resources and buildings they need is a key part of our mission to break down barriers to opportunity. I will be very happy to meet my hon. Friend to discuss these issues further.
Shockat Adam (Leicester South) (Ind)
Sadly, both universities in my constituency, De Montfort University and Leicester University, are on the verge of making hundreds of redundancies and even shutting down complete faculties. What financial commitment is the Department making to secure academic jobs, especially in subjects such as chemistry, humanities and languages, rather than making short-term cuts?
Giving Every Child the Best Start in Life
Stephen Morgan Excerpts(2 months ago)
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The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Education (Stephen Morgan)
I beg to move,
That this House has considered the matter of giving every child the best start in life.
This Government have a mission to break down the barriers to opportunity for children and young people, so that background does not determine a child’s future and successes. After 14 dark years under the Conservative party, we are restoring to our communities the hope that, in too many places and for too many families, simply faded away. What this Government inherited was a truly shameful legacy. The Conservatives had 14 years in government, and their record speaks for itself: 1,300 children’s centres closed or hollowed out, early years childcare costs spiralling way above the rate of inflation, and providers closing year on year. I know that Conservative Members, very few of whom are present, will bleat that in their manifesto they promised better, but the people of Britain judge politicians by what they deliver, not what they promise.
At the heart of Labour’s ambition for a better Britain is bringing change to the first few years of every life, so that opportunity is not the privilege of a few but is common to us all. Children’s early years are crucial to their development, health and life chances, and it is there that we can make the biggest difference. On average, 40% of the overall gap between disadvantaged 16-year-olds and their peers has already emerged by the age of five. It is in those early years that so much of the inequality that today disfigures our society is entrenched. If we want to build the fairer and more equal society that Labour Members want to see, that is where we lay the foundations. If we want to see change—change for good—the transformation that we seek to bring must be part of a wider approach that covers every aspect of education and health, and every facet of opportunity.
That is why the Government have published our vision for the future of early years. This landmark strategy, which will bring together early years and family services, and will put children’s first years at the heart of work to improve life chances, is backed by nearly £1.5 billion over the next three years to raise quality, close gaps and break down the barriers to opportunity for every child.
“Giving every child the best start in life” sets out the first steps to delivering on our plan for change commitment for a record number of children to be ready to start school by 2028. We will make early education and childcare more accessible and affordable, improve quality in the early years and reception, and expand and strengthen family services. This builds on the progress that we are already making: funding new and expanded school-based nurseries across the country, funding new breakfast clubs in 750 early adopter schools and offering places to nearly 180,000 children, including 79,000 pupils from schools in the most deprived parts of the country.
From September we will be rolling out 30 hours of funded childcare for working parents, saving eligible parents using their full entitlement an average of £7,500 a year. It should be the case that all parents who want it can obtain the high-quality early education and childcare that they need, yet four in 10 parents with children under five say that there are not enough places locally. Disadvantaged children and those with special educational needs and disabilities have the most to gain from high-quality early education, yet more affluent areas often have more places.
We will improve the system, setting out a long-term vision for improving access to early years education and childcare to ensure that all families can benefit. We will create tens of thousands more places in new and expanded school-based nurseries, backed by more than £400 million of investment. We will roll out the expansion of funded childcare hours available to working parents, saving eligible families an average of £7,500 a year. We will work closely with local authorities to increase the take-up of the 15-hour entitlements, so that children from low-income families, those with SEND and those in care receive the support they need.
As a result of the decisions made by my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer, the Government will soon be funding about 80% of the early education and childcare hours in England. Whenever the Government buy a service, they have an obligation to use that purchasing power in the public interest, to shape the market, improve standards, and support and develop the workforce. That is what Labour believes, and that is what we will do. We think we could do more to guarantee the benefits of that investment, and to ensure that they are realised where they are needed. We will look across the early education and childcare support provided by Departments to find ways in which to make it simpler, to improve access, and to increase the overall impact of Government spending on children and families.
I have the privilege of being able to see at first hand the impact that our passionate early years staff have in many settings across the country during my regular visits. They have worked brilliantly to deliver for families at every stage of the expansion of Government-funded childcare, and they continue to do so ahead of September. Families know the difference that access to a place that meets their needs can make. That is why we are investing more than £9 billion in early education and childcare, and why a diverse and thriving early years sector with a brilliant and valued workforce is absolutely key. We will work with the early years sector to support brilliant settings to grow and spread their expertise, and that will include working alongside philanthropists and social investors to encourage new not-for-profit providers to open.
We want early years careers to be ones that people are proud to start and that are rewarding to pursue. That means having more opportunities to gain qualifications, enter the workforce and build fulfilling careers. Childminders play an integral role in our early years landscape and are treasured by many families, which is why we will keep working with Jobcentre Plus to encourage people to become childminders. However, having listened to the sector, we will also make sure that childminders and other providers can be paid monthly for funded hours, making their income more stable. Alongside a strong market, we want to drive higher standards through a strengthened improvement and accountability system that supports and drives high-quality provision for settings and families. That includes funding for Ofsted to inspect settings more often and to inspect new settings within 18 months of opening.
The early years workforce is at the heart of this Government’s mission to give every child the best start in life. We are making sure that a high-quality start transitions into starting school by making reception year a national priority for the regional improvement for standards and excellence—RISE—teams. We want high-quality evidence to underpin the training, support and development of people working in early years settings, from the baby room to the reception year. This will mean that passionate people can grow their skills and careers, and help every child to thrive.
Together with educators and leaders, we will drive high and rising standards by working with providers and schools to equip to them with the tools, training and support that they need to meet every child’s needs. Alongside raising the standards of early years educators by introducing a professional register, we will increase the number of qualified early years teachers, and we aim to more than double the number of funded early years initial teacher training places by 2028. We will also offer financial incentives to attract and keep early years teachers in nurseries serving the most disadvantaged communities, so that every child, no matter where they live, can benefit from high-quality early education.
The SEND system we inherited from the Conservative party has totally lost the confidence of families, and this Labour Government are absolutely committed to restoring that confidence. The last Conservative Education Secretary labelled the system that she left behind as “lose, lose, lose”, while current shadow Ministers say that they did not do enough on SEND and should hang their heads in shame. We agree—the difference is that we are doing something about it.
We will make inclusive practice standard practice in the early years by embedding an inclusive approach in our workforce education, training and leadership opportunities, and by funding evidence-based programmes that are proven to improve children’s development. We will drive improvements in the quality of teaching in reception and ensure that schools have access to the right tools and tailored improvement, including by helping each parent to play their part and be confident in their child’s progress.
This renewed vision for the early years goes hand in hand with a national approach to family services—one that brings together health, education and social care around the needs of families, children and babies. That is why I am proud that this Government have established Best Start family hubs that will be funded across all local authorities, building on the best of Sure Start, family hubs and Start for Life approaches.
Mr Will Forster (Woking) (LD)
The Minister mentioned family hubs, which I welcome, but he stated that they will be delivered by local authority area. In my area of Surrey, we are going through local government reorganisation. How will the roll-out be impacted by that reorganisation? Does he expect to roll out a plan over the next couple of years, and then to reorganise it after a new council has been created?
Stephen Morgan
We are obviously working through the detail of our commitments as I speak, but I will certainly take his point back to the Department—I know that officials are working very closely with colleagues in the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government. What is really powerful is the fact that we will roll out family hubs to every local authority in the country to make sure that they make a real difference to every child’s life.
We are investing over £500 million to expand Best Start family hubs to every local authority in England, ensuring that wherever they live, families can access joined-up, high-quality support from pregnancy through to the early years. As part of this investment, we are providing dedicated funding to deliver evidence-based support for the home learning environment, with a particular focus on disadvantaged families and the quality of parent-child relationships. We want to support parents to create rich and nurturing home environments by encouraging them to chat, play and read more with their children, because we know that those everyday interactions are the building blocks of early development.
In order to help meet our ambition for 75% of children to achieve a good level of development by the age of five, we will fund more evidence-based parenting and home learning programmes so that more families can access those services before their children start school. That will be supported by a new national Best Start digital service, linked to “My Children” on the NHS app, which will bring together the trusted advice and guidance that all parents need in one place, and link families to their local services.
The Labour Government are committed to breaking down the barriers to opportunity, and the early years are where we do that most powerfully. Our ambition is clear: to make early years education the best it can be for children in all settings. This is the start of a decade of national renewal for families and the support that they receive. We will go further and faster to ensure that every child has the best start in life and the chance to achieve and to thrive.
Early Years Providers: Government Support
Stephen Morgan Excerpts(2 months, 1 week ago)
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The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Education (Stephen Morgan)
It is a pleasure to serve with you in the Chair, Mr Pritchard. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Sherwood Forest (Michelle Welsh) for securing a debate on this most important subject. I thank all Members for their contributions, including the Chair of the Education Committee, my hon. Friend the Member for Dulwich and West Norwood (Helen Hayes).
The foundations of success are laid in early childhood. Ensuring that every child has the best start in life and the chance to achieve and to thrive is the foundation stone of the Government’s mission to break down barriers to opportunity. On Monday, the Government published our vision for the future of early years, so this is a timely debate that demonstrates that my hon. Friend the Member for Sherwood Forest clearly has her finger on the pulse on these issues.
Our landmark strategy will bring together early years and family services and put children’s first years at the heart of efforts to improve life chances. “Giving every child the best start in life” sets out the first steps to deliver our plan for change commitment for a record number of children to be ready to start school by 2028. That builds on the work that we have already started and the impacts that have already been felt. We have delivered the biggest uplift in the early years pupil premium on record, opened new breakfast clubs and funded 300 new and expanded school-based nurseries across the country, two of which, I am proud to say, sit in my hon. Friend’s constituency. From September, we are rolling out 30 hours of funded childcare for working parents, saving eligible parents who use their full entitlement an average of £7,500 a year. With the new strategy, we will go further and faster. We will spend close to £1.5 billion over the next three years to make early education more accessible and higher quality.
Central to my ambition to improve outcomes for all children is a diverse and thriving early years sector with a brilliant and valued workforce. We want early years to be a career that people are proud to join and stay in. That means more opportunities to gain qualifications and build fulfilling careers. We want high-quality evidence to underpin training, support and development for early years professionals. That will mean that passionate people can grow their skills and careers, and help every child to thrive.
Alongside a strong market, we want to drive higher standards through strengthened improvement and accountability systems that support and drive high-quality provision for settings and families. That includes funding for Ofsted to inspect more often, and inspect new settings within 18 months of them opening. Our ambition is to make early years education the best it can be for every child in every setting.
The early years workforce is at the heart of the Government’s opportunity mission and a top priority for the Department for Education. I pay tribute to those who are dedicated to the sector and working in it to improve life chances for every child. I declare an interest that my sister is an early years practitioner of 30 years’ standing. I can assure her and everyone who works in the sector that this Government hugely value their work.
As set out in the recent “best start in life” strategy, we are improving the quality of early education by investing in training and qualifications to raise the skill levels of the workforce. We are also increasing understanding of high-quality practice and providing access to proven, evidence-based early years programmes. That is backed with an extra £400 million over the next three years to improve quality and drive better outcomes for children. We will collaborate with the sector to co-design and consult on a new professional register and establish an evidence-informed career framework to support career progression at all levels.
We will recruit more early years teachers in areas where they are needed the most, more than doubling the number of funded early years initial teacher training courses by 2028. The early years teacher incentive will support recruitment and retention of early years teachers in the most deprived communities by giving existing and new early years teachers who work in eligible nurseries £4,500 per annum so that every child, no matter where they live, can benefit from high-quality early education.
We are rolling out a new early years teacher degree apprenticeship and transforming the apprenticeship offer into a new growth and skills programme with shorter, more flexible training options. That includes continuing and extending free online child development training for all staff, and funding more places on the national professional qualification in early years leadership programme.
