Speeches by Sewards.

“Is the expansion of free school meals and the introduction of breakfast clubs likely to have any impact on attendance from low-income families?”

“Very good. Any further answers?”

“Last Friday, I met business owners who operate in Morley Bottoms and who have managed to turn one of the most undesirable parts of our town into one of the destinations that people travel into Morley to experience. Madam Deputy Speaker, you have an invitation to come along and join me any time, as does the Leader of th…”

“I think James Frith has made most of my points about private investments, so I will limit myself to one question, although Minister McKinnell, I will just say that if you want to see good practice of how teachers and local organisations work together to deliver sport in a city, you can do no worse than look at Leeds Sc…”

“That is correct. You would encourage local councils to look at these things?”

“Absolutely. It is sometimes easy to get a sense that that feeling of community is being lost in some of our constituencies, but where that is not the case, in Leeds South West and Morley, it is with my grassroots sports clubs. They have become the centres of my different communities right across the constituency. I app…”

“Minister Peacock, with the short time that we have left, please can you tell us what you plan to do to incentivise the number of volunteers to go up in grassroots sport?”

“Brilliant. Thank you.”

“I congratulate my hon. Friend on securing this incredibly important debate. In my eight and a half years as a maths teacher, teaching in inner city schools, I found that the problem was never just about a lack of aspiration but about a lack of access and a lack of knowledge; that goes for any group, not just for boys. …”

“I am pleased to have contributed to this report as a member of the Education Committee, which is excellently led by my hon. Friend the Member for Dulwich and West Norwood (Helen Hayes). I also thank the Clerks and staff for all their work on the Committee. It is good that the report has been welcomed by the Centre for …”

“I warmly welcome today’s announcement. Sure Start was one of the greatest achievements of the last Labour Government, and these Best Start family hubs will build on that. As a member of the Education Committee, we have heard evidence that Sure Start was at its best when it was targeted and specific. Will the Secretary …”

“The TV Harrison football ground in my constituency is a historic part of Wortley. It is known as Wortley’s Wembley, and Leeds United legends such as David Batty and Paul Reaney used to train and play on it. However, after being abandoned over recent decades, it was at risk of being lost forever. After a six-year campai…”

“May I briefly commend the Health Secretary for his comments on the morning media about events in this place yesterday? Empathy is in short supply in politics, and we could do with a bit more of it. I really welcome the 10-year health plan, and specifically the focus on outcomes and the transformation of the NHS into a …”

“There are no decisions yet. Thank you.”

“Thank you, Minister. We know about three quarters of students with SEND receive some provision, but it is inconsistent and the quality is all over the place. Much of the written evidence we have received as part of this inquiry states that there is a desperate scramble for EHCPs precisely because parents know that if t…”

“That makes sense. You will be aware from the conversations around us that time is short, so I will just leave it at this question. You have obviously had this data; you have been collecting it for two years. What has your analysis shown you? Where are the needs?”

“So the most acute needs are going to be dealt with by the specialist school places, and that has stayed fairly consistent from the data you have seen from the last two years, but those other needs you talked about are going to be addressed in mainstream education. That is the general direction of travel, is that correc…”

“I will continue on that line of questioning. There have been calls on the Government to publish the data on both SEND provision and then the data they have about areas of high needs to see whether they match up. Of course, we know that they do not. Are you going to publish this data?”

“You mentioned statutory support. The Committee has heard lots of evidence that suggests we should put SEN support on a statutory footing. What do you both think about that?”

“Would you consider changing the SEND code of practice to enforce this?”