Speeches by Asato.

“We will move on to safeguarding now. The Committee heard that there is an operational gap between statutory intent and real-world practice in early years safeguarding. Would the individuals and organisations you represent agree?”

“Obviously, we have heard about this issue of availability and that the hours provided do not necessarily match the lives that we live at work. Why do we think the market has not expanded to meet the need for flexible childcare hours?”

“You were talking about childcare deserts, and that is what we are moving on to next. How would you assess the current availability of childcare provision? Are the Government doing enough to tackle this issue of childcare deserts?”

“I have a constituent who is trying to do exactly what the Government want—train as a teacher—but his wife has had to give up her job so that he can retrain, because they cannot afford the childcare as they are not eligible. It is a real issue that obviously has an impact on other policy priorities. The Department has f…”

“How can the Government use the better futures fund most effectively? Annabel, do you have a view?”

“What is your view on the Government’s decision to shift emphasis from payment-by-results models to social outcomes partnerships for the commissioning of services to support families in poverty?”

“The Scottish Government have identified six priority groups of families at risk of child poverty, but there are differences of opinion as to whether the UK Government should take a similar approach. What do you think about the Scottish Government’s approach? If you agree with it, what do you think the priority groups s…”

“We have heard a lot in our evidence about the importance of schools having really good partnerships with authors, which you have mentioned, but also local bookshops and other industry representatives. What support does the Department give to schools to enable them to develop and maintain these partnerships?”

“Apart from NELI, are there any other plans to scale up any existing programmes? Any extra money on top of Best Start family hubs? Or are you saying it is spreading that through the current funding?”

“To clarify, this evidence base is specifically around supporting parents to read with their children in the early years? Might you be able to share with us afterwards anything that you as a Department think are best practice examples?”

“I was coming to the evidence-based interventions next so that was a good segue. Do you directly fund any interventions in this area, rather than just through the Best Start family hubs funding? Are there any programmes that you have already been funding in this space? Are there any plans to scale up existing programmes…”

“You have already talked quite a lot about Best Start family hubs and you gave the brilliant Southwark example. I want to know more about how reading for pleasure will be embedded. The Department has stated that it is investing £115 million “to strengthen the home learning environment through targeted support in Best St…”

“As a quick follow-up focusing on teenage boys, Andrew Tate famously said that he does not read because reading is “for people with slow brains.” You mentioned working with influencers to ensure that you find different mediums to get through to children. How do you know that you can outweigh the cultural impacts of some…”

“Christine, what about younger age groups in nursery settings and so forth? What do we know about the quality of reading for pleasure there?”

“What role should early years settings and practitioners play in developing an enjoyment of reading books among young children? We have heard a fair bit about this already, but are there any other aspects of it? What does really good practice look like in early years settings?”

“What are the main barriers and challenges to reading with children faced by parents and carers? How can they be supported to overcome those barriers?”

“What are the main barriers and challenges to reading with children faced by parents and carers? How can they be supported to overcome those barriers?”

“What do we know about how widespread this good practice is? Do we know whether most early years settings have good practice in this area?”

“Frank, your research has shown exactly what Christine said: parents and carers on higher incomes are more likely than those on lower incomes to read to their children. Why is that, in your view?”

“Frank, your research has shown exactly what Christine said: parents and carers on higher incomes are more likely than those on lower incomes to read to their children. Why is that, in your view?”