We are investing in data-driven interventions to support early maths, literacy and language skills, and doubling the number of early years stronger practice hubs from 18 to 36 so that even more settings and childminders can access free resources and training to help their practice. We are helping more people to discover rewarding early years careers through our “Do something big” national recruitment campaign, and building on our pilot to offer financial incentives to attract and retain the best educators, including our campaign to encourage more men to go into the sector.
We are making it easier for managers to check qualifications and increase confidence in staff sufficiency by using the new “Check an early years qualification” digital service. Providers can maximise the potential of staff who have the right skills and experience but do not hold an approved qualification through the experience-based route.
We are working closely with local areas to do everything we can to ensure that there are sufficient places and the sector has the workforce it needs ahead of September. We have already seen a strong response from the early years sector following the introduction of the new entitlement. In 2023-24 we saw nearly three times the growth in places and more than 1.5 times the growth in staff working in early years compared with 2022-23, showing that the early years market is responding positively. Continuing that growth ahead of September will allow more families to benefit from the expansion, and we are determined that the sector receives the support it needs to make that happen.
The strength of our varied and diverse providers gives families a choice of high-quality, flexible options that meet their needs, but it can mean that stand-alone settings miss out on the benefits that come from working together. We will work with the sector to support brilliant settings so that they grow and spread their expertise. We will also explore how providers could, if they choose to, pool back-office functions and overheads so that nursery managers can focus increased efforts on the children in their care.
We want to ensure that the early education and childcare market continues to be financially sustainable, able to create more places where they are needed, and focused on the needs of children. We will continue to monitor the financial sustainability of the market and may take further steps to increase the transparency of the largest providers if necessary. We have seen a decline in the number of not-for-profit providers, especially in the most deprived areas of the country, and we will work with those providers, alongside philanthropy and social investors, to explore new ways to support them to expand, and encourage new providers to open settings.
Turning to the points made by a number of Members about funding, we are expecting to spend more than £8 billion on the early years entitlements this year, rising to more than £9 billion in the next financial year. We have introduced a £75 million expansion grant to support providers ahead of September’s roll-out, and we have almost doubled the early years pupil premium. Our hourly funding rate covers core costs, taking account of cost pressures, including forecasts of average earnings, inflation and the national living wage. We want to ensure that funding is distributed fairly and effectively, reflecting the cost of delivery in different parts of the country. We will renew our approach and set out more detail in due course.
The Chair of the Education Committee is a real champion for maintained nursery schools, which are a valued and important part of the early years system. They are high-quality providers that often focus on disadvantage and special educational needs and disabilities, helping us to give every child the best start in life. To recognise the costs that maintained nursery schools face over and above those experienced by other providers, we provide additional supplementary funding to local authorities for maintained nursery schools in their area. Maintained nursery schools also make crucial contributions to stronger practice hubs, which we are expanding.
With regard to comments made about the Best Start family hubs, ensuring that every child has the best start in life and the chance to achieve and thrive is the foundation stone of our Government’s opportunity mission. We will spend close to £1.5 billion over the next three years on improving family services and early years education to begin the hard work needed. Best Start family hubs will be backed by £500 million of that investment between 2025 and 2029, and we will fund hubs in every local authority area to ensure that the children and families who need support the most, especially those from low-income backgrounds or with additional vulnerabilities, can access it. Through the hubs, families will be connected to other local services such as healthcare, relationship support, housing and job support.
My hon. Friend the Member for Sherwood Forest mentioned childminders, as did the Chair of the Select Committee. Childminders play an important role in the childcare system, offering the flexible and personalised care that many families value. They also tend to look after younger children and are a key part of the provider landscape as we expand funded childcare hours for those children. We have already taken steps to support childminders, including making it easier for them to work from different places, such as schools and other community settings.
We now want to go further. We have listened to the sector, which has consistently called for monthly payments for early years entitlements. I can assure Members that we will work with local authorities and others to ensure that, where they want to be, childminders and other early years providers are paid monthly for the funded hours that they provide, making their income more sustainable. We will also keep working with Jobcentre Plus to encourage more people to become childminders.
The shadow Secretary of State, the right hon. Member for Sevenoaks (Laura Trott), made a number of points on the reception baseline assessment. Digital assessments in primary school happen all around the globe and have been in place for several years in English primary schools, with the multiplication tables check in year 4. The reception baseline assessment is a short assessment to understand children’s abilities when they start reception, in order to enable measures of progress through primary schools. It is conducted on a one-to-one basis with teachers, and guidelines are in place to support pupils on the assessment. A revised version of the RBA, with a digital element, was set out in September. For more questions, pupils will be able to interact with images and items on a tablet screen, supported by a teacher. I can assure all Members that it has been subject to extensive trials with teachers and pupils, which commenced in 2019 under the previous Administration. Feedback from both groups has been positive.
I again thank my hon. Friend the Member for Sherwood Forest for securing this debate on such an important topic. I also acknowledge the engagement of all Members this afternoon, and the dedicated workforce in the early years sector, who do so much for our country. The Government are committed to breaking down the barriers to opportunity, and the importance of the early years cannot be overstated. Our strategy is to start a decade of national renewal for families, giving every child the best start in life.
Generative Artificial Intelligence: Schools
Stephen Morgan Excerpts(2 months, 1 week ago)
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The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Education (Stephen Morgan)
It is a pleasure to serve with you in the Chair, Sir Jeremy. I thank my near-ish neighbour, the right hon. Member for East Hampshire (Damian Hinds), for securing a debate on this important subject and for the constructive and collegiate way in which he has sought to conduct it. I thank all other Members for their interventions and contributions, including the Chair of the Education Committee, my hon. Friend the Member for Dulwich and West Norwood (Helen Hayes), for her insightful comments on challenges and opportunities and her helpful reminder of the Committee’s work on screen time.
The Government believe that generative artificial intelligence presents exciting opportunities to improve people’s lives, including by making our public services better. AI will support the delivery of the Government’s plan for change and our opportunity mission. I agree with the comments of hon. Members, including my hon. Friends the Members for Swindon North (Will Stone) and for Dulwich and West Norwood and the right hon. Member for East Hampshire, about the potential for AI and technology to support children with special educational needs. There is a strong evidence base for the impact that assistive technology such as screen readers and dictation tools can have in breaking down barriers to opportunity for children with SEND.
If used safely, effectively and with the right infrastructure in place, AI can support every child and young person, regardless of their background, to achieve at school and college and develop the knowledge and skills that they need for life. AI has the potential to ease workloads, assist with lesson planning and free up time for high-quality face-to-face teaching. That is why we have put AI at the forefront of our mission to modernise the education system, to support our teachers and school support staff and to enable them to deliver better educational outcomes for our children. The Department’s approach to generative AI in education is not static. It will continue to develop as our evidence and understanding grow.
The Government are leading the way. As announced at the Education World Forum in May, we will host an international summit on generative AI in education in 2026, bringing together education leaders from around the world to implement global guidelines for generative AI in education. We are committed to taking action that considers the risks, such as safety, and challenges, alongside opportunities and benefits. I assure the hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon) that those discussions include ministerial colleagues across the UK. He will know that education is a devolved matter, but I can confirm that I had discussions with my ministerial equivalent in Northern Ireland during my visit to Belfast last month.
We have taken action to make sure that AI can be effectively used in schools. We have funded Oak National Academy’s AI lesson planning assistant, Aila, which helps teachers save significant time with lesson planning. Teachers report time savings of around three hours per week.
The right hon. Member for East Hampshire was right to mention support through the effective use of AI. Further, we launched the content store pilot in August of last year, aiming to make available the underpinning content and data that are needed for great AI tools. Coupled with investment in the AI tools for education competition, we are supporting edtech innovators to develop effective AI tools that can reduce the burden of feedback and marking on teachers.
Last month, I attended London Tech Week and announced an additional £1 million in contracts to further develop existing prototype tools so that they are ready to be used in the classroom. I saw demonstrations of tools developed at a hackathon using our innovative education content store. I also saw at first hand the value of that store and the importance of making available the underpinning content and data to develop excellent AI tools for education.
We know that any advancement in technology presents risks as well as opportunities, which is why we are taking steps to manage these proactively, including through safeguards and by gathering robust evidence on AI use.
Stephen Morgan
I will give way, but I am conscious that the right hon. Gentleman was not here at the start of the debate.
Graham Stuart
I apologise for not being here at the start, and I am grateful to the Minister for giving way. To what extent is he concerned about biases within the models? Most of the major generative AI models are not produced in this country; they are developed in highly competitive circumstances and tend to be secretive about the data used to train them. Is that an area of concern? If he thinks there are going to be more applications in the education sphere and others, should the Government take steps to ensure greater transparency about the data upon which these models are trained?
Stephen Morgan
I will certainly take that back. I have had discussions with colleagues at the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology and others about reliability, safety and biases.
In November last year, with the Under-Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, my hon. Friend the Member for Enfield North (Feryal Clark), I met leading global tech firms, including Google, Microsoft and Adobe, to agree safety expectations and to ensure that AI tools are safe for classroom use. We are also supporting staff to use AI safely. In partnership with the Chiltern Learning Trust and the Chartered College of Teaching, we have published online support materials to help teachers and leaders to use AI safely and effectively, developed by the sector, for the sector. They supplement the Department’s AI policy paper—which we updated in June—alongside the information for educators about using AI safely and effectively, and the toolkit for leaders to help address the risks and opportunities of AI across their whole setting.
To develop our evidence base, we have launched two pilot programmes, the edtech evidence board and the edtech testbed. The first is to ensure that schools have the confidence to secure edtech products that work well for their setting, and the second is to evaluate the impact of edtech and AI products on improving staff workload, pupil outcomes and inclusivity. I want to assure all hon. Members that we will continue to work with schools to support them in harnessing opportunities and managing potential challenges presented by generative AI.
A number of hon. Members, including the Liberal Democrat spokesperson, the hon. Member for Guildford (Zöe Franklin), spoke about social media, and “Keeping children safe in education” is statutory guidance that provides schools and colleges with robust information on how to protect pupils and students online. The guidance has been significantly strengthened with regard to online safety, which is now embedded throughout, making clear the importance of taking a whole-school approach to keeping children safe online. The DFE is working across Government to implement the Online Safety Act 2023 and to address technology-related risks, including AI in education. I can assure the hon. Member for Guildford that it is a priority for us to ensure that children benefit from its protections.
On the point that a number of hon. Members made about the impact on qualifications, assessment and regulation, the majority of GCSE and A-level assessments are exams taken under close staff supervision, with no access to the internet. Schools, colleges and awarding organisations are continuing to take reasonable steps to prevent malpractice involving the use of generative AI in formal assessments. Ofqual is, of course, the independent regulator of qualifications and assessments, and published its approach to regulating AI use in the qualifications sector in 2024. Ofqual supported the production of guidance from the Joint Council for Qualifications on the use of AI in assessments. That guidance provides teachers and exam centres with information to help them to prevent and identify potential malpractice involving the misuse of AI.
More broadly, the curriculum and assessment review’s interim report acknowledged risks concerning AI use in coursework assessments. The review is taking a subject-by-subject approach to consider assessment fitness for purpose and the impact of different assessment methods on teaching and learning. I assure Members that the review is considering potential risks, the trade-offs with non-exam assessment such as deliverability, and the risks of malpractice and to equity.
Damian Hinds
There are two simple safeguards against misuse of AI in exams here in front of me. Will the Minister recognise that the best way to ensure the security and integrity of exams, and how assessment is done lower down the school, is—for the great majority of children, in the majority of subjects—for exams to be handwritten in exam conditions?
Sir Jeremy Wright (in the Chair)
For the assistance of Hansard, I point out that the right hon. Gentleman was holding up a pen and paper.
Stephen Morgan
I will absolutely take away the point made by the right hon. Member for East Hampshire. I mentioned the role of Ofqual as the regulator and the role of the curriculum and assessment review, which is independently led. I look forward to hearing the outcomes of that review in due course.
