Speeches by Morgan.

“I am not sure whether my office will be happy about that, Madam Deputy Speaker, but I am sure we can make it happen. I absolutely agree with my hon. Friend. I also want to pay tribute to school support staff and teachers who do so much to ensure that children across our country can achieve and thrive. They will know th…”

“We know that too many life chances are scarred by poverty, which affects children up and down our country. Levels of poverty have increased by 900,000 since 2010. It is worth saying that this initiative is extra money above and beyond what already goes into schools. As I mentioned, the child poverty strategy will be pu…”

“I assure my hon. Friend that we will publish an ambitious child poverty strategy later this year to ensure that we deliver fully funded measures that make a big difference to children’s lives.”

“My hon. Friend is right to raise the difference that a Labour Government make and the scar of child poverty on our society. I assure him that we are working across the Department to deliver what he described.”

“We said that we would be a child-centred Government, and that is what we are delivering. The announcement is testament to that.”

“The hon. Gentleman sets out the current position and what has happened in the past. What we are announcing today will lift more children out of poverty, because more children will be eligible for free school meals. He makes a number of points on breakfast clubs; obviously, we are committed to rolling out the clubs to e…”

“Wasn’t that a nice try, Madam Deputy Speaker? Let us be clear: we are taking urgent action in the light of the scar of poverty on our society. We have the spending review next week, and the child poverty strategy will conclude in due course.”

“I thank my hon. Friend for his question. I am keen to ensure that we learn from the best in local government, as we have been on auto-enrolment activity especially. As I mentioned earlier, today’s announcement will make the whole process of applying for free school meals much simpler and easier for parents, but we will…”

“I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Hexham (Joe Morris) for securing a debate on this important subject. I know that he is a tireless champion for children and young people in his constituency, and a strong voice on the matters that he has raised. I also thank all Members who have contributed through interventions. E…”

“It is a pleasure to see you in the Chair, Sir Edward. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Hertford and Stortford (Josh Dean) for securing this debate on such an important topic. As his efforts to secure the presence of so many hon. Members today demonstrate, he is a champion for tackling barriers that young people fa…”

“Education is a devolved matter, but I know that the hon. Gentleman is a champion on these issues, and I am very happy to meet with him. We are committed to rolling out mental health support teams to every school in England.”

“I know that my hon. Friend is a huge champion for children in his constituency. This child-centred Government want to break down the barriers to opportunity and ensure that every child gets the best start in life. That is why we are introducing a number of initiatives through our plan for change, including good-quality…”

“Every incident of harm of a child, including this tragic case, is incredibly distressing. I am committed to doing everything possible to reduce levels of harm as part of our mission to give every child the best start in life. I would of course welcome a meeting with the hon. Member and Gigi’s parents.”

“We are committed to reforming the special educational needs and disabilities system. We are also acting now through the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill, children not in school registers and a duty on local authorities to provide advice to eligible families. We will help local authorities identify and support thes…”

“One of the ministerial team will be happy to meet my hon. Friend to discuss the important issues that he raises. All children are legally entitled to a full-time education, which is important for their educational progress, their wellbeing and their wider development. It is the local authority’s responsibility to arran…”

“This Government are committed to breaking down barriers to opportunity so that every child can succeed and thrive. The Under-Secretary of State for Education, my hon. Friend the Member for Lewisham East (Janet Daby) who is responsible for this area, has committed in the House to £50 million of funding for this programm…”

“As I said, this Government are committed to breaking down barriers to opportunity. We will take no lectures from the Conservatives. They have absolutely no plan for education, other than to reintroduce private school VAT reductions. [Interruption.] What?”

“We will respond in due course to those issues.”

“This Government will provide access to specialist mental health professionals in every school so that every young person has access to early support, including those who are neurodivergent. NHS-funded mental health support teams will continue to roll out across schools and are expected to cover at least 50% of pupils t…”

“Protecting children from online harm is a cross-Government priority, and Ofcom’s draft code of practice for child safety sets out why it is so important that we continue with our efforts to protect children. From July, the child online safety regime will be fully in force, and Ofcom will be able to take robust enforcem…”