Speeches by Phillipson.

“I am grateful to my hon. Friend the Chair of the Select Committee for her detailed questions, and for the welcome she has given the strategy. I would be more than happy to discuss all the areas with her in more detail, because I appreciate that time is often short here, Madam Deputy Speaker. We want to ensure high-qual…”

“Yes, we will make sure that my hon. Friend’s local authority gets the support that it was previously denied. It will be able to share in a £12 million development grant, which we will confirm in the next few weeks, so that it can hit the ground running and put in place the services needed from April next year. We will …”

“With permission, Madam Deputy Speaker, I will make a statement on this Government’s vital work to change our country for good by giving every child the best start in life. The focus today is firmly on our youngest children, but the impact will be much more broader. This Government are building a stronger, fairer societ…”

“I can confirm to my hon. Friend that his local authority will benefit from the extra funding. The area is one of those not currently funded, but it will be receiving funding shortly—this year—to start the process of moving towards a Best Start family hub in the next year. We will be clear with local authorities that we…”

“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 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…”

“The extra investment that is going into Best Start family hubs runs alongside the additional £500 million that we are committing to early support and preventive services along with our colleagues at the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government. A number of other Members have asked about the adoption and sp…”

“The right hon. Gentleman will understand that I do not have at hand the precise details of the constituency school that he raises. I would be happy to arrange a meeting for him with the relevant Minister to discuss it further. We have secured additional investment in capital at the spending review. I recognise the wide…”

“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…”

“That was very good. I slightly resisted being drawn into the Oasis references earlier, and now we have moved on to Blur. I will stay out of that one, even though I have my preference. My hon. Friend is right to talk about the importance of play for all children. It is striking—I am sure she will have heard the same thi…”

“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…”

“I agree with my hon. Friend. It is this Labour Government who will once again ensure that all our children are set up to succeed. We will build on the proud legacy of Sure Start, take the best evidence of what works, and expand and enhance that for the generations of children to come, in his community and across the co…”

“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…”

“While I recognise the hon. Gentleman’s concern about ensuring that his constituents get the support that they deserve, including children with SEND, I gently say to him that it does no one any favours to scare parents. The guiding principle of any reform to the SEND system that we will set out will be about better, str…”

“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’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…”

“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…”

“At the Budget and at the spending review, we allocated additional investment to support councils. However, I recognise what the hon. Member says about the importance of timely support in identifying need much more quickly and putting in place the support required, which is why we are investing an extra £1 billion in SE…”

“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…”

“I am grateful to my hon. Friend. I know the Under-Secretary of State for Education, my hon. Friend the Member for Lewisham East (Janet Daby) has visited and seen at first hand the difference that is making and the impact it is having. We are very keen, through this programme and wider developments in the strategy, to d…”