In conclusion, I thank the right hon. Gentleman and other hon. Members for their contributions on this important topic. As I set out, the Government are committed to working with the sector to harness technology, which presents new and exciting challenges for the sector. We are also committed to ensuring that that technology is used safely and effectively—never to supplant the irreplaceable face-to-face work of our teachers and educators, but to support them to spend more time doing what they do best: teaching.
Sir Jeremy Wright (in the Chair)
The right hon. Member for East Hampshire, who moved the motion, has the right—if he wishes it—to wind up the debate, and he has about 20 minutes in which to do so. He is, however, under no obligation to use all or any of that time.
Children with Allergies: School Safeguarding
Stephen Morgan Excerpts(2 months, 1 week ago)
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The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Education (Stephen Morgan)
It is a pleasure to see you in the Chair, Ms Lewell. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Redditch (Chris Bloore) for securing and opening this debate. I have greatly valued the opportunity to listen to his insights and hear the arguments on this important topic, especially given his personal experience with his family. I know that all hon. Members will today be thinking of their constituents and families who have lost loved ones as a result of allergies.
I acknowledge the contributions of my hon. Friends the Members for Clwyd East (Becky Gittins), for Tamworth (Sarah Edwards), for Stafford (Leigh Ingham), for Bexleyheath and Crayford (Daniel Francis), for Nuneaton (Jodie Gosling) and for North West Leicestershire (Amanda Hack) to this debate, as well as their contributions to the APPG or as allergy champions. I thank them for their hard work and for the priority that they are giving to this important topic for children, early years and schools.
I absolutely understand that allergies can be worrying for parents and pupils. When parents send their children to school, it is only right and natural that they expect them to be kept safe. For parents of children with allergies, there is understandably an additional level of concern. Allergies can be complex conditions and can range enormously in severity. While much of the debate focuses on food allergies, it is important to note that not all allergens are food, which makes the issue more complicated for individuals to manage. Allergies are therefore a highly individual condition, so there is no one-size-fits-all approach.
Last month, I was lucky enough to visit Edith Neville primary school with the Natasha Allergy Research Foundation. I got to see at first hand how allergy awareness training can increase the safety of pupils with food allergies and allow them to feel fully involved in school activities. I am sure that hon. Members will agree that allergies are complex and, by their very nature, require individualised approaches. These issues are best dealt with locally. That is why the Government have put in place a number of pieces of legislation, as well as guidance for schools and parents, covering a range of areas and circumstances. We are very aware of recent calls to strengthen the law around allergies, with specific references to voluntary approaches and voluntary guidance.
I stress that section 100 of the Children and Families Act 2014 places a legal duty on schools to
“make arrangements for supporting pupils at the school with medical conditions”
including allergies, and that governing bodies must have regard to the accompanying statutory guidance supporting pupils with medical conditions when carrying out their duties. The guidance makes it clear that schools should ensure that they are aware of any pupils with allergies, and have processes in place to ensure that those can be well managed. The guidance sets out that a school’s policy should be clear that any member of the school’s staff providing support to a pupil with medical needs should have received suitable training. The Department’s allergy guidance for schools signpost them to allergy available resources and training. I again stress that individual schools are best placed to work with parents to put in place a system that works for the school, parents and individual children.
Individual healthcare plans can set out arrangements for specific pupils’ medical needs, and schools will need to draw on, or seek advice from, clinicians on how the individual’s medical condition should be managed while in school. That is particularly important where children and young people have conditions that, if not managed effectively, could pose a high risk to their health and safety. Individual healthcare plans will be particularly important where conditions fluctuate or there is a high risk that emergency intervention will be needed. They are likely to be helpful in the majority of other cases, especially where medical conditions are long term and complex. However, not all children will require one.
In addition to the section 100 duty, schools are subject to other requirements. For example, in the UK, food businesses must inform consumers if they use any of the 14 mandatory allergens as ingredients in the food that they provide. How allergen information should be provided depends on whether the food is prepackaged, non-prepackaged or prepacked for direct sale. That includes food provided by institutions including school caterers, who have the responsibility to protect individuals in their care.
As hon. Members may know, rules on the provision of food labelling are set out primarily in the retained EU Food Information Regulations 2014. These rules include a requirement to identify to consumers the presence of any of the 14 mandatory allergens, including cereals containing gluten, eggs, fish and milk.
The Department for Education works closely with the Food Standards Agency on all matters relating to school food. The FSA provides a free food allergy and intolerance online training course, which offers practical advice to local authority law enforcement officers and anyone who wants to learn more about food allergies, such as those working in the food manufacturing and catering industries. The FSA also offers a host of other training, technical documents and guidance documents, including information on the 14 most common allergens, food labelling requirements, and the handling of allergen ingredients.
Auto-injectors can be vital if a child suffers an allergic reaction. To support schools in meeting the needs of children with allergies, the Human Medicines (Amendment) Regulations 2017 were passed and they allow schools to obtain and hold spare adrenalin auto-injectors for administration to pupils in an emergency. The Department for Health and Social Care has produced guidance on the use of these injectors and emergency inhalers in schools, including the purchase of spares. The guidance makes it clear that any adrenalin auto-injectors held by a school should be considered as a back-up device and not as a replacement for pupils’ own adrenalin auto-injectors.
Beyond this, families are also able to play an important role in managing their child’s condition. We are very clear with schools that no one will know a child’s needs as well as their parents, and that schools should work closely together with parents. The parents of children with allergies will work with medical professionals and other organisations to plan for and navigate their child’s specific needs, and parents should be fully consulted and engaged in any discussions about their child’s allergies. Schools will also need to ensure that parents and carers of children with food allergies or intolerances are given information about allergic ingredients used in the foods available, and good communication between parents and schools about allergies and pupils’ needs is essential to keep children safe while they are in school.
Since March 2024, the Department has reminded schools of their duties concerning pupils with allergies every six months, via the DFE’s bulletin to the education sector. These reminders have included links to Government guidance, as well as signposting to credible resources from the charitable sector, including the voluntary schools allergy code, which is co-produced by the Benedict Blythe Foundation, the Independent Schools’ Bursars Association and the Allergy Team.
For younger children, the early years foundation stage framework sets the standards that all registered early years providers must meet for the learning, development and care of children from birth to the age of five. The EYFS states that before a child is admitted to an early years setting, the provider must obtain information about any special dietary requirements, preferences or food allergies the child has, as well as any other special health requirements. Providers must also have a policy and procedures for administering medicines, and they must have systems to obtain information about a child’s needs for medicines and to keep this information up to date. Training must be provided for staff where the administration of medicine requires medical or technical knowledge.
There is also a requirement for at least one person who has a current paediatric first aid certificate to be on the premises and available at all times when children are present, and they must also accompany children on outings. The PFA criteria is clear that the training should include being able to help a baby or child suffering from anaphylactic shock. There is also a requirement within the EYFS regarding adequate supervision. This is explicit that while children are eating, they must always be in sight and hearing of an adult—not within sight or hearing—to help educators to notice the signs of an allergic reaction as soon as they are present and allow them to act quickly.
The new early years educator level 3 qualification criteria came into force in September 2024, ensuring that early years educators have an understanding of allergies and anaphylaxis. Following consultation last year and subject to parliamentary procedure, we will introduce changes to the safeguarding requirements of the EYFS from September this year. They will include a new safety eating section containing a number of requirements relating to allergies, such as a requirement for providers or childminders to have ongoing discussions with parents and/or carers about special dietary requirements, including food allergies and intolerances that a child may have, as well as a requirement to develop allergy action plans, where appropriate, to manage them.
In addition, providers and childminders will be required to ensure that all staff are aware of the symptoms and treatments for allergies and anaphylaxis and the differences between allergies and intolerances, and that they have an understanding that children can develop allergies at any time. That is particularly pertinent during the introduction of solid foods, which is sometimes called complementary feeding or weaning. It will also be a requirement that while children are eating there should always be a member of staff in the room who holds a valid first aid certificate. Where possible, providers and childminders should also sit facing children while they eat, to ensure that children are eating in a way that prevents choking and food sharing, and so that the provider is aware of unexpected allergic reactions.
From September, early years providers will be required to have regard to the new nutrition guidance published in May this year. It includes a section on food allergies, and it provides information on the symptoms of both allergic reactions and anaphylaxis, as well as common food allergens. It also provides links to helpful resources, such as the Food Standards Agency’s free food allergy training.
This Government are committed to breaking down barriers to opportunity and tackling child poverty. We have now announced that we are extending free school meals to children from households in receipt of universal credit from September 2026. This will lift 100,000 children across England out of poverty and will put £500 back into families’ pockets, supporting parents in a decisive action to improve lives ahead of the child poverty strategy coming later this year. The Department will expect schools to make every effort to ensure that eligible pupils with allergies can benefit from that entitlement.
In deciding what is reasonable, schools and their caterers are expected to take into account factors such as the type of diet required by the child with allergies, the number of children in a similar position and the cost of making suitable food available. It is important that schools have a culture of inclusivity, and we expect schools to do what they can to ensure that no child is unnecessarily disadvantaged or made to feel disadvantaged.
The same applies to breakfast clubs. The Government are committed to delivering on our pledge to introduce breakfast clubs in every state-funded primary school. The Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill will mean that every state-funded school with children on the roll from reception to year 6 will be required to offer a free breakfast club before the start of each school day. This will ensure that every child, regardless of circumstance, has a supportive start to the school day.
I have outlined the various legislation and guidance that covers allergies in schools. We do, of course, keep those policies under review, and we welcome feedback on how we can better support schools’ implementation of them. Senior DFE officials sit on the expert advisory group for allergy, which is convened by colleagues in the Department of Health and Social Care and the National Allergy Strategy Group, and which plans to publish a 10-year strategy later this year. It will make recommendations to Government on levers that can improve the lives of people living with allergies, including in education. I encourage stakeholders to feed any ideas on those issues to officials via that route.
I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Redditch again for securing this debate and for his instructive, insightful and personal contribution, and I thank all hon. Members, including those with lived experience, for their speeches and interventions this afternoon.
Oral Answers to Questions
Stephen Morgan Excerpts(3 months ago)
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John Lamont (Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk) (Con)
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Education (Stephen Morgan)
Mobile phones have no place in our schools. Government guidance is clear that schools should prohibit the use of devices with smart technology throughout the school day. If pupils fail to follow those rules, schools have the power to confiscate devices to ensure that classrooms are free from disruption.
Sarah Bool
Schools with a smartphone ban were rated higher by Ofsted, and their students achieved better GCSE results. All the evidence shows the benefit of banning smartphones in schools, but the Government are simply issuing non-statutory guidance and passing the buck. Does the Minister not understand the evidence? Does he need more evidence, or does he not trust the Government to be able to implement a ban on smartphones in schools?
Stephen Morgan
I will take no lectures from the Conservatives on this issue. When they were in government, they exclaimed that the same guidance meant a consistent approach across schools. I have to ask: if they were wrong then, are they wrong now?
John Lamont
Mobile phones in classrooms are linked to disruptive and violent behaviour. Does the Minister agree that mobile phones should be banned in all schools so that children are focused on their education, not glued to Instagram and TikTok?
Stephen Morgan
I repeat my earlier answer: legislation is not necessary, because schools already have the power to ban phones in schools, and the majority have chosen to do so.
Alistair Strathern (Hitchin) (Lab)
From speaking with former teaching colleagues and local school leaders, I know that the impact that powerful school policies to restrict the use of smartphones and keep them out of schools can have is really clear. Fantastic work has been done on that, including by Hitchin boys’ school in my constituency, but sadly not all schools are meeting this high standard in ensuring that they have robust and well-enforced policies. How can we ensure that we are spreading this good practice to every school across the country? Would the Minister love to visit Hitchin boys’ school in my seat so that he can see at first hand the fantastic work it is doing?
Stephen Morgan
I think that shows that schools actually have the power to do this. It is worth saying that everyone, including parents, schools and providers, is responsible for ensuring that children are aware of the importance of internet safety. We encourage schools to consult and to build on that support with parents to develop a policy that works in the context and that keeps children and young people safe.
