Speeches by Phillipson.

“This Labour Government are determined to deliver high and rising standards for all our children. The Conservatives left 1,000 failing schools, continuing to let down more than 400,000 children. They left one in three children leaving primary school without a firm foundation in English and maths, and one in five childre…”

“There is no reason that schools should need to make any kind of change. Of course, headteachers make practical decisions about how they feel they should run their schools. We are cutting the cost to parents and putting more money back in their pockets, unlike the Conservative party, which seems to oppose practical, str…”

“Yet again we hear about the urgent need to reform our SEND system. We are determined to turn it around. We will work with everyone across the House and anyone with an interest in this area, including parents, teachers and staff, because we need to get this right.”

“I strongly agree with my hon. Friend’s concerns, and I am determined to tackle the scourge of misogyny. She brings experience to this place—”

“There was an awful lot in that but very little about how we deliver higher standards for our children, and that is what the Bill is all about. The only people in hock to vested interests are the Conservatives—more interested in defending school uniform racketeers and the private schools lobby than investing in our stat…”

“It was a Labour Government who created the academies movement, and a Labour Government will ensure that they continue to flourish. The Conservative Government left a thousand failing schools that continue to let down more than 400,000 children year after year. We will intervene more rapidly and more effectively to turn…”

“That brilliant initiative shows what a champion my hon. Friend is for his constituents, and I will consider his request seriously. I would certainly be happy to visit his constituency soon and to work with him—perhaps also on how his local schools might be able to join the UK-Ukraine school partnerships programme, whic…”

“Today marks the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau. As the years slip away, our duty to remember only strengthens. I have had the privilege in recent months of listening to the powerful and deeply moving testimony of Holocaust survivors in person, including Renee Salt and Mala Tribich. It is vital…”

“My hon. Friend is right to raise that issue on behalf of his constituents. I would be more than happy to meet him to discuss it further. We are working rapidly through the whole free schools pipeline to ensure that we are creating places where they are required—that includes specialist provision—and that there is a str…”

“Children growing up in our country deserve the best start in life—nothing less. Through our plan for change, Labour will get a record share of children school-ready. We will make that a reality through opening new school-based nurseries, rolling out childcare, earlier intervention, speech and language support, help for…”

“I have had the privilege of visiting hundreds of schools across our country, and I can tell Members that children in the schools I visit are usually never backward in coming forward with their opinions; I would hope that is the case in the hon. Gentleman’s constituency, too. Of course, schools have a duty to promote fu…”

“It was a Labour Government who first enshrined freedom of expression in law, and Labour is to this day committed to freedom of speech and academic freedom. That is why we are pressing ahead with a robust, rigorous and workable Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Act 2023, and taking common-sense decisions in the natio…”

“Opposition Members might not like it, but that is what the Leader of the Opposition said. The Conservatives had 14 years to stop vulnerable children falling through the cracks. Now is the time for action—no more empty words or lessons learned. Labour has brought forward the single biggest piece of child protection legi…”

“The Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill is the single biggest piece of child protection legislation in a generation. It will stop more children falling through the cracks through landmarks reforms—no more empty words but real action to keep children safe. It is a shame that the Conservative Opposition have played sil…”

“We are engaging with the sector and with others—with business, with students, with the Office for Students—on what this will look like. It is a big piece of work that we have under way around that wider reform and we will continue to keep the House updated in this area. I do not know if Susan is able to say a little bi…”

“I recognise that the higher education sector does need a secure financial footing and the pressures that many institutions are under at the moment. That is why I took the difficult but necessary decision to make the announcement last year around changes in funding to provide more investment into the sector but also som…”

“There is a question about take-up, including even among some parents who might be eligible, in terms of a reluctance or perhaps the lack of places that are available, who therefore are not able to take up what they might be entitled to. The early years entitlements are crucial and we know that it makes a big difference…”

“Through the Budget we announced over £8 billion by way of financial support towards the entitlements around early years education and care. That is a crucial part of this. Alongside that it is also around early family support. Yes, it is about the formal offer that we give to children and families but it is also about …”

“I have been clear that this is my single biggest priority because it is where we make the single biggest difference to children’s life chances. It is how we set them up to succeed. It is central to our mission of giving every child the best start in life. It is why as part of the Plan for Change we had that focus on a …”

“I think degree apprenticeships provide a fantastic route for young people. We want to make sure that there are more of them. I want more apprenticeship starts right across the board. There is particularly a challenge alongside degree apprenticeships in level 2 and level 3 apprenticeship starts at the moment, where not …”