Speeches by McKinnell.

“My hon. Friend is absolutely right to focus on that issue. Improving the SEND system is clearly a focal point for delivering on our opportunity mission to break the link between background and opportunity. We have made a clear commitment to inclusive mainstream education. The Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill inclu…”

“Perhaps the right hon. Lady would recognise the legacy that her Government left behind: schools crumbling, standards falling, a lose-lose-lose special educational needs and disabilities system, and a generation missing from England’s schools. It is no wonder that a shadow Minister admitted that they should hang their h…”

“With permission, Mr Speaker, I will make a statement on this Government’s plans to reform school accountability. Before I begin, I want to say that I am devastated to hear that a boy has died after a stabbing at a school in Sheffield. My heart goes out to his family, friends and the entire school community at this very…”

“My hon. Friend is absolutely right. He has not only diagnosed the problem, but recommended a solution. We have established a child poverty taskforce, chaired by the Secretary of State for Education along with the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, to take a fundamental look at the levers that we have in Governme…”

“My hon. Friend makes an important point, and I will take it away and look at it.”

“My hon. Friend is a powerful advocate for the children in her area, and she is absolutely right to champion better outcomes. We know that the journey towards not achieving the grades that children should achieve starts at the earliest stage, which is why, as I have said, we are investing in the early years. The Ofsted …”

“My hon. Friend has very much diagnosed the challenge. We have a persistently and stubbornly high disadvantage gap, where we know that children are leaving primary school without the fundamentals of reading, writing and maths. That goes on to impact their outcomes in secondary school, but we know that starts at the very…”

“I absolutely recognise the challenges that my hon. Friend sets out. Many schools right across the system, whether local authority maintained or academies, face similar challenges. The report card system will be a really important reflection of a whole school’s experience, and will laser-focus on areas such as attendanc…”

“My hon. Friend advocates very powerfully for the families in his area who have been struggling with a SEND system that is clearly in need of reform. The changes that Ofsted and the Department are proposing are designed to create a more inclusive and effective schools system for all children, including those with specia…”

“It really is an honour to follow my hon. Friend the Member for Bournemouth East, who made an incredibly powerful case for why we have brought forward these measures, as indeed did my hon. Friend the Member for Portsmouth North, who also shared her experience, as a mother, of battling some of these issues. I have to say…”

“That is not what I said.”

“No, the two things do not follow. I said that the limit on the number of branded items applies to PE kits. However, schools still have the freedom to choose how to use that branded number allocation, including in relation to PE and sports. It does not restrict the ability of schools to loan out specific competition kit…”

“We are absolutely confident that this limit will make a difference to many families up and down the country, including in Portsmouth North. Some schools already operate within these limits; I know that many schools have gone to great lengths to operate within the spirit of the guidance already in place, to try to minim…”

“To be clear, the legislation will require that parents cannot be mandated to purchase more than three branded items, or four including a tie. That includes PE and sports kits. I am not sure that the hon. Gentleman lives in the real world, but many schools already loan out sports kits to ensure the full participation of…”

“My hon. Friend puts it in a nutshell. Speaking of additional complexity, I turn now to amendments 59 and 60—I have not picked on those particularly; they just happened to coincide with the hon. Gentleman’s intervention. Tabled by the hon. Member for Runcorn and Helsby (Mike Amesbury), the amendments seek to reduce the …”

“A school would have to operate within the limits of these requirements, so it would probably choose not to introduce these things mid-year. It is really not that complex.”

“The proposal is fairly straightforward. It allows, for example, a secondary school to retain a branded tie and blazer while still being able to brand up to two items—either PE kit or daywear—according to their circumstances. Therefore, for the reasons I have outlined, I kindly ask the hon. Member for Harborough, Oadby …”

“Imminently.”

“It is up to the school.”

“The right hon. Gentleman raises an important point and advocates powerfully for this vulnerable group of young people. There will indeed be representation on the ministerial group from various Government Departments, including the Minister for business—[Interruption.]”