Laura Trott (Sevenoaks) (Con)
The Secretary of State may dismiss banning smartphones in schools as a gimmick, but teachers, health professionals and parents are all calling for action to reduce children’s screen time. Every day we have new evidence of the harm that screens are doing, so why is the Education Secretary ignoring that and pressing ahead with screen-based assessments for children as young as four from September? Does she accept that that is normalising screen time for young people, which is the opposite of what we should be doing?
Stephen Morgan
Is that all that the right hon. Lady can go on? After 14 years, the Conservatives broke the education system. As I said, guidance is already in place for schools, and the majority of schools already have a ban on mobile phone use.
Dr Luke Evans (Hinckley and Bosworth) (Con)
Ben Goldsborough (South Norfolk) (Lab)
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Education (Stephen Morgan)
This Government are committed to sustained investment to improve the school estate, in order to give children the best start in life. We will increase annual capital investment for maintenance in real terms, rising from £2.1 billion this financial year to around £2.3 billion in 2029-30—over £400 million more than in 2024-25. That is on top of around £2.4 billion per year over the next four years to 2029-30 to continue the school rebuilding programme in over 500 schools. We will go further by expanding the programme, providing long-term certainty through to 2034-35, and we will set out details in the forthcoming 10-year infrastructure strategy.
Dr Evans
I am grateful to the Minister for his answer. I draw his attention to the process for getting some of that funding. Battling Brook is a small primary school in the heart of Hinckley. It is well loved, but it has had problems with two of its classrooms having damp and falling into disrepair, so the school cannot use them. It applied to the condition improvement fund but was declined. The school feels that the goalposts have been shifted; there was a six-month delay in the condition data collection report, so it was marked down, and this all culminated in Battling Brook not getting the funding it needs. Will the Minister look at this case and have a meeting with me, so that I can go back to Battling Brook and make sure it gets the funding it needs to reopen its classrooms in September for the primary school pupils of Hinckley?
Stephen Morgan
The hon. Member has not been shy in lobbying me on these issues, but I would be very happy to meet him again. He will know that the Department provides advice and support on a case-by-case basis, and I am happy to discuss these issues with him further.
Ben Goldsborough
Children at Wreningham and Brooke primary schools are receiving a first-class education from excellent teachers, despite still being taught from portacabins due to a lack of investment by the previous Government. I thank the Minister for already agreeing to meet me. It would be rude if I did not extend the same invite to him, so would he like to come and visit those two amazing schools?
Stephen Morgan
The Government do not want any school to be left behind, including those serving rural communities. That is why we have invested significantly in capital funding this year, with almost £5.5 million for Norfolk county council to invest in improving its estate, including Wreningham and Brooke primary schools. I look forward to meeting my hon. Friend.
Tim Farron (Westmorland and Lonsdale) (LD)
Small rural schools in Cumbria have some of the oldest buildings that are most in need of repair, but also some of the most pressured budgets. Will the Minister consider setting out a special budget aimed at making sure we tackle repair backlogs in small rural schools, such as those in my constituency?
Stephen Morgan
The hon. Member will know that ensuring schools and colleges get the resources and buildings they need is a key part of our mission to break down barriers to opportunity and ensure every young person can succeed and thrive. I would be very happy to meet him to discuss these issues further.
Catherine Atkinson (Derby North) (Lab)
I thank the Minister for having taken the time to meet me and hear the case for Saint Benedict school to be rebuilt to be more sustainable, safe and secure. The neighbouring primary school, St Mary’s, is the greenest in the UK and an incredible example of what a rebuild can do to inspire young minds. Will the Minister visit both schools to see, on the one hand, what has already been achieved in Derby, and on the other, the amazing opportunity we have to achieve so much more?
Stephen Morgan
I was very pleased to meet my hon. Friend to discuss Saint Benedict, which will benefit from transformed buildings through the school rebuilding programme. This Government have committed to continue and expand that programme to improve the school estate and give children the best start in life. I know that my hon. Friend is a real champion on these issues, and I would be very happy to discuss them further.
Steve Witherden (Montgomeryshire and Glyndŵr) (Lab)
Olivia Bailey (Reading West and Mid Berkshire) (Lab)
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Education (Stephen Morgan)
This Government are committed to breaking down the barriers to opportunity, which is why we are providing access to specialist mental health professionals in every school and expanding mental health support teams so that every child can access early support before problems escalate.
Dr Opher
In the Stroud area, six schools are now teaching mental health first aid to 16-year-olds. Many students have received a form of qualification, which they can use for applications to jobs and university. At Rednock school, these students are wearing coloured lanyards so that other students can recognise them and ask them for help with their mental health. Would the Minister support and extend this innovative scheme?
Stephen Morgan
I am happy to hear about the successful project in my hon. Friend’s constituency, and I am interested to learn more as we share further details. Separately, to support education staff, the Department provides a range of guidance and practical resources on promoting and supporting pupils’ mental health and wellbeing.
Olivia Bailey
The brilliant schools in my constituency know that good mental health is the foundation for pupils enjoying school, fulfilling their potential and getting ready for life. In addition to rolling out mental health support for nearly a million more young people this year, will the Minister confirm that this Government will ensure that every child who needs mental health support will get it by the end of this Parliament?
Stephen Morgan
I agree with my hon. Friend, but would add that it is not just seen through the expansion of mental health support teams. With an extra £680 million in Government funding this year, the Government are transforming mental health services for children in Reading West and Mid Berkshire and across the country, hiring more staff, delivering more talking therapies and getting waiting lists down through our plan for change so that children can have the best possible start in life.
Damian Hinds (East Hampshire) (Con)
What are the principal differences between this Government’s groundbreaking plan to introduce mental health support teams to schools and the previous Government’s already in-progress programme to deliver mental health support teams to schools? As I like this Minister, Mr Speaker, let me give him a hint: this has been a rhetorical question.
Stephen Morgan
The difference is that we are delivering it to every school in our country to make sure that every child can succeed and thrive.
Alison Bennett (Mid Sussex) (LD)
My constituent John Clifton chairs the West Sussex Parent Carer Forum. Last week John wrote to me and all West Sussex MPs outlining a number of the forum’s concerns, including the provision of mental health support for children who have special educational needs and are neurodiverse. How will the Minister ensure that the support that will be provided is inclusive for all children, regardless of their needs?
Stephen Morgan
The Secretary of State has recently met the parent carer forum to discuss these issues and will continue to do so. We are committed to introducing more mental health support workers across the NHS and creating youth mental health hubs in all communities.
Harpreet Uppal (Huddersfield) (Lab)
Gurinder Singh Josan (Smethwick) (Lab)
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Education (Stephen Morgan)
I completely agree with my hon. Friend. Providing over half a million children from the most disadvantaged backgrounds with a free, nutritious lunch every school day will lead to higher attainment, improved behaviour and better outcomes, including on attendance, meaning that children can get the best possible education and a chance to succeed in life.
Sir John Whittingdale (Maldon) (Con)
Sarah Bool (South Northamptonshire) (Con)
Stephen Morgan
Around 50 mainstream private schools close each year. The level of fees charged by private schools is not a matter for the Department; it is a contractual matter between private schools and parents.
Callum Anderson (Buckingham and Bletchley) (Lab)
Just two in five young people recall receiving any financial education at school, and those who did so often received less than an hour per month. While I welcome the Government’s Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill, which will require all schools to teach financial literacy, does the Minister agree that the curriculum and assessment review gives us an opportunity to go even further? Will she meet me to discuss how Government, industry and civil society can ensure that children in my constituency get this vital life skill?
Stephen Morgan
We have significantly increased investment to improve the condition of schools or rebuild them; ensuring that schools have the resources and buildings that they need is key to our plan for change. If the hon. Member would like to write to me about that school, I would be happy to update him on this matter.
Jen Craft (Thurrock) (Lab)
As chair of the all-party parliamentary group on British Sign Language, I know that the thousands of BSL first-language speakers in this country are very supportive of the introduction of a new BSL GCSE. However, I understand that progress on that has slightly stalled, so I would be grateful if the Minister could provide an update on the roll-out.
Luke Taylor (Sutton and Cheam) (LD)
In April, I wrote to the Minister for School Standards about the Angel Hill free school, which will provide 96 desperately needed places for children with SEND in my constituency. I thank her for her response in which she said that we would get an update shortly. I ask again: when does she expect construction of the Angel Hill free school in Rosehill to begin?
Stephen Morgan
I thank the hon. Member for raising this important project. I can confirm that works at Angel Hill free school are expected to commence in September 2025 subject to the contract being awarded in August.
School Food
Stephen Morgan Excerpts(3 months, 1 week ago)
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The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Education (Stephen Morgan)
This Government are today taking another step to delivering our plan for change as we announce that all children in households in receipt of universal credit will be eligible for free school meals from September 2026. This unprecedented step will put £500 back into families’ pockets and lift 100,000 children across England out of poverty, to break down barriers to opportunity and tackle the scar of child poverty across our country.
Giving children access to a nutritious meal during the school day also leads to higher attainment, improved behaviour and better outcomes—meaning they get the best possible education and chance to succeed in work and life.
This new entitlement will apply for children in all settings where free school meals are provided, including schools, school-based nurseries and further education settings. We expect the majority of schools will allow parents to apply before the start of the school year September 2026, by providing their national insurance number to check their eligibility.
Since 2018, children have only been eligible for free school meals if their household income is less than £7,400 per year, meaning hundreds of thousands of children living in poverty have been unable to access free school meals.
The Government’s historic new expansion to those in receipt of universal credit will change this and comes ahead of the child poverty taskforce publishing its 10-year strategy to drive sustainable change later this year.
Families struggling with the cost of living are also benefiting from the significant steps the Government are taking to raise the national minimum wage, uprate benefits and support 700,000 families through the fair repayment rate on universal credit deductions.
To ensure quality and nutrition in meals for the future, the Government are also acting quickly with experts across the sector to revise the school food standards, so every school is supported with the latest nutrition guidance.
The Government are also offering more than £13 million in funding to 12 food charities across England to redistribute thousands of tonnes of fresh produce directly from farms to fight food poverty in communities.
The tackling food surplus at the farm gate scheme is helping farms and organisations to work collaboratively to ensure edible food that might have been left in fields instead ends up on the plates of those who need it, including schoolchildren. Schools and local authorities will continue to receive pupil premium and home-to- school transport extended rights funding based on the existing free school meals threshold.
This is the latest step in the Government’s plan for change to break the unfair link between background and opportunity, including rolling out free breakfast clubs to every primary school, expanding Government-funded childcare to 30 hours a week for working parents and legislating to cap the number of branded school uniform items.
From April 2026 until the end of Parliament, millions of households are set to receive a permanent yearly above inflation boost to universal credit. The increase, a key element of the Government’s welfare reforms to be laid before Parliament, will tackle the destitution caused by years of inaction that has left the value of the standard allowance at a 40-year low by the early 2020s.
[HCWS682]
Free School Meals
Stephen Morgan Excerpts(3 months, 1 week ago)
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The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Education (Stephen Morgan)
With permission, I will make a statement to update the House on free school meals for children.
This is a Government who put children first—they are at the centre of the change that we want to see, because what we do for our children, we do for our country. If we want to break the unfair link between background and success, deliver opportunity to every home and shape a fairer society, that has to start with our children. It has to start with the fundamentals: making sure that every family has a stable, loving home where no child lacks food or warmth. That simple dignity should be the uncontroversial birthright of every child as they grow up in a civilised society, but after 14 long years, that dignity was not universal, nor that birthright uncontroversial.
When this Government won the trust of the British people, which Conservative Members forfeited last July, the legacy of the Conservatives’ shameful record in power was a record number of children growing up in poverty. Some 4.5 million children were robbed of opportunity and hope, of life chances and of possibilities. Child poverty is a scar on our society. It is a mark of the failure of Conservative Members to grow the economy, to spread success to working people and to deliver for the next generation the ordinary hope that tomorrow will be better than today.
