Speeches by Fenton-Glynn.

“That’s all right. To get back to the question, I was in a local authority that fought really hard to keep our Sure Starts going. Do you regret that you were part of a Government that saw the funding reduced by two thirds in 2017, and saw a number of them close between 2010 and 2015?”

“I do not doubt that at all, but do you think it would be easier to build up if there were more pre-existing Sure Start centres? You make a good point that we can expand the work of Sure Start centres, but where they have closed there is obviously no provision for those families. You talk about universalism, but it is t…”

“Would you say that the main advantage is the pre-pregnancy stuff, or the pregnancy and onwards stuff? Is that the advantage that family hubs have over Sure Start?”

“Yes, I have a memory of lots of classes about birth and not as many classes about the succeeding 18 years.”

“Indeed. Luckily there are lots of services available, but as you say, sometimes the key is accessing them. I do think there is a problem in general—although you talked about the problem of Sure Start’s focus being more on deprived areas—with services being much more available in better heeled areas, just because there …”

“We talk a lot in this Committee about focus and priorities, and obviously the Government dropped some of their priorities so that they could focus on other ones. My question about the first 1,000 days is whether you think it is easy for family hubs to focus on the first 1,000 days when they are also focusing on everyth…”

“I will pick up on that last question before I go into questions about leadership. You said it is not about funding, it is about outcomes. Obviously, we do have evidence that between 2010 and 2024, outcomes got worse. Do you think that is something that the last Government could have got better?”

“Do you think in the totality of the 14 years, they could have got it better?”

“I am going to pick up on that. Your review highlighted that ministerial responsibility is scattered across multiple Departments and portfolios. I am looking at a section of your review that lists the things that the Department for Education has to do, the Department of Health and Social Care, the Home Office, the Minis…”

“Are local authorities failing to implement or is it cross-Government working that is failing to implement it properly?”

“That is a useful place to leave it. I think you are beaming in from overseas, so thank you for taking our Committee international as well.”

“Gaza has had aid blocked for two months. Netanyahu said that the population may be moved for their own safety—safety from whom? Can the Minister explain what further diplomatic consequences Israel will face if it continues down this road?”

“The last Government left SEND education throughout the country in crisis. The National Audit Office found that there was no consistent improvement in outcomes from 2019 onwards. I saw that at first hand when I met Calder Valley parents of SEND children at Highbury School in Rastrick, where I saw committed parents and t…”

“9. What steps she is taking to ensure sustainable funding for SEND provision in schools.”

“Listening to the Conservatives after 14 years in government and the Scottish National party after 18 years in government argue about who is responsible for the problems in universities is a bit like watching two bald men argue over a comb. However, the point is well made that this is a national problem. National proble…”

“Like the shadow Secretary of State, I will be running the London marathon on Sunday. I mention that because people do not run marathons by making excuses, yet when we hear from SNP Members about skills, growth, health and universities, the excuse is always either immigration policy or a lack of devolution. If there is …”

“Of course, there has previously been a border between England and Scotland: Hadrian’s wall was built between 122 and 138 in the Christian era, and the Antonine wall was built between 140 and 150. There is a history of borders—and I do not think any of us were there at the time—but none of us in this House wants to see …”

“As a fan of the England cricket team, I am used to having a belief that something that is slightly rubbish will be able to achieve a lot more, but that is dwarfed by the belief of the hon. Member for Arbroath and Broughty Ferry (Stephen Gethins) that 17 words will solve all the problems with the Scottish Government tha…”

“Care is an issue that matters deeply to me, but the problem with care is not that we are not getting cheap labour from elsewhere; it is that we are not paying care workers enough. That is one of the things that a national care service would seek to solve. Why did the SNP waste so much money—£28 million—on its failed na…”

“I am particularly concerned about the idea of tying everything to a certain tax code. Anyone who has dealt with modern slavery knows that the more a visa is tied to a place or employer, the fewer rights the person with the visa has, and the more likely they are to be exploited. The tax code example has a whole load of …”