Speeches by Asato.

“I understand that we lack an evidence base, although I think some studies are now showing links between developmental delay and screens. Should babies be given screens to watch? In your professional judgment, would that have an impact on their speech and language development particular?”

“I am, too.”

“I am delighted that next week a new 107 bus will serve residents in the Gunton area of Lowestoft, following representations that I made to First Bus. However, many of my constituents rely on the No. 99 to get to and from the town centre, and from Monday to Saturday the last bus home leaves at 5.40 pm, closing off our t…”

“My next question is to Chris and Patrick. In the light of the demolishment of schools built by Caledonian Modular in 2024, how confident should we be in the DFE’s processes for assuring building contractors for the school rebuilding programme? We have heard about the safety risks relating to modular school builds, but …”

“What is the geographical distribution of the remediation work that has taken place? For example, have you focused more on the schools in the east of England because that is where a large majority of them are?”

“You say that all children are safe in schools, but a report commissioned by the NEU said that future cases of mesothelioma among adults exposed to asbestos as children could run to hundreds of thousands. How big a risk do you consider asbestos in the school estate to be, and why is this issue not seen as just as much o…”

“This is for Professor Goodier and Patrick. Last year, it was reported that contracts have been awarded for only 62 of the 500 schools in the school rebuilding programme. The ISBL has said that, at current rates, it would take 400 years to rebuild all schools. What are the reasons for the delays, and what does the DFE n…”

“Almost half the 234 schools in which RAAC had been identified in February 2024—the figure is 98—were located in the east of England. Have you identified the reasons for this?”

“What is the geographical distribution of the remediation work that has taken place? For example, have you focused more on the schools in the east of England because that is where a large majority of them are?”

“Do you have an estimate of how much of the funding is going into that asbestos management or removal, and how many schools are part of that amelioration programme?”

“In our SEND inquiry, we heard evidence suggesting that many mainstream schools, including new-build ones, are not disability-access compliant. What is the DFE doing to ensure the SRP is truly building schools for inclusivity?”

“Almost half the 234 schools in which RAAC had been identified in February 2024—the figure is 98—were located in the east of England. Have you identified the reasons for this?”

“You say that all children are safe in schools, but a report commissioned by the NEU said that future cases of mesothelioma among adults exposed to asbestos as children could run to hundreds of thousands. How big a risk do you consider asbestos in the school estate to be, and why is this issue not seen as just as much o…”

“This is for Professor Goodier and Patrick. Last year, it was reported that contracts have been awarded for only 62 of the 500 schools in the school rebuilding programme. The ISBL has said that, at current rates, it would take 400 years to rebuild all schools. What are the reasons for the delays, and what does the DFE n…”

“Do you have an estimate of how much of the funding is going into that asbestos management or removal, and how many schools are part of that amelioration programme?”

“In our SEND inquiry, we heard evidence suggesting that many mainstream schools, including new-build ones, are not disability-access compliant. What is the DFE doing to ensure the SRP is truly building schools for inclusivity?”

“My next question is to Chris and Patrick. In the light of the demolishment of schools built by Caledonian Modular in 2024, how confident should we be in the DFE’s processes for assuring building contractors for the school rebuilding programme? We have heard about the safety risks relating to modular school builds, but …”

“I absolutely agree that kinship carers, parents and partners are different from those of the primary victim, and they need support in their own right. When we fail those third-party victims, we fail the primary victim, too. We allow them to disengage from the legal process, and we deprive them of the wraparound support…”

“I thank my hon. Friend for her intervention and pay tribute to the services in her local area. We all have many such specialist services, and I am sure that we will want to pay tribute to them this evening. The Centre of Expertise on Child Sexual Abuse estimates that there are 55,000 adults and children in England and …”

“I want to start by thanking the Minister for accepting the principle behind amendment 9, which I have now withdrawn, and for introducing a new amendment to restrict parental responsibility for serious child sexual abusers who offend against children who are not their own, building on the Government’s welcome step of re…”