The last Government did not see the growing number of families in deep poverty as a failure to be addressed, but let me be clear that the growing number of children on free school meals under the last Government was an index of failure, not a story of success. This Government are determined to turn the picture around, tackling child poverty and spreading growth and opportunity to every family in every part of our country. That is why today I am announcing the biggest expansion of free school meal eligibility in England in a generation, because we can and must end the scourge of child poverty.
Today, we are setting out that we will give every child whose family is in receipt of universal credit the entitlement to free school meals. That means not simply meals in mouths but, crucially, money back in the pockets of parents and families on an unprecedented scale. This is a historic change for children and for families, with 100,000 children lifted out of poverty. That is the mark of a Government who are serious about backing parents and tackling child poverty, the mark of a Government with a plan for change and the mark of a Government with the ideas, investment and determination to see it through.
On that note, this Government’s child poverty taskforce, which my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Education co-chairs with the Work and Pensions Secretary, is forging ahead. We have listened to parents, to charities and to people with lived experience, and now we are acting, bringing the change that children and families deserve. In the months and years to come, that change will be shaped by the child poverty strategy, which we will publish later this year.
This is an intervention that backs parents as well as children. Our free school meals expansion will put up to £495 back in parents’ pockets every year. For them, that means more freedom in how they support their families, more choice in how they care for their children and more opportunities to get on and live a good life. Our expansion of free school meals is not just about the here and now; it is an investment in our children’s futures. It sets them free from the worries and strains of growing up in poverty, leaving them free to learn and play and to do their very best in school. Today’s announcement is not only anti-poverty, but pro-learning. I know that Members across the House will agree with me when I say that those two causes shine brightest when they shine together. That is what the evidence tells us.
These meals need to be healthy. School food standards have not been revised since 2014, but this Government are acting quickly to put that right. That is why I am pleased to announce today that we are working with experts from across the sector to revise those standards. We are supporting schools with the latest nutritional guidance, because the benefits for children of getting a decent, healthy meal at school are huge, with their attendance higher, their focus sharper, their behaviour better, their grades stronger and their futures brighter. That chance to succeed should be open to all. That is the sort of society I want to live in and that this Government want to build, but the kind of change that our children need is not the work of a single day or a single policy, even one as important as this. That is why today’s announcement is part of our wider approach and moral mission with the child poverty strategy, the opportunity mission and this Government’s plan for change.
We have already begun rolling out school-based nurseries and 30 hours of Government-funded childcare, saving parents up to £7,500 a year. Children are already eating, playing and learning together as our free breakfast clubs reach 750 early adopter schools, saving parents another £450 a year. We are cutting the cost of school uniforms for 4.2 million children, saving some parents £50 in their back-to-school shop. On top of that, we are recruiting more teachers, driving high and rising standards in our schools, reforming children’s social care, boosting the early years pupil premium and so much more.
Growing up in Fratton, I saw at first hand the devastating impact that poverty can have on children in Portsmouth. Friends came to school hungry and not ready to learn. That is why I am proud to stand here today as we offer a helping hand to ensure that every child, whatever their background and wherever they come from, achieves and thrives.
We are delivering the change that parents need and that children deserve—the change that will break the unfair link between background and success once and for all. That means doing everything in our power to end child poverty. Today, we say enough is enough. Today, we begin to turn the tide. Today, the fightback that began in July last year kicks up a gear. We are acting to secure a brighter future for our children and for our country too. I commend this statement to the House.
Neil O’Brien (Harborough, Oadby and Wigston) (Con)
I thank the Minister for advance sight of his statement.
The truth is that the families benefiting from today’s announcement are the same ones who are paying for it, because the same group of people are hit hardest by Labour’s national insurance increase. Labour promised not to increase national insurance, but it broke that promise, and someone earning just £13,000 a year will now take home £500 less as a result of the tax increase. Someone on just £9,000 a year—the exact sort of person who is supposed to benefit from this policy—will lose 5% of their income.
The Government want to talk about the impact of the money they are giving today on poverty, but they do not want to talk about the impact of the much larger sum of money they are taking away. Disgracefully, they have not done any distributional analysis of the £25 billion that they are taking away, which is particularly targeted at low-income households. Will the Minister say how many households that will push into poverty? Will he finally admit what the figure is?
While free school meals are obviously welcome, the things that are being cut to pay for them are much less welcome. For example, the Government broke their promise to fully fund the national insurance increase for schools, and some have been short-changed by 35%. They also broke their promise to fully fund the pay award. According to the Institute for Fiscal Studies, that leaves a £400 million funding hole for our schools. Under the last Government, although there was an increase in achievement across the board, the biggest increase was in the lower half of the income distribution. That is much harder to achieve when the Government have taken £400 million out of our schools.
What else is being done to balance the costs? We already know that the Government have cut support for maths, science, physics, Latin, computing and cadets in schools, and got rid of the successful behaviour hubs. We know that nurseries, which the Minister talked about, are saying they are on the brink because of the national insurance increase. In fact, the Early Years Alliance says the situation is “catastrophic”. We know that the Department for Education recently announced a real-terms cut of 10% to university teaching grants, and it has abolished 90% of higher apprenticeships—funnily enough, they announced that during the recess. Now the education press are saying that the next cost-saving measure to pay for announcements like this will be to abolish education, health and care plans for everything other than special schools. Will the Minister rule that out today? If he does not rule it out, the whole House will hear, and we will know exactly what is going to happen next.
Turning to the numbers, what is the real net effect of all this? Transitional protections were established in 2018 to ensure that pupils who gained FSM would not lose them while universal credit was being rolled out. That has roughly doubled the proportion of pupils who are eligible from 13.6% to 25.7%. However, the Department for Education has announced that those protections will now end in September 2026, when the new policy comes in. By how much will the end of those transitional protections reduce the number of children who are eligible for FSM? Am I right in thinking that it is by 1.2 million? Will the Minister agree—he is looking away—to finally publish a figure? How many children who have been on transitional protection will lose their free school meals when they change phase of education? Will the Minister finally admit to the figure?
There is another sting in the tail today, because school budgets are going to be hit—that is how this policy is being paid for. That is because FSM is the gateway to pupil premium funding. The pupil premium is a great achievement of the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition Government, and it is worth £1,480 per pupil in primary schools and a bit over £1,000 in secondary schools. As a result of today’s decision, schools are going to lose that funding. With 1.2 million pupils on transitional protection, bringing with them about £1,200 each, schools are going to lose the £1.5 billion currently going to them in pupil premium funding.
Will that funding be replaced by this announcement? No, because today the Government have for the first time broken the link between FSM eligibility and pupil premium funding. On one side of the ledger, £1.5 billion has been lost, and on the other side of the ledger, schools are not getting it back. I had wondered where all the money was coming from, and now of course we know. I ask the Minister to spit it out: how much will this decision cost schools, and how much is it saving the DFE?
On a similar point, will the Minister confirm that the Government will apply the same approach to holiday activities and food, which would also not trigger an increase in that funding? Is the same also true of home-school transport, and how is this all being paid for? I think we need a little more detail.
Opposition Members have become rather cautious about positive-sounding announcements from this Government. For example, the other day Ministers were here to announce that they would continue the adoption and special guardianship support fund, but it must just have slipped their mind to mention that it was being cut by 40%. That is why we like to know the detail when we get positive announcements.
I will end by asking some questions about the facts. Will the Minister agree to publish information on how many children are currently on transitional protection and how much the end of that protection will reduce entitlement to free school meals? Will he agree to publish how much pupil premium funding schools will lose overall as a result of breaking the link between FSM and the pupil premium? Just to ask again, so that the whole House hears the answer, will he rule out abolishing EHCPs outside special schools—yes or no?
Stephen Morgan
I cannot believe that I did not hear the Opposition spokesperson welcome our announcement. It is a shame that when the Conservatives were in government tackling child poverty was not considered a priority. I feel a little sorry for the spokesperson, who claims to care about education, given that his only policy is to give private schools a tax break. Indeed, on the Conservatives’ watch, child poverty grew to record highs and they wore the increasing numbers in child poverty as a badge of honour. Frankly, that is shameful.
This increase in free school meals is fully funded, and that is possible thanks to the difficult decisions that this Government and the Chancellor have had to take to get the economy growing and put the public finances back on a stable footing. I am excited to hear the Chancellor set out more details next week. That is despite the mess we inherited from the Conservatives. Why has the spokesperson not taken the opportunity today to say sorry for his Government’s shameful record on child poverty? He has nothing to say on education for our country. Unlike them, we will not sit by and watch more children fall into poverty. Unlike them, we are not offering a tax break for private schools. We are delivering positive change for our country. We are giving children back the opportunity to achieve and thrive. With this announcement, we are ensuring that every child, no matter what their background, gets the best start in life. [Interruption.]
Madam Deputy Speaker (Ms Nusrat Ghani)
Order. I call the Chair of the Education Committee.
Helen Hayes (Dulwich and West Norwood) (Lab)
I warmly welcome the expansion of the free school meals entitlement. It is an evidence-based approach for which many of us have campaigned for a long time. It will help to close the disadvantage gap in our schools, tackling child poverty, benefiting children’s health and supporting children to learn.
I hope the Government will agree that every child who is eligible for this expanded entitlement should be able to receive that entitlement. Whether or not children get a free school meal to which they are entitled should not depend on somebody else making an application for them through a complicated process. The Government know which families are in receipt of universal credit, so is the Minister considering auto-enrolment for this expanded entitlement? That would be easier to achieve than auto-enrolment under the previous entitlement, and every child really should be able to benefit.
Can I seek the Minister’s assurance that this very positive announcement is not an indication that other measures to reduce child poverty, such as scrapping the two-child cap, have been taken off the table?
Finally, as a London MP and a former Southwark councillor who was very proud to be part of a council that introduced universal free school meals in 2010—we have seen the benefit of that policy, and I am proud we have a Mayor who is funding universal free school meals for all primary schoolchildren in London—can I ask for confirmation that London will also receive the funding for this expanded entitlement, so it can be put to the benefit of further reducing child poverty in London?
Stephen Morgan
I thank my hon. Friend, the Select Committee Chair, for her constructive comments and for welcoming today’s announcement. Making all children in households claiming universal credit eligible for free school meals makes it straightforward for parents to know whether they are eligible. We are supporting that by taking forward a programme of work, including improvements to our own systems, which will make applying for free schools meals easier than it ever has been. As I mentioned in my statement, our proposals are fully funded. More broadly, we will set out more details in the forthcoming child poverty strategy around a number of the other measures she describes.
Madam Deputy Speaker (Ms Nusrat Ghani)
I call the Liberal Democrat spokesperson.
Munira Wilson (Twickenham) (LD)
I, too, thank the Minister for advance sight of the statement.
I warmly welcome this announcement, which will make such a difference to the lives of children up and down the country. We know the impact that free school meals can have. A hot, healthy meal in the middle of the day helps children to learn, concentrate and thrive. Making sure a child does not go hungry in school can truly change their life. That is why Liberal Democrats have for so long championed free school meals. That is why we have long called on successive Governments to take this step. That is why this policy was in our election manifesto last year. I am delighted that, even though it was not in Labour’s manifesto, they are taking our idea today. The Liberal Democrats introduced universal infant free school meals when we were in government, and we are today sharing in the joy of the tireless campaigners and struggling families for whom this announcement is such as victory. For far too long, far too many children in this country have gone hungry through the school day. The previous Conservative Government ignored the advice of their own food tsar, Henry Dimbleby, and even Michael Gove, to leave children in poverty without the meals they deserve and need.
This announcement can only be the start. We need to see the policy fully funded and properly implemented. We need to see auto-enrolment, as the Chair of the Select Committee said, so that every child receives the meals they are entitled to, because thousands of eligible children currently miss out. Now we know that the Government are finally looking to the Liberal Democrats for policy ideas on tackling the cost of learning, may I urge them to look again at capping the cost of branded uniform items, not the number of branded uniform items? Lastly, if the Government are serious about tackling the scourge of child poverty, will they finally scrap the two-child benefit cap?
