Speeches by Perteghella.

“Rural police forces already handle the highest concentration of firearms licensing work in the country. Does the hon. Member agree that merging sections 1 and 2 will increase administrative burdens and lengthen waiting times for law-abiding applicants? Is there not also a risk that diverting more police time to additio…”

“Prioritising early years intervention is fundamental to stopping needs from escalating and affecting the entire educational journey of children. What concrete steps will the Government take to invest, for example, in universal screening programmes, high-quality specialist training for all staff, or even for each school…”

“Yes, the Reform Benches are empty, as we all can see and as the British public can see, and this is really important because, as I have said, local government is the foundation of our places. It gives us our civic pride in our areas and is on the frontline of delivering services, so this is really disappointing, and th…”

“I am incredibly proud to have been a councillor until last year, because local government is the foundation of so much that matters in people’s daily lives. It keeps our streets clean, supports vulnerable families, funds social care, maintains roads, protects our environment, ensures that our children can get to school…”

“Before I go to my question about identifying these safeguarding issues, can I just ask the panel how confident you are in the ability of large multi-site chain nurseries, where there may be 100, 200 or 300 sites, to effectively monitor and implement safeguarding policies?”

“But, if you will allow me, you would have had a bespoke safeguarding policy for that setting.”

“Would you say that there is a genuine culture of reporting within earlier settings, where staff at all levels feel confident that safeguarding concerns will be taken seriously and acted upon? What evidence do you have that staff feel listened to when there are issues? I will start with Mike, please.”

“My next question is to Claire Reid, Mike Short and Clare Roberts. How clear and effective are your local authorities in supporting quality assurance and accountability in early years provisions? What specific improvements to local authority processes, if any, would make them more consistent, efficient and supportive of…”

“Because you have that wider view and you work with countless local authorities, you say some are quite brilliant—so you can see best practice?”

“We have talked about how important high-quality training is. Clare says she has evidence of that training that has been implemented and the outcome of that. I would say that is something Ofsted may be interested in looking at.”

“My next question is for Mike and Claire Reid. What evidence do providers collect to demonstrate compliance with safeguarding standards during inspections and ongoing self-evaluation? What are those evidence documents that you look for?”

“Would you say that there is a genuine culture of reporting within earlier settings where staff at all levels feel confident that safeguarding concerns will be taken seriously and acted upon? What evidence do you have, if any, that staff feel listened to when they raise issues?”

“Thank you. Anyone else on the panel?”

“Yes.”

“My question is for Mike and Claire; Clare, you can come in, but you have already answered part of this question. What mechanisms exist to protect staff from feeling intimidated or discouraged when reporting concerns when whistleblowing, and how well do these work in practice?”

“My question is for Jayne. How does Ofsted assess safeguarding culture rather than just compliance with statutory requirements and processes?”

“In light of recent horrific cases where there was a catastrophic lack of safeguarding culture, how does Ofsted ensure the lessons from serious incidents are embedded across the early years inspection system? Does Ofsted anticipate any change in light of these cases?”

“My question is for Ann. To what extent are LADOs and the director of children’s services appropriately resourced? You mentioned the funding challenges that councils face and that the role of LADOs is not consistent. What steps could be taken to improve public awareness of the two roles?”

“My hon. and gallant Friend is right to highlight the threat from hostile states such as Russia and most importantly from individuals with Russian links. That is exactly why I introduced a private Member’s Bill last year to cap political donations and close the loopholes that allow foreign-linked dark and dirty money to…”

“This question is for Liz. The Committee has heard evidence that suggests that total and non-targeted PFAS monitoring methods can reveal that up to 90% of the PFAS may be undetected using just targeting monitoring methods. The Environment Agency uses a mixture or a combination of both methods. How do you decide what PFA…”