Catherine McKinnell: As I said earlier, Labour believes that education should be a priority, and should be at the centre of national life for this country. That requires the necessary funding to ensure that there are teachers. We know there are teaching gaps throughout our school system. Young people are not being taught by specialists in their subjects, and we know there is a shortage. Teachers are struggling to...
Catherine McKinnell: It is interesting that hon. Members are here today to discuss an education system that they are highlighting is currently letting children down, which we in Labour agree is letting children down. After 14 years in government, it is quite remarkable that hon. Gentlemen would take that attitude to a costed proposal that seeks to meet the huge demands within our education system and the...
Catherine McKinnell: The Labour party will present our offer for Government when the general election comes, which we are all waiting for at the moment, and we will put our fully costed plans in our manifesto. We are focused on improving and increasing mental health support for young people, which I will get to.
Catherine McKinnell: I will respond to the previous intervention first. We will pay for that by ending the loopholes that non-doms enjoy in this country. We will fund mental health support, as well as breakfast clubs, which are intended to tackle the issues that hon. Members have highlighted in this debate, which are getting worse, not better. I hope that hon. Members would be minded to note that, because they...
Catherine McKinnell: I would not suggest that the right hon. Gentleman has not been listening to my speech, but I have set out a whole range of measures that Labour would put in place to raise the attainment of every child. Going back to mental health support, we would ensure that there are dedicated counsellors in every secondary school and that there are mental health hubs in every community. Children and their...
Catherine McKinnell: May I take the opportunity to reiterate how proud we are of our armed forces personnel, who have worked around the clock to train and support Ukrainian recruits as part of the vital Op Interflex? I urge the Government to confirm where that programme will be after the summer and to make a commitment to it for as long as it takes Ukraine to win.
Catherine McKinnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has made a recent estimate of the average length of time that schools constructed with high alumina cement are viable for.
Catherine McKinnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what information her Department holds on the schools constructed using high alumina cement; how many and what proportion of those schools were constructed with that material; and what the average life span of buildings using that material is.
Catherine McKinnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many schools constructed with high alumina cement there are in each local authority.
Catherine McKinnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many and what proportion of schools were constructed with high alumina cement in each local authority which are no longer viable.
Catherine McKinnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many schools constructed with high alumina cement have been provided capital funding in the last (a) 12 months, (b) two years, (c) five years, (d) 10 years and (e) 14 years.
Catherine McKinnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many schools were constructed using block and beam concrete in each local authority.
Catherine McKinnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the average expected design life is of schools constructed using block and beam concrete.
Catherine McKinnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has made a recent assessment of the safety of school buildings constructed using block and beam concrete.
Catherine McKinnell: It is a pleasure to serve under you as Chair, Mr Gray. I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Warrington North (Charlotte Nichols) on bringing this important debate to Westminster Hall and representing her constituents on the issue so powerfully and sincerely. I also recognise the incredible work of Brianna Ghey’s family and, in particular, her mum, Esther, who was in Parliament...
Catherine McKinnell: I congratulate the right hon. Member for Chelmsford (Vicky Ford). I agree with her that the current poor attendance rates constitute a crisis that must be addressed as a matter of urgency. Indeed, last week Labour tabled an Opposition day motion containing a range of possible ways to address the problem, but unfortunately that long-term plan to deal with the school attendance crisis was...
Catherine McKinnell: Will the Minister give way?
Catherine McKinnell: I thank the Minister for giving way. My hon. Friend the Member for Newcastle upon Tyne Central (Chi Onwurah) raised some specific issues about real-time information. I hope the Minister will not talk the debate out without addressing them. The Minister will also know that there are issues across the entire north-east regional network. He should bear in mind that providing more information...
Catherine McKinnell: I congratulate my hon. Friend on securing this important debate. She will know, as I do, that there are constituents who are left stranded regularly—school children are left standing in the dark; people are missing hospital appointments or, as she did, having to walk; and people in the outer west really struggle or are not able to make a journey into the city centre on foot so have to save...
Catherine McKinnell: The millions of children persistently absent from school is a national scandal, yet last week Government MPs joined together to vote against Labour’s long-term plan to deal with that issue, putting party above country and children. So far the Government have only announced sticking plaster policies. Will the Secretary of State come forward with a long-term plan to address that properly, or...