Speeches by Perteghella.

“Thank you for clarifying. My last question is to the whole panel. What are your main recommendations to the Government as to what actions they could take to reverse the decline of reading for pleasure?”

“We don’t know if there are outcomes from the Children’s Laureate programme in reading groups or because of strategies that teachers have adopted, for example, within their school or a new library set up in a school? Do we not know that?”

“We don’t know if there are outcomes from the Children’s Laureate programme in reading groups or because of strategies that teachers have adopted, for example, within their school or a new library set up in a school? Do we not know that?”

“I want to talk a little bit more about the role of the Children’s Laureate, which Annie mentioned. What has been the impact of the post of the Children’s Laureate in encouraging different groups of children to read for pleasure?”

“I welcome the Bill, but it needs to be improved to effectively strengthen and defend our democracy. First, it is essential that we replace our outdated first-past-the-post electoral system with one that is fair and proportional. Independent analysis found that the 2024 general election was the most disproportional in m…”

“(Urgent Question:) To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department to make a statement on the impact of the UK’s electronic travel authorisation rules on British citizens who are also dual nationals.”

“I begin by declaring my interests as a British dual national and chair of the all-party parliamentary group on citizens’ rights. From today, British citizens are at risk of being prevented from returning to their own country because of the Government’s mishandling of the electronic travel authorisation scheme. British …”

“Prioritising early years intervention is fundamental to stopping needs from escalating and affecting the entire educational journey of children. What concrete steps will the Government take to invest, for example, in universal screening programmes, high-quality specialist training for all staff, or even for each school…”

“Many of my constituents live on new build estates where the roads and open spaces have never been adopted. Years after moving in, they are still paying private management charges on top of their council tax for basic infrastructure that homeowners should expect the council to maintain. Does the Secretary of State recog…”

“Rural police forces already handle the highest concentration of firearms licensing work in the country. Does the hon. Member agree that merging sections 1 and 2 will increase administrative burdens and lengthen waiting times for law-abiding applicants? Is there not also a risk that diverting more police time to additio…”

“I am incredibly proud to have been a councillor until last year, because local government is the foundation of so much that matters in people’s daily lives. It keeps our streets clean, supports vulnerable families, funds social care, maintains roads, protects our environment, ensures that our children can get to school…”

“Yes, the Reform Benches are empty, as we all can see and as the British public can see, and this is really important because, as I have said, local government is the foundation of our places. It gives us our civic pride in our areas and is on the frontline of delivering services, so this is really disappointing, and th…”

“My next question is for Mike and Claire Reid. What evidence do providers collect to demonstrate compliance with safeguarding standards during inspections and ongoing self-evaluation? What are those evidence documents that you look for?”

“We have talked about how important high-quality training is. Clare says she has evidence of that training that has been implemented and the outcome of that. I would say that is something Ofsted may be interested in looking at.”

“My next question is to Claire Reid, Mike Short and Clare Roberts. How clear and effective are your local authorities in supporting quality assurance and accountability in early years provisions? What specific improvements to local authority processes, if any, would make them more consistent, efficient and supportive of…”

“Because you have that wider view and you work with countless local authorities, you say some are quite brilliant—so you can see best practice?”

“Would you say that there is a genuine culture of reporting within earlier settings where staff at all levels feel confident that safeguarding concerns will be taken seriously and acted upon? What evidence do you have, if any, that staff feel listened to when they raise issues?”

“Yes.”

“But, if you will allow me, you would have had a bespoke safeguarding policy for that setting.”

“In light of recent horrific cases where there was a catastrophic lack of safeguarding culture, how does Ofsted ensure the lessons from serious incidents are embedded across the early years inspection system? Does Ofsted anticipate any change in light of these cases?”