Speeches by Phillipson.

“As the hon. Lady will understand, I cannot comment on individual cases, but if she writes to me with the details, I can make sure that Ofsted looks carefully at the matters she has set out and provides her with a full response.”

“The hon. Lady’s local authority area is not currently funded through the programme and it will receive funding, including a share of a £12 million development grant, which we will confirm in the next few weeks, to start the process, ahead of opening a Best Start family hub next year. As I said earlier, we will ensure t…”

“It is hard to top my hon. Friend’s question and I will not begin to try to make further ’90s references. What I can say to her is that we are drawing on the best of Sure Start, learning from the evidence about what was incredibly effective. One other element I would add to her list is that Sure Start was at its best wh…”

“My hon. Friend has always been a really powerful voice around campaigning for childcare, high-quality early years education and better support for parents. I join her in paying tribute to our late friend Tessa Jowell, who made such an enormous contribution and without whom Sure Start would not have happened. We are all…”

“Through today’s announcement, we are ensuring that areas that do not currently receive funding will receive it, but alongside that we will ensure that all local authorities are able to deliver into the next phase. My hon. Friend is right that the services in her community, including those serving the most disadvantaged…”

“I know the hon. Gentleman always champions his community and the needs of rural communities across our country. With the additional £500 million for local authorities to deliver Best Start family hubs, we will set out guidance on how they can ensure that they are serving the most disadvantaged communities, but local au…”

“I had a fantastic visit to my hon. Friend’s constituency. It demonstrated that even in the face of the very difficult funding settlement that many local councils have endured, brilliant councils have sought to prioritise investment. As the then lead member on that council, my hon. Friend did incredible work ensuring th…”

“My hon. Friend’s community will benefit from the extra investment in today’s announcement, alongside the wider announcements in the “best start in life” strategy, which focuses on a number of important areas, including early-years education, reception, the support we put in place for parents, and the funding to deliver…”

“As a Government, we want to ensure that more brilliant people want come and work in early years, and that they can gain qualifications and training, and build fulfilling careers. We will work with the sector to do that. We will recruit more early years teachers, particularly in the areas where they are needed most, mor…”

“The hon. Lady asks a number of questions and I am grateful for her broad welcome for the intent of this Government to make sure that all of our children get the best start in life. On early years, she will know that as of next year we are investing £9 billion into the system along with a near-doubling of the early year…”

“The right hon. Gentleman has set out with great clarity why the system we have at the moment just is not working. His experience is that of many Members across this House; I, too, have met many constituents who have struggled for far too long to get the support that their children deserve. That is why, while we are inv…”

“Yes. As a result of today’s announcement, my hon. Friend’s local authority will now receive funding to roll out those services. I join in his sheer incredulity at the fact that such effective, brilliant services were closed. How short-sighted, and what an impact we have seen on children and their life chances! I know f…”

“It is only through my hon. Friend’s election and through a Labour Government that this investment will be coming to her community. The first investment will start to flow this year, allowing her local authority to get the systems and structures in place that will enable them to open up next year. I am delighted that in…”

“Through the measures announced today, my hon. Friend’s local authority will now benefit from funding to make that a reality. She is right to say that even when services are available, it can be confusing for parents to know where to go to access high-quality, trusted advice. The digital offer we are developing with NHS…”

“My hon. Friend is right to draw attention to the important work of voluntary and community groups, which will have a central role to play, not least because they are often better able to access and support families who might otherwise find it difficult to go through the doors of a centre, and who might feel a certain k…”

“My hon. Friend speaks with real power, real expertise and personal experience on these matters, and I am grateful to have had the opportunity to discuss much of this with her, including her experiences as a parent and as a constituency MP and what needs to change. I can give her the absolute and categorical assurance n…”

“I know how hard my hon. Friend has campaigned on this issue, both on Sure Start and on the right of all children to play. Like him, I know that access to stay-and-play, rhyme time and those kinds of opportunities for children and families are incredibly important, especially for families who simply do not have the mone…”

“I am grateful to my hon. Friend for everything she does to champion our armed forces communities, not least given their importance to her constituency. I will make sure that we reflect further on how we can ensure that our forces families are able to access services. My hon. Friend’s local authority is one area that cu…”

“I am grateful to the right hon. Gentleman for raising important constituency matters. I will be happy to look into the details. If he could share some more information with me after this session, I will ensure he gets a full response.”

“I am delighted to hear about the experience in my hon. Friend’s constituency. I will do my very best to come and visit, but if not, I am sure one of my ministerial colleagues would be able to join him and see the services directly.”