Stephen Morgan
I thank the hon. Member for welcoming so positively the announcement today. She has been, like so many others in her party, a real champion on these matters. She has made clear in this place how important the policy will be to children’s wellbeing, attainment and attendance, and I of course wholeheartedly agree with her. I note her call for auto-enrolment. She made those points at various intervals during the Committee stage of the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill, and I look forward to working with her to hear her views going forward. We will, of course, continue to improve ways of registering children for free school meals, as I set out earlier, and today’s announcement makes that easier for families and schools. I also pay tribute to school food campaigners, who I meet on a regular basis, for helping to get us to today’s announcement. I look forward to continuing to work with the hon. Lady through the passage of the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill, and to work constructively to improve the life chances of children and young people across our country.
Mrs Sureena Brackenridge (Wolverhampton North East) (Lab)
In July, I came from the classroom to this Chamber. I have seen the harm that poverty does to children, particularly those from families on universal credit who were not able to claim free school meals, probably because their parents were grafting in low-paid jobs or in insecure work. Does the Minister agree that having 500,000 more children fully entitled to a nutritious school dinner will boost school attendance and help narrow the education gap that widened under the Tories?
Stephen Morgan
My hon. Friend is a real champion for children and young people in her constituency and in this place. As she rightly says, this announcement represents a significant expansion of food support for disadvantaged pupils in schools, reaching more than half a million pupils and lifting 100,000 children out of poverty. It really demonstrates that we are a mission-driven Government. The anti-poverty and pro-learning measure that we have set out today is a downpayment on the child poverty strategy. I look forward to working with my hon. Friend as we deliver this positive change for her constituency.
Bob Blackman (Harrow East) (Con)
Many of the schools in my constituency have been unable to take up the offer of breakfast clubs because, frankly, they do not have the facilities—either to provide breakfast in the first place or for the children to eat in, which is a real challenge. I want to ask the Minister about one specific issue, because I am concerned that it may create a cliff edge for parents. If the parents of a child attending school qualify for universal credit but then later get jobs, or better-paid jobs, and therefore no longer qualify for universal credit, would that child then lose their eligibility for free school meals? That could create a real problem for many parents and present us with a cliff edge. I am sure that is not the Government’s intention, but we need to make the position clear.
Stephen Morgan
The hon. Gentleman sets out the current position and what has happened in the past. What we are announcing today will lift more children out of poverty, because more children will be eligible for free school meals. He makes a number of points on breakfast clubs; obviously, we are committed to rolling out the clubs to every primary school in the country. I would be delighted to meet him to hear his particular thoughts and views on how that can make the biggest difference in his constituency.
Emma Lewell (South Shields) (Lab)
Hungry children do not learn, so I thank the Government for listening to those of us who have long campaigned for this announcement. This Government’s reforms are starting to put more money into people’s pockets, tackling the root causes of poverty, but they will take time to bed in—time that hungry children simply do not have. The Minister knows that poverty is all-encompassing and extends well beyond the school day. Will he give the 470,000 children affected by the cruel two-child benefit cap some hope today that the Government are seriously considering scrapping the cap, and considering scrapping it very soon?
Stephen Morgan
As my hon. Friend knows, this Government are determined to bring down child poverty. This is a complex area that we need to get right, and it is not for me to comment on particular speculation at the moment. Extensive work is ongoing on the child poverty strategy, which will be published later this year, and an update in the House will be provided in due course.
Lisa Smart (Hazel Grove) (LD)
As a Liberal Democrat, I warmly welcome the announcement today. I stood on a manifesto that mentioned this policy at the previous four general elections, and it is good news. However, it would be the best news if the Minister could explain more about what he means by fully funded. I refer the House to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests, where I proudly report that I am in my 19th year as a primary school governor, so I know that school budgets are stretched to the limit. Will the Minister explain what he means when he says fully funded—does that mean fully funded from existing school budgets?
Stephen Morgan
I thank the hon. Lady for her question and for her time as a school governor, especially as we mark Volunteers’ Week. The work of school governors up and down the country is invaluable, and they play a particular role in supporting schools’ compliance with school food standards. We currently spend more than £1.5 billion on school food annually, delivering free school meals to around 3.5 million children. We will set out further details on the funding as part of our wider child poverty strategy in due course.
Rachel Hopkins (Luton South and South Bedfordshire) (Lab)
I welcome this Labour Government’s announcement on expanding eligibility for free school meals to any child with a parent in receipt of universal credit. This expanded entitlement means that nearly 8,500 children in years 3 to 11 in Luton South and South Bedfordshire will be eligible for free school meals. Can the Minister confirm that this expansion will not only support children’s behaviour and attainment, but save their families up to £500 per child per year?
Stephen Morgan
My hon. Friend is a real champion for children and young people in her constituency. She is absolutely right to set out the differences in the cost of living that this policy will make for parents; as she suggests, it will also have real benefits in behaviour, attendance and attainment, as I set out in my statement.
Kirsty Blackman (Aberdeen North) (SNP)
The Minister has today made a big thing about every family in every corner of our country, and he has talked about how widespread this change will be. A small number of additional people in England will be able to get additional free school meals. I am glad that the Government have extended eligibility, but it does not have the geographical reach that he is trying to make out. Were he to remove the two-child benefit cap, that would have an effect in every part of these islands, reducing poverty in every constituency. Why is this issue being kicked into the long grass? He is making an announcement on free school meals, but the Government are refusing to make announcements on the child poverty strategy that was promised in the spring.
Stephen Morgan
Wasn’t that a nice try, Madam Deputy Speaker? Let us be clear: we are taking urgent action in the light of the scar of poverty on our society. We have the spending review next week, and the child poverty strategy will conclude in due course.
Stephen Morgan
If the hon. Lady had listened carefully to my statement, she would know that I said we will be announcing further details on the strategy later this year.
Mrs Sharon Hodgson (Washington and Gateshead South) (Lab)
I have chaired the all-party parliamentary group on school food since setting it up in 2010, so I know all too well the many benefits of free school meals, from the economic to health benefits—it is why I have campaigned for more than 18 years to extend free school meal provision. Providing more children than ever with free, healthy, hot and nutritious meals can be truly life changing. In my constituency, the provision will extend to a further 5,460 children, which is very welcome indeed, so I thank the Minister and our Government. Does the Minister agree that this down payment on the child poverty strategy is only the start of this Government’s mission to lift as many children out of poverty as possible, just as the previous Labour Government did?
Stephen Morgan
My hon. Friend has been a real champion on school food issues ever since she was elected to this place. I had the pleasure of meeting her recently, along with campaigners she suggested I meet on these very points, so I know that her lobbying has directly influenced our outcomes today. We are making this announcement because of tough and necessary decisions that the Chancellor has had to make. It is a step in the right direction, and we will set out more detail on the child poverty strategy in due course.
Dr Caroline Johnson (Sleaford and North Hykeham) (Con)
I am delighted that more children will have school meals at lunch time. It is great for pupils to be well fed—as a paediatrician, I see the value of that. However, I want to ask about transitional protection and money. The transitional protection will take 1.2 million children out of this category; some may go back into it with UC. However, the robbing of the money from pupil premiums will leave schools £1.5 billion short. How does the Minister intend to replace that £1.5 billion for schools so that children can get a good education as well as school meals?
Stephen Morgan
I thank the hon. Lady for her question—I think I have finally heard from someone who is actually delighted by today’s announcement. On transitional protections, it is worth saying that the Department will expand free school meal eligibility from September 2026 so that all children in households in receipt of universal credit can benefit from a free nutritious lunch. As a temporary measure, we will extend transitional protections, meaning that households that are on universal credit and meet the current earned income threshold of £7,400 will keep their free school meals, regardless of any change in circumstances. Following an expansion of eligibility from September next year, our intention is to end all protections.
Adam Jogee (Newcastle-under-Lyme) (Lab)
Tackling poverty and inequality is in our DNA, and it is why many Members on the Government Benches are in this place. I welcome this announcement, as I know the more than 3,000 children and their families who will benefit in Newcastle-under-Lyme will welcome it, too. It is good for health, good for educational attainment and, importantly, good for the futures of our young people. I very much agree with the point on auto-enrolment made by the Chair of the Select Committee, my hon. Friend the Member for Dulwich and West Norwood (Helen Hayes). With that in mind, I ask the Minister to speak to his officials and find some time to come and see the benefits of our commitment to tackling child poverty in Newcastle-under-Lyme for himself when this announcement is rolled out next year.
Stephen Morgan
I thank my hon. Friend for his question. I am keen to ensure that we learn from the best in local government, as we have been on auto-enrolment activity especially. As I mentioned earlier, today’s announcement will make the whole process of applying for free school meals much simpler and easier for parents, but we will certainly take on board my hon. Friend’s comments. I would be very happy to meet him to discuss these issues further.
Madam Deputy Speaker (Ms Nusrat Ghani)
After this, we have two Select Committee statements and two Backbench Business debates. If colleagues do not keep their questions short, they are just denying others the opportunity to speak.
Claire Young (Thornbury and Yate) (LD)
Vulnerable children spend many weeks each year—during the holidays—not at school. My own Liberal Democrat-Labour partnership local authority provides funding in the form of vouchers during the school holidays. Will the Government take this opportunity to end holiday hunger and provide funding for food during the holidays?
Stephen Morgan
We have invested more than £200 million in the holiday activities and food programme, which supports children, offers enrichment opportunities and provides good-quality food during the Christmas, Easter and summer provision. That is a fantastic programme that I know Members across this House welcome, and a key part of our plan to ensure that every child can succeed and thrive.
Ian Lavery (Blyth and Ashington) (Lab)
I warmly welcome this fantastic news this morning. I think the Minister mentioned that child poverty is a scourge of society, and of course it is. It is a blight on the UK that we have so many kids who do not have a full belly when they go to school. Some 6,000 children in my constituency will now benefit from this announcement. However, can the Minister confirm that this is only the first step on a long road to universal free school meals for all children in the UK?
Stephen Morgan
Extensive work is ongoing on child poverty, and we will publish our strategy later this year. As part of that, we are considering all available levers to give every child the best start in life—whether that is on affordable housing, the cost of energy bills or supporting more parents to work. That, I think, is the change that our country needs.
Ellie Chowns (North Herefordshire) (Green)
I welcome today’s announcement. It is a small step in the right direction, but what we need is a giant leap to end child poverty. If the Minister were serious about that, he knows what he needs to do: scrap the two-child benefit cap. That would lift 400,000 children out of poverty. The Green party has long campaigned for universal free school meals. We know that the health, education and productivity benefits would more than pay for that policy. The benefits would be £1.71 for every pound invested, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers. Will the Minister consider the moral and economic case for free school meals to be made universal? And, while he is at it, will he scrap the cruel two-child benefit cap?
Stephen Morgan
As the hon. Member will have heard earlier, I will not comment on speculation. Extensive work is under way on the child poverty strategy, which will conclude later this year. I describe this not as a small step today, but as an historic moment, as we lift 100,000 children out of poverty and make sure that more children across the country can access free school meals. I am delighted that so many are welcoming our announcement today.
Dame Meg Hillier (Hackney South and Shoreditch) (Lab/Co-op)
With one in two children in my constituency living in poverty, we now have a downpayment with a breakfast club funded by the Government at Thomas Fairchild community school and thousands of children are benefiting. I am pleased that the Secretary of State has agreed with Henry Dimbleby, who opened the “chefs in schools” programme in Hackney, that we need to keep nutrition at the top of the list. My hon. Friend the Chair of the Education Committee highlighted that this is evidence-based policy. We know that the evidence on child poverty shows that removing the two-child limit will lift most children out of poverty. Can the Minister reassure us that he is really looking at that evidence, working with the Department for Work and Pensions, to make sure that this announcement is just the down- payment on tackling child poverty?
