Speeches by Swallow.

“You have already set out that the Government are actively looking at an apology and that you are committed to co-creating that with those with lived experience. Specifically, how might that period of co-creation work? Are you committing to a formal consultation or a co-authoring model? How will that process work and ho…”

“Thank you all so much for coming here today and sharing your testimonies. Both of your organisations have spoken about the importance of co-authoring an apology with the Government. What would that look like for you?”

“Thank you.”

“You have already set out that the Government are actively looking at an apology and that you are committed to co-creating that with those with lived experience. Specifically, how might that period of co-creation work? Are you committing to a formal consultation or a co-authoring model? How will that process work and ho…”

“The right hon. Lady knows that the challenge at the moment is that, because of the way that the system works, local authorities can control the number of admissions to good and outstanding maintained schools, but have much less control when it comes to academies. When there are falling pupil numbers—as she knows there …”

“I thank the Defence Secretary for all he is doing to support our troops in the region and protect British citizens. It is clear that a long conflict would pose real risks not only to our troops, but to energy prices and the cost of living here in the UK. Does he agree that we need to see urgent de-escalation and a redu…”

“Absolutely. As we heard, the range of children’s books is growing. It can be slightly reductive to suggest that a single type of book appeals to a single kind of child, so we need to see a broad range of books. We need non-fiction as well as fiction, because lots of young people love to get into reading by picking up a…”

“21. What assessment he has made of trends in levels of disinformation by foreign state actors.”

“Last week, a representative of Meta appeared before the Joint Committee on Human Rights, and when I pressed him on its role in safeguarding democracy, he was unable to say whether it is doing enough to prevent foreign actors from using social media to undermine our democratic rights and freedoms. This week, we have had…”

“The hon. Lady provokes me to add a huge thank you to all the grandparents, kinship carers and extended family who support parents in reading to their children. In my family, it is often my dad who reads to my nieces and who they run to for a book at bedtime, so I say a huge thank you to the surrounding family who suppo…”

“It is an honour to serve under your chairship, Mrs Hobhouse. I declare an interest as chair of the all-party parliamentary group for schools, learning and assessment, and the chair of the all-party parliamentary group on social mobility. This debate was opened so passionately by my hon. Friend the Member for Dulwich an…”

“I have raised my concerns about foreign interference by Russia and China on many occasions, and today’s events underline why the issue is so important. I welcome the Rycroft review; it is fundamental that we get to the bottom of foreign interference in our politics. My only concern is that because the review will consi…”

“One challenge faced by young people from Bracknell to Bangor is a lack of affordable housing, and not building enough homes affects our economy, too. I was pleased that the Secretary of State recently announced that our UK Government would be devolving powers to create a vacant land tax to the Welsh Government. Does sh…”

“2. What recent discussions she has had with Cabinet colleagues on increasing economic growth in Wales.”

“That is really important and we see the crisis that is affecting all of our young people, but in particular that the statistics are very alarming for boys. To go back to what we can do to encourage more boys to read for pleasure, Luke, you have already outlined some possible measures. Is there anything else you want to…”

“You have already outlined in helpful detail some of the reasons why boys are less likely to read for pleasure than girls. I want to ask specifically about the connection between the gap in reading for pleasure and also in reading attainment. What is the connection between those two things, if there is a connection?”

“That is really important and we see the crisis that is affecting all of our young people, but in particular that the statistics are very alarming for boys. To go back to what we can do to encourage more boys to read for pleasure, Luke, you have already outlined some possible measures. Is there anything else you want to…”

“Your think-tank has particularly highlighted reading mentors in schools as one intervention. Have you found that that helps reading for pleasure as well as reading attainment?”

“You have already outlined in helpful detail some of the reasons why boys are less likely to read for pleasure than girls. I want to ask specifically about the connection between the gap in reading for pleasure and also in reading attainment. What is the connection between those two things, if there is a connection?”

“Ellen, I know you mentioned confidence being important in your opening remarks. Is there anything you could add there on that connection?”