Speeches by Morgan.

“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Stringer. I look forward to working through the measures in this landmark Bill with all Members, as has been the spirit so far. The children’s social care market is not working effectively. The Competition and Markets Authority and the independent review of children…”

“I thank the shadow Minister for that. Data will be shared to other parties as part of the financial oversight scheme. It is worth saying that the Department will share with local authorities which providers meet the financial oversight conditions and are subject to the financial oversight scheme. That is to support the…”

“Clause 17 enables information sharing between Ofsted and my Department to ensure the effective functioning of the financial oversight scheme and profit cap regime. Sharing relevant information also supports Ofsted’s functions under part 2 of the Care Standards Act 2000. For the purposes of a financial oversight scheme,…”

“High-quality childcare and early education is a crucial opportunity to transform life chances, but too often it is unavailable or unaffordable. That is why this Labour Government are committed to delivering additional places in new and expanded school-based nurseries. I congratulate my hon. Friend’s school on the work …”

“Our Government are driving an agenda to break down barriers to opportunity and reduce child poverty. Around £1.5 billion is spent annually on free lunches for over 3 million pupils. This includes all children from reception through to year 2, and we have committed to introducing free breakfast clubs in state-funded pri…”

“Over 13,000 pupils in Knowsley are supported with a healthy and nutritious free meal at lunch time through the Department’s free school meals and universal infant free school meals programmes. Unlike the Conservative party, we are on the side of parents in making a child-centred Government a reality. My hon. Friend is …”

“The Department recognises the valuable role that free school meals play and encourages all parents eligible for the entitlement offer. We will continue to review our approaches and take a consistent approach going forward.”

“As I mentioned, we will keep our approach in all Government programmes, including eligibility for free school meals, under continued review. We are aware of local measures on auto-enrolment being trialled and are supportive of the overall aims of such schemes.”

“As a Government, we have had to take tough decisions to get the public finances back on track. In 2025-26, the entitlements budget will be over £8 billion, with a further £75 million to support the sector in this pivotal expansion year. We have also announced the largest ever uplift to the early years pupil premium. Ea…”

“Unlike the Conservative party, we are on the side of working parents, and high-quality education will be available to every child. As for the hon. Gentleman’s substantive point, it would help if the Conservatives were honest. They would not reverse the rise.”

“Ensuring that schools and colleges have the resources and buildings that they need is a key part of our mission to break down barriers to opportunity. I will be happy to meet the hon. Member to hear more about his concerns.”

“I thank pupils, teachers and school leaders for their resilience since the original buildings were closed in August 2023. We have delivered high-quality temporary modular accommodation that the school will use until its new permanent buildings are ready. We will continue to work closely with the trust and the local com…”

“I thank the hon. Member for raising those matters. I would be happy to meet her to understand the issues in more detail.”

“Protecting children is a cross-Government priority. Although the devolved nations have their own safeguarding systems, we will continue to work closely with them to ensure that safeguarding remains a priority and that we all engage with our schools to see where we need to strengthen our safeguarding support.”

“The Government have announced that public sector employers will receive compensation for the increase in their national insurance contributions, including school-based nurseries and maintained nursery schools, but in line with the arrangements for other areas, there will be no additional NICs funding beyond that.”

“Q How do local authorities currently discharge their duty to ensure that children receive a suitable education? What impact will the measures in the Bill have on this? Ruth Stanier: We very much support the new duty to co-operate across councils and all schools. It is something we have long been calling for. Of course,…”

“Q Kate, it is good to see you again. Thank you for giving evidence to the Committee. I have a specific question around school uniform provisions in the Bill. Do you think that the provisions in the Bill on school uniform items for primary schools will support families and children with the cost of living? Kate Anstey: …”

“Q My second question is about admissions. Do you think that it is important for all schools to at least co-operate with local authorities on school admissions and place planning? Sir Dan Moynihan: It is important for all schools to co-operate. With 9 million children in schools, I think only 55 directions were given in…”

“Q I have two unrelated questions on which I am keen to hear from all three of you. What assessment have you made of the introduction of registers of children not in school and how they will help schools and local authorities to support vulnerable children? Sir Dan Moynihan: It is an excellent idea. Too many children di…”

“Q That is really helpful. Briefly—Katharine, what impact do you think the measures will have on care leavers and the support that they receive? Katharine Sacks-Jones: They are very welcome. We would very warmly welcome the extension of Staying Close support, because we know that too many young people do not get the sup…”