Stephen Morgan
As always, my hon. Friend comes at this from a very informed position. It was a real pleasure to visit a school in Hackney recently to see at first hand the brilliant work of the “chefs in schools” programme. That is why I am so delighted to say that we will be announcing further details on our school food standard work to update that guidance in due course. She mentions breakfast clubs. We have obviously tripled funding into breakfast clubs to over £30 million in this financial year, and we are making huge progress in delivering that through our early adopter scheme.
Victoria Collins (Harpenden and Berkhamsted) (LD)
I welcome this announcement from the Government and celebrate the success of the Liberal Democrats, who for many years have campaigned on this policy, including my hon. Friend the Member for Twickenham (Munira Wilson), who has been so passionate about this issue. Indeed, this is a step in the right direction. My constituency of Harpenden and Berkhamsted is often seen as an affluent area, but there are pockets of poverty. Charities often say that it is harder in those areas, because not only are costs higher, but deprivation is hidden. Currently, the two-child benefit cap restricts universal support to two children, pushing thousands of families into poverty. Therefore, do these restrictions mean that the third and any subsequent children would not have access to free school meals, or would simply being in a household that receives universal credit be sufficient to qualify?
Stephen Morgan
I can assure the hon. Member that it will be for all children in that household. More broadly, we are introducing breakfast clubs, which is a universal offer in every primary school across the country. Other measures in the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill will cap the number of branded items on school uniform, which I think will make a real difference to the money going into parents’ pockets.
Sonia Kumar (Dudley) (Lab)
I warmly welcome this statement. In my constituency, more than a quarter of all children are living in poverty, so I know that more than 6,000 children in Dudley will now be eligible for free school meals. The extra support will go a long way towards ensuring that our children are eating healthy and nutritious meals to aid their education. Will my hon. Friend assure me that these free school meals will be low in fat, sugar and salt, in order also to help tackle rising childhood obesity?
Stephen Morgan
If we are to get the benefits right on free school meals, we must ensure that the quality of the food is nutritious for all children. As I mentioned in my statement, this is good for attendance, good for behaviour and good for life chances. I hope my hon. Friend will contribute to the work that we will do in revising the school food standards.
Shockat Adam (Leicester South) (Ind)
Sadly, a local survey recently found that close to 20% of children in Leicester are worried about not having enough to eat. But, paradoxically, a quarter of the population of 10 to 11-year-olds in my city are clinically obese, and close to 40% have visual signs of dental decay. I warmly welcome this announcement, but why are the Government waiting till September 2026 to make these changes? Will the Minister reassure us that this policy will be properly funded so that schools can provide nutritious and balanced meals, and not just ultra-processed food like turkey twizzlers, which have been shown, among many other things, to reduce life expectancy?
Stephen Morgan
I can assure the hon. Member that this scheme will be fully funded. More broadly, I have set out plans for the child poverty strategy to be published later this year. The key to a mission-driven Government is to make sure that Government Departments are working together to improve life chances for children. I am delighted that we are working closely with colleagues from the Department of Health and Social Care to make that happen.
Sean Woodcock (Banbury) (Lab)
I am absolutely delighted that this announcement will see more than 2,000 extra children qualify for free school meals in my Banbury constituency. Can the Minister explain how this announcement will improve the educational attainment and behaviour of children in my constituency?
Stephen Morgan
I know that my hon. Friend is a real champion for children and young people from the time that I spent with him in his constituency. As he rightly says, this policy makes a real difference on attainment, behaviour and attendance. I look forward to working with him as we deliver this positive change for our country.
Ian Sollom (St Neots and Mid Cambridgeshire) (LD)
I, too, welcome the adoption of a long-standing Liberal Democrat policy and the Minister’s encouragement of other Lib Dem policies in response to my hon. Friend the Member for Twickenham (Munira Wilson). There has been some discussion about the pupil premium. This policy seems to break the link between free school meals and the pupil premium, so can the Minister explain to those 2.2 million pupils currently in receipt of the pupil premium what safeguards will be put in place to protect it?
Stephen Morgan
The hon. Member will know that the pupil premium is additional funding to improve educational outcomes for disadvantaged pupils in state-funded schools in England. Pupil premium funding will rise to over £3 billion in 2025-26, an increase of almost 5% from 2024-25. We are reviewing how we allocate pupil premium and the national funding formula deprivation funding in the longer term and, while maintaining the overall amount we spend on tackling challenges faced by children with additional needs, we will provide more information on those matters in due course.
Dr Lauren Sullivan (Gravesham) (Lab)
Does the Minister agree that, with today’s announcement, alongside the proactive Gravesham borough council’s low-income family tracker programme, which has reached out and helped hundreds, if not thousands, of people who need it most in Gravesham, the Labour Government will lift a further 5,800 children who are eligible in Gravesham. Is this not the great, nutritious start in life that we need?
Stephen Morgan
My hon. Friend really cares about these issues, and I thank her for raising these matters today. This is a significant first step in our ambitious strategy to tackle child poverty and its root causes and to give every child the best start in life. I commend the work that she describes; I know that it makes a real difference to areas such as her own.
Marie Goldman (Chelmsford) (LD)
I warmly welcome this today’s announcement, which has been a Liberal Democrat policy for a very long time. It is so important to have proper nutrition for children so that they get the best possible start in life. In response to a question from my hon. Friend the Member for Hazel Grove (Lisa Smart) about funding, the Minister said that this will come out in due course, but that it will be fully funded. Fully funded can mean that those funds come from various different places. Will the Minister rule out those funds coming from existing school budgets, and will he also rule out placing any other financial burden on to already overstretched school budgets?
Stephen Morgan
The new entitlement is fully funded and will support schools to deliver nutritious, high-quality meals that meet school food standards to over half a million additional pupils. As I said, we will set out further details on funding as part of the child poverty strategy to be published later this year.
Clive Efford (Eltham and Chislehurst) (Lab)
I notice that not one Reform MP has turned up to hear an announcement that benefits so many working-class kids. I first joined a governing body of a primary school in my constituency in 1986 and served for 37 years. From Thatcher to Sunak, I saw what was going on in our schools, and I never saw need like that under the last Conservative Government, so this is a very welcome statement indeed. But even this measure and all the other measures that I understand the Government are considering will not result in fewer children being in poverty in 2029 than are in poverty now unless we remove the two-child benefit cap. I want to add my voice to those who have already asked the Minister to assure us that the cap is being looked at.
Stephen Morgan
We know that too many life chances are scarred by poverty, which affects children up and down our country. Levels of poverty have increased by 900,000 since 2010. It is worth saying that this initiative is extra money above and beyond what already goes into schools. As I mentioned, the child poverty strategy will be published later this year and may conclude on the issues that my hon. Friend describes.
Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)
I thank the Minister for his statement. It would be churlish of anybody in this Chamber not to welcome it and say well done. It just so happens that it is this Minister and this Government who have done it so well, so I give a special thanks. I very much welcome the increase to free school meals. I read the Government’s press release this morning with some interest. My question is quite specific. In Northern Ireland, one in four children experience relative poverty, with one in five in absolute poverty and two thirds of those with only one single parent working. Our children in Northern Ireland need this help. I know that it is not this Minister’s responsibility, but do the announcement and these moneys mean that the Barnett consequentials will ensure that some of the benefit can come to Northern Ireland directly?
Stephen Morgan
The hon. Gentleman is a real champion on these issues. He will appreciate that education is a devolved matter. The spending review next week will set out details on the Barnett consequentials. The child poverty strategy is a UK-wide document, and I know that colleagues from Northern Ireland have been feeding into that review. As he knows, I meet regularly with my counterpart in Northern Ireland on issues of importance to the UK.
Jon Trickett (Normanton and Hemsworth) (Lab)
As others have, I very much welcome the announcement. For the thousands of families in my constituency with children in poverty, this is a great announcement. However, I remember the Prime Minister’s statement that the Government need to go further and faster, so I encourage the Minister when he goes back to his Department to ensure that the child poverty strategy is as radical as it can be and is adequately resourced. I ask him to return to the question of people on universal credit with children in poverty. Can we ensure that every child benefits from this announcement, because some families lack the capacity—for all sorts of reasons—to make the appropriate applications?
Stephen Morgan
We of course want to ensure that all families that are eligible for this roll-out benefit from it. Working with other Government Departments, we want to make the process as simple as possible. We are determined to bring down child poverty. We appreciate that the issues are complex, and we want to get this right. We will set out more details in due course.
Madam Deputy Speaker (Ms Nusrat Ghani)
Order. There are 15 colleagues remaining. If you want me to get you all in, work with me and keep your questions short please. I call Yasmin Qureshi.
Yasmin Qureshi (Bolton South and Walkden) (Lab)
This is really welcome news for families in my constituency, with up to 11,450 children now set to benefit from free school meals. I know from speaking with parents that this will make a real difference both in easing pressure at home and in helping children to focus and do well in school. Does the Minister agree that this is the kind of support that families have needed for years, and it is a clear sign that the Government are serious about tackling child poverty and giving every child a fair chance?
Stephen Morgan
As I set out earlier, this is an intervention that is at once pro-learning and anti-poverty. We want to see high and rising standards in all our schools. Excellence should be for everyone. In complete contrast, the Opposition—their Members are not here now; I do not know where they have gone—want to see tax breaks for some schools for some children. The contrast has never been starker.
Paul Waugh (Rochdale) (Lab/Co-op)
As someone who grew up on free school meals in Rochdale, I know what a massive difference today’s announcement will make to more than 8,000 of my constituents. One of my constituents, Laura Popham, is a single mum who is in work and was previously ineligible for the free school meals benefit. Today she sent me an email saying,
“This is exactly what I was hoping for. I am over the moon. I want to shout from the rooftops how happy I am. Only Labour would have done this.”
Does the Minister agree that this is exactly the kind of change that people voted for last year?
Stephen Morgan
I absolutely agree with my hon. Friend. This is the difference that a Labour MP and a Labour Government can make. I pay tribute to Laura for raising these issues with us. Through constituents’ lobbying and by hearing their concerns, we are delivering positive change for our country.
Chris Webb (Blackpool South) (Lab)
I applaud the Government’s decision to extend free school meals to children across the country. This initiative is a vital step in supporting families in need and will undoubtedly benefit many children across Blackpool, which the Minister will know, as he joined me in visiting primary schools last year. Many, including the Jamie Oliver Food Foundation, have called for accelerated efforts to ensure that every child has access to nutritious meals irrespective of their background. Does the Minister agree that it is imperative that we unite in our efforts to guarantee that every child in Blackpool and across the country has the best possible start in life, with access to healthy food, quality education and opportunities for success?
Stephen Morgan
It was a pleasure to visit primary schools in my hon. Friend’s constituency, and I know that he cares deeply about tackling child poverty. That is why I am delighted that we are taking this intervention to lift over 100,000 children out of poverty. He makes a number of points regarding good-quality nutritious food, and I hope he will work with us as we set out plans to make changes in this area in due course.
Jacob Collier (Burton and Uttoxeter) (Lab)
In my constituency 5,730 children will benefit from this announcement. It means a hot meal every day and real, practical support for families who are struggling with the cost of living crisis. Does the Minister agree that while we expect the Conservative party to block this support, as they have for many years, Reform MPs could not even be bothered to turn up today? They talk about supporting families, but they are nowhere to be seen when it matters.
Stephen Morgan
My hon. Friend is absolutely right; this is the stark choice that people voted for at the last election, and I am really proud that we are getting on with delivering the change that our country so desperately needs.
Leigh Ingham (Stafford) (Lab)
I welcome this announcement from the Government. In Stafford, Eccleshall and the villages, it means a massive 47% increase in eligibility for free school meals, but the work will not be done until all children who are eligible for free school meals are able to access them, and I have asked my local council leader to do everything they can to ensure that. I know that the Government are considering this, but does the Minister agree that councils need to be doing everything they can to ensure that all children who are eligible are able to access their free school meals?
