As many of you will have seen, the Government has had a major reshuffle, and I am no longer Minister.
Whilst I am disappointed by this, I am proud of what I have achieved in the 14 months as this government’s first Children and Families Minister.
As a former social worker, I was grateful for the opportunity to lead the profession I love dearly and to begin to introduce much-needed reforms to Children’s Social Care. The government has allocated £2bn to reform children’s social care, and is investing a similar amount to build new accommodation for children in care. This should do much to improve the lives of some of England’s most vulnerable children after 14 years of Tory neglect.
I am also proud of the work I did to support families in staying together with early family help. Support for care leavers, foster carers and supporting children in kinship care were highlights of my time in government.
I am also proud to deliver the IfATE bill earlier this year, which laid the foundations for Skills England. This legislation will help reskill our country for the high-paying jobs the UK deserves.
I will continue to support the government from the backbenches. I look forward to championing the issues I hold dear, including children’s social work, youth justice, and Lewisham East, which I am proud to call home.
Department for Education Update – Support for Families
We know that fourteen years of Tory government have been tough on family finances, and too often, how well a young person will do is determined by how well off their family is.
This Labour government is doing things differently to change that, through our Plan for Change. That’s why we’re confirming over £600m for Best Start Holiday Activities and Food Clubs for the next three years – backing the programme for the long term.
- That means nutritious meals and exciting activities for half a million children across the country every year, helping them to achieve and thrive.
- This will provide consistency for parents so they don’t face a cliff edge on childcare when term time ends, and put £300 back in the pockets of parents who would otherwise have to fork out during the holidays just so they can work to put food on the table.
- These services are a lifeline for working families, and under Labour’s new Best Start vision, are part of something bigger.
- And as we head into back-to-school season, hundreds of thousands of parents will be able to access an unprecedented level of childcare support in England.
- Parents have just three days left to apply for 30 government-funded childcare hours from this September, which could save them up to £7,500 every year.
Through Labour’s Best Start offer – from Holiday and Food programmes to free breakfast clubs, family hubs to funded childcare, we are easing pressure on families, helping parents get back to work, and delivering a system that gives every child the best start in life.
English Devolution Reform
Our landmark English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill will deliver the biggest transfer of power out of Westminster to England’s regions and communities for a century, sparking growth across our regions.
This raft of new powers is part of our devolution revolution that will raise living standards and deliver better services across England and our Plan for Change.
From bus tickets to health care appointments and from education to job opportunities, deepening devolution across the country means everyone in every region will have more of a say in the day-to-day issues on their doorstep.
New powers for communities will give local people the ability to protect treasured local assets, such as pubs, and provide a bigger voice in their area. This will also give local leaders increased powers to deliver regional growth.
FCDO Update
The situation in Gaza represents one of the gravest humanitarian crises of our time. On 22nd August, the UN-backed IPC mechanism confirmed what we feared: famine has taken hold in Gaza City and surrounding neighbourhoods, now spreading across the wider territory. Without immediate action, this will spiral into widespread starvation.
Labour’s Comprehensive Response
The Government has taken decisive action across multiple fronts. We’ve implemented three sanctions packages targeting violent settlers and far-right Israeli Ministers, and suspended trade negotiations with the Israeli Government. Over two years, we’ve provided more than £250 million in development assistance whilst working with international partners to secure a ceasefire.
Immediate Humanitarian Action
We’re providing an additional £15 million in aid and medical care for Gaza and the region, working alongside Egypt and Jordan to ensure UN agencies and NGOs can deliver life-saving assistance. Our support includes funding UK-Med, whose field hospitals have treated over 600,000 Gazans, and the World Health Organisation’s operations treating evacuated Palestinian civilians.
We’re also facilitating treatment for critically ill Palestinian children in the UK and supporting exceptional students awarded Chevening scholarships to escape Gaza and take up their academic places.
Our Clear Position
Further military operations in Gaza City will only deepen this crisis. We demand an immediate halt to ongoing IDF operations and call for a massive humanitarian response. This means allowing humanitarian workers to operate safely and releasing aid stockpiles at Gaza’s borders.
We remain committed to recognising the state of Palestine later this month unless the Israeli Government takes substantive steps to end the situation in Gaza and commits to sustainable peace with civil and religious rights protections for Palestinians.
In the past week, the Prime Minister has separately met President Abbas of the Palestinian Authority and President Herzog of Israel to discuss a ceasefire, access to humanitarian aid to Gaza and a political solution to the conflict.
Moving Forward
As parliamentarians, we have a moral duty to act when innocent lives are at stake. The famine in Gaza is preventable with immediate, coordinated international action. We will continue using every diplomatic, economic, and humanitarian tool available to alleviate suffering and work towards lasting peace. Both Israelis and Palestinians deserve to live in peace, security, and dignity.
Israeli Strike in Qatar
I condemn the Israeli strike in Qatar earlier this week. Not only are they flagrant violations of Qatar’s sovereignty, but they also undermine efforts to secure peace in the region and further risk escalation.
Qatar is playing a critical role in mediating the conflict and is driving efforts to secure a ceasefire and facilitate vital humanitarian access to Gaza. This remains the priority.
Poland and Ukraine
The UK continues to stand with Ukraine in its war against Russian aggression. A secure Europe needs a strong Ukraine: its freedom is our freedom and its values are our values.
Over the summer, the Government worked with our allies to make peace a reality. The Prime Minister hosted President Zelensky in London, chaired various coalition of the willing meetings with President Macron and joined European leaders with President Zelensky to meet President Trump in Washington, DC.
Unfortunately, President Putin refuses a meeting with President Trump and President Zelensky, so while Ukraine wants peace, Putin wages war.
The UK Government are stepping up our efforts for Ukraine. The UK’s priorities are simple: support the fight today, secure the peace tomorrow. To support the fight today, we are providing £4.5 billion in military aid for Ukraine this year—the highest ever level. At the last Ukraine Defence Contact Group meeting, with over 50 nations and partners, in July, the government launched a “50-day drive” to accelerate the assistance that we are giving. Fifty days on, the UK has delivered to Ukraine nearly 5 million rounds of munitions, around 60,000 artillery shells, rockets and missiles, 2,500 uncrewed platforms, 30 vehicles and engineering equipment, and 200 electronic warfare and air defence systems.
Unfortunately, President Putin has only decided to escalate. In the morning of 10 September, Russia decided to violate Polish sovereignty when 19 drones entered Polish airspace. Some of these travelled far enough to shut down Warsaw airport, 100s of miles from the Polish Belarusian border.
This action was dangerous and reckless, and do nothing to encourage peace in the region. The UK stands by Poland, and I am encouraged by the multilateral response, which shows the utility and security NATO brings to the region.
Local events
In September, I attended Grove Park Carnival and the Chinbrook Dog Show. This event is an excellent reflection of Grove Park, and whilst there, I spoke to many of the people working the stalls.
One of the highlights was Prep and Prejudice, an organisation campaigning to spread awareness of Prep in BAME communities. Prep is a revolutionary pill which helps stops the spread of HIV, and has the potential to save lives across the country, and the world.
Unfortunately, HIV is still prevalent across BAME communities, but Prep and Prejudice is working hard to raise Prep’s profile as a safe and effective way to stop its transmission. Find out more about this worthy organisation here: https://www.prepandprejudice.org.uk/
The excellent weather also meant that Further Green Road Street party had a fantastic turnout, for the 11th year running. Thank you to all those who attended and organised this wonderful event full of community spirit!