Stephen Morgan
I know from my hon. Friend’s previous contributions in the House that she is a real champion on these issues. Making all children in households claiming universal credit eligible for free school meals makes it straightforward for parents to know whether they are eligible. We are supporting this by taking forward a programme of work, including improvements to our own systems, and we are working across Government to make that happen.
Chris Bloore (Redditch) (Lab)
As a Member of Parliament, I am always delighted to come to work to talk about policies such as this, which will lift 100,000 children out of poverty and give 4,500 children in my constituency access to free school meals. As a parent, I know how much of a difference this will make to the lives of parents in my constituency. Does the Minister agree that policies that give any child, wherever they are born and whatever their background, the chance to fulfil their potential are exactly what a Labour Government should be doing?
Stephen Morgan
I agree with my hon. Friend; we want to ensure that every child—whatever their background, wherever they are from—can succeed and thrive. This policy is an important step in making that happen by lifting 100,000 children out of poverty.
Ben Goldsborough (South Norfolk) (Lab)
Up to 3,130 children in South Norfolk will benefit from this measure, and two of my primary schools are among the 750 in the forerunner programme for breakfast clubs. As the Minister is on such a roll in South Norfolk, will he help me fix the two schools—Brooke primary and Wreningham —that are currently in portacabins?
Stephen Morgan
I am happy to meet my hon. Friend to discuss those matters further.
Lola McEvoy (Darlington) (Lab)
In Darlington, I met a lovely mother who had recently gone back to work as a school dinner support worker. She was taking part-time, low-paid work, and her children consequently lost eligibility for free school meals, so she was worse off. I promised her that only Labour would be on the side of low-paid working families. Will the Minister join me in saying to that lady, “Promise made, promise delivered”?
Stephen Morgan
That is absolutely right: promise made, promise delivered. I am so delighted that my hon. Friend has been raising these issues with us and that we are now getting on and delivering on them.
Jessica Toale (Bournemouth West) (Lab)
Almost one in three children in my constituency live in poverty, and I know that going to school hungry is one of the biggest barriers to thriving not only in childhood but into adulthood, so I welcome the statement. Will the Minister confirm that this measure, along with free breakfast clubs and cutting the cost of school uniforms, will not only benefit family finances but improve school attainment, behaviour and learning outcomes?
Stephen Morgan
My hon. Friend is right to raise the benefits that this measure will bring on attendance, attainment and behaviour. I know that she is a real champion on these issues and that she will be really excited about ensuring that this happens across her constituency as quickly as possible.
Pam Cox (Colchester) (Lab)
In Colchester, this measure will benefit over 5,000 children, so it is wonderful news from a Government who are indeed determined to tackle child poverty. Would the Minister like to make a return visit to Colchester, this time to visit not a pioneering pre-school but a pioneering primary school—Unity primary academy in Greenstead—which has just opened a community kitchen that creates an amazing food culture for local families?
Madam Deputy Speaker (Ms Nusrat Ghani)
As the Minister is on a tour, I assume that he will be coming to Sussex Weald shortly.
Stephen Morgan
I am not sure whether my office will be happy about that, Madam Deputy Speaker, but I am sure we can make it happen. I absolutely agree with my hon. Friend. I also want to pay tribute to school support staff and teachers who do so much to ensure that children across our country can achieve and thrive. They will know that this Labour Government have their back.
Josh Fenton-Glynn (Calder Valley) (Lab)
In one fell swoop, this measure will take 100,000 children out of poverty. In my constituency, 2,500 children will benefit. Fighting poverty is in the Labour party’s DNA, but with over 4.5 million children left in poverty by the Conservative party, which has not turned up for the statement, will the Minister please assure me that we will not stop there and that there will be meaningful change through the child poverty strategy this autumn?
Stephen Morgan
I assure my hon. Friend that we will publish an ambitious child poverty strategy later this year to ensure that we deliver fully funded measures that make a big difference to children’s lives.
Andrew Cooper (Mid Cheshire) (Lab)
This announcement to extend free school meals will be hugely welcome news to the families of the 4,300 children in Northwich, Winsford and Middlewich that are in receipt of universal credit. There is a wealth of evidence that good nutrition at school has a significant impact on educational attainment, health and wellbeing and long-term earnings potential. If we are serious about bearing down on the rising levels of child poverty, which are now just short of 30% in my constituency, that starts with measures such as this, which I am sure will be the first of many. Does the Minister agree that this change in eligibility presents an opportunity at a national level to improve data sharing with local authorities so that we can finally facilitate auto-enrolment and ensure that the maximum number of families benefit from this policy?
Stephen Morgan
My hon. Friend is right to raise the difference that a Labour Government make and the scar of child poverty on our society. I assure him that we are working across the Department to deliver what he described.
Mark Ferguson (Gateshead Central and Whickham) (Lab)
This change will make a difference to the lives of thousands of children in my Gateshead constituency, and may I say it would have been hugely welcomed by my grandmother who was a Gateshead dinner lady? Does the Minister agree that through 30 hours of free childcare, a limit on the number of branded school items, free breakfast clubs and lifting 100,000 children out of poverty, Labour is the party for children and families?
Stephen Morgan
We said that we would be a child-centred Government, and that is what we are delivering. The announcement is testament to that.
Jo Platt (Leigh and Atherton) (Lab/Co-op)
I whole- heartedly thank the Minister for this much-needed announcement. Up to 5,600 children in my constituency will no doubt be grateful for the relief it brings to their families in easing the financial pressures that many face. Will the Minister confirm that this is just the first step in a wider strategy to tackle child poverty and that areas like Leigh and Atherton will be central to that effort?
Stephen Morgan
I thank my hon. Friend for her question. I know that one reason she is in the House is to tackle deprivation and poverty across the country and in her own constituency. I assure her that we are determined to break down barriers to opportunity and to start to bring down child poverty levels in our society.
Andrew Pakes (Peterborough) (Lab)
As the proud son of a dinner lady, I warmly welcome the Minister’s statement. I also pay tribute to the Minister for Employment at his side, who is a tribune in the Government and the House against child poverty. With nearly one in two children in my constituency in poverty—a stain left by the last Government—this will be a welcome policy. Up to 16,000 pupils will be eligible for free school meals across Peterborough because of this policy, but that is just the start. What more can the Minister do to keep a razor-sharp focus on driving down poverty and driving up opportunities for young people in my city?
Stephen Morgan
This, of course, is the latest step in our plan for change to put extra pounds in parents’ pockets. It is a down payment on the child poverty strategy, as I mentioned earlier, building on our expansion of free breakfast clubs, our national minimum wage boost and our cap on universal credit deductions through the fair repayment rate. Those are real measures that will make a real difference to people’s lives.
Samantha Niblett (South Derbyshire) (Lab)
I welcome wholeheartedly the announcement, not least because it means that almost 4,000 children in my constituency will benefit from free, healthy school meals, saving parents almost £500 a year. That is in addition to the breakfast clubs, of which we have two on the early adopter scheme. Does the Minister agree that as grateful as we are to wonderful people including the bean man, who can often be seen in Willington, Repton and surrounding areas collecting food for food banks, this is a step towards lifting people out of poverty so that we will no longer need food banks?
Stephen Morgan
I wholeheartedly agree with my hon. Friend. I know that she will want to feed into the child poverty strategy to ensure that it is ambitious, but I assure her that that is our intention.
Josh Dean (Hertford and Stortford) (Lab)
Today, I am thinking of the teacher from my constituency who told me that they had to keep cereal bars in their office for children who came to school hungry. That is the legacy of the Conservative party, and I am not surprised that Conservative Members have not turned up to face the music. Research shows that people living with mental health conditions are twice as likely to be living in food-insecure households. Does the Minister agree that this announcement will make a huge change to our young people’s mental health, and that that is exactly what people voted for when they voted Labour?
Stephen Morgan
My hon. Friend is right to set out that mental health can be a barrier to every child having the opportunity to succeed and thrive. He will know that we are investing in mental health support teams in every school across the country as well as recruiting 8,500 mental health professionals and introducing young futures hubs in communities. I know that he will welcome those wider plans for our country and will ensure that they are rolled out effectively in his constituency.
Josh Newbury (Cannock Chase) (Lab)
I welcome the announcement, which will help more than 4,000 working-class children in my community. The Minister rightly emphasised that the expansion of free school meals is both pro-learning and anti-poverty, and we know that the appalling cost of living crisis, which the previous Government left behind, means that so many children are coming into school hungry and not in the best position to learn. Will he set out what else the Government are doing to tackle the poverty that is holding back so many children?
Stephen Morgan
My hon. Friend will know that we are already committed to rolling out breakfast clubs in every primary school. We want to ensure that there is more money in parents’ pockets through our childcare entitlement roll-out. More broadly, the child poverty strategy will be ambitious on improving outcomes and life chances for every young person.
Madam Deputy Speaker
I am personally delighted and looking forward to hosting the Minister in my constituency.
School Buildings: Northumberland and Newcastle
Stephen Morgan Excerpts(3 months, 3 weeks ago)
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The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Education (Stephen Morgan)
I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Hexham (Joe Morris) for securing a debate on this important subject. I know that he is a tireless champion for children and young people in his constituency, and a strong voice on the matters that he has raised. I also thank all Members who have contributed through interventions.
Education is at the heart of this Government’s mission to break down barriers to opportunity and give every young person the best start in life, no matter their background. Fourteen years after the cancellation of the Building Schools for the Future programme, this Government inherited a school estate in dire need of repair. We are committed to fixing the foundations for staff and pupils, and determined to drive high and rising education standards for children across the country. That is why we protected key education priorities at the Budget, increasing investment this financial year to £2.1 billion to improve the condition of school buildings —up from £1.8 billion last year—and have committed to continuing the current school rebuilding programme.
We are driving forward that programme, including for five schools and colleges in Northumberland and Newcastle. Starting this April, we are kicking off work on 100 school rebuilding projects and ramping up the pace of delivery, backed by £1.4 billion this year, in recognition of the urgent need to improve the condition of school buildings. We are funding the permanent removal of reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete in schools and colleges across England, working directly with affected schools on plans to suit individual needs.
We support local authorities, academy trusts and voluntary aided school bodies, which are responsible for keeping their buildings safe and in good working order, by providing capital funding, rebuilding programmes, and extensive guidance and support. They work with their schools on a day-to-day basis and are best placed to manage their buildings, with local knowledge of individual condition, need and priorities. Where the Department for Education is notified of a significant safety issue with a school building that cannot be managed with local resources, we provide additional advice and support on a case-by-case basis. We want all schools and colleges to have the resources and buildings that they need to give our young people the freedom to learn in safe, high-quality environments.
On the specific points raised by my hon. Friend, I appreciate the significant disruption and challenges that the Prudhoe community high school building closure has caused for everyone involved. The safety of pupils and staff is paramount. We have been providing advice and support to the responsible body since we were made aware of the building issues that led to the decision by the trust to close the school in February 2025. We have worked closely with the school trust to identify alternative accommodation options to return pupils to face-to-face education as quickly as possible. All pupils were relocated to the Sunderland College Washington campus, as a whole school community, and resumed face-to-face education from 31 March. I can assure him that our priority and focus remain to return pupils to education on the school site as soon as possible.
I am aware that the school was built as part of the priority school building programme in 2016, as my hon. Friend identified. From our own investigations, we understand that the issue is an isolated one. We are working closely with the trust as its investigations continue into the cause of the problem as a matter of priority. We will continue to work with the trust on remediation options to enable a return to the school site.
We are a mission-led Government, dedicated to breaking down the barriers to opportunity and giving every child the best start in life. We cannot do that without well-maintained buildings in which children and young people can learn safely. That is why we have recently published our school estate management standards, gathering in one place links to key policies, processes and practical advice on the basics of managing a school estate, to help the bodies that manage school buildings daily to progress to fully effective practice. Driving high and rising school standards is at the heart of our plan for change to improve children’s life chances, and high-quality, sustainable buildings are a key part of that. For too long our school estate has been neglected. This Government are gripping that issue and ensuring that school buildings are fit for the future.
Question put and agreed to.