Catherine McKinnell
MP for Newcastle upon Tyne North · Labour · United Kingdom
“The family of a terminally ill constituent contacted me in desperation last month after trying to resolve the pension issues of their family member since January. She died yesterday, with her pension still unresolved. Can the Minister be more specific for that family about what will be done to resolve this issue?”
“As the UK trade envoy to Italy, I thank the Secretary of State for confirming the GCAP funding in his statement. As MP for Newcastle upon Tyne North, I add my voice to those who want to see this as an opportunity to genuinely spread investment and opportunity that will build strength and resilience in our people right across the UK—they a…”
“This report is welcome, but that does not make its existence any less tragic. Far too many mothers and babies have been failed, including mothers like my constituent Amie, who late last year was turned away repeatedly, despite reporting reduced movements. Her baby Seren was born stillborn.”
“Failures to address these issues have significant effects, both on the public finances and on the most vulnerable people in society, and, indeed, they are issues that are often reflected in our constituency mailboxes. I was contacted recently by a young woman who had reported child sexual abuse to the police last year.”
“Her husband was the victim of an assault by the defendant, who had raped his wife. They were forced to wait four hours for the trial to begin. They were eventually told that the defendant would arrive and that the delay to his delivery was causing the delay, but it had a knock-on effect on additional days in court.”
“Friend has said, we need a court estate that is fit for purpose in order to maximise the use of these additional days. I too have visited my local court, in this instance Newcastle Crown court.”
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“The majority of school funding is allocated through the schools national funding formula. In 2025-26, £5.1 billion of the schools NFF has been allocated through deprivation factors, and £8.6 billion will be allocated for additional needs overall—that is, over £1 in every £6 of total core funding through the formula being directed towards the schools facing the most challenging cohorts. The spending review builds on this investment in schools. Across the spending review period, core schools funding—including SEND investment, which I know is a big issue for many Members who have spoken —will increase from £65.3 billion in 2025-26 to £69.5 billion by 2028-29. I turn to the SEND system, which many Members have spoken passionately about. It is, and has been for too long, on its knees.”
“Every child deserves the opportunity to achieve and thrive in education. That is why this Government have—as Labour Governments always do—prioritised education, with the Department’s budget for day-to-day cash spending increasing by almost £6 billion compared with the last financial year. Within that, we have increased the overall core schools budget by £3.7 billion in 2025-26 compared with last year. This real-terms increase in funding per pupil helps underpin our ambition of achieving high and rising standards for all children in all our schools. This investment of £3.7 billion in 2025-26 includes both the £2.3 billion announced at the October Budget, and the £1.4 billion in additional funding being provided to support schools with staff pay awards and with the increases to employer national insurance contributions from April 2025.”
“For 2025-26, the Department has allocated £380 million to deliver children’s social care reform, including £44 million of new investment to support children in kinship and foster care, as announced at the autumn Budget. Because this Government are determined to ensure that all children have the best start in life, by 2028 we aim for 75% of children to reach a good level of development by the end of reception, which means that approximately 45,000 more children each year will start school ready to learn, thrive and succeed. That is ambitious. No progress has been made on this measure in many years. We are creating 6,000 nursery places in schools across the country through the first wave of 300 school-based nurseries; that is backed by £37 million.”
“Expanding free school meal eligibility is a choice made by this Government, who are determined to secure a brighter tomorrow for our children and ensure excellence everywhere, for all our young people. This Government know that delivering the most equal society—something that we Government Members are determined to make real—is a choice, not something achieved by chance. On the points hon. Members raised about children’s social care, we are putting children first. This Government are committed to delivering children’s social care reform, to break the cycle of late intervention, and to help more children and families thrive and stay safely together.”
“Providing over half a million children from disadvantaged backgrounds with a free, nutritious lunch time meal, every school day, will also lead to higher attainment, improved behaviour and better outcomes, which means that children will get the best possible education and chance to succeed in work and life. We will provide more detail in due course, but decisions such as expanding free school meals do not happen by accident, nor are they simply the outcome of hard work by campaigners outside this place. They are decisions about who we put first in our national life, and who has the first call on our country’s resources. Our Government put children first.”
“We are determined to turn things around, tackle child poverty and spread growth and opportunity to every family in every corner of the country. The Labour Government have announced that we are extending free school meals to all children from households in receipt of universal credit from September 2026. That will lift 100,000 children across England out of poverty and put £500 back in families’ pockets. We are supporting parents through that decisive action, which will improve lives—and that is before the child poverty strategy comes out later this year.”
“We will provide more details by the end of the year, including a plan for supporting local authorities with both historical and accruing deficits. I turn to teacher training. I was very sorry to hear about the experience of the hon. Member for Yeovil (Adam Dance). He is incredibly brave, and it is important that he has shared that. To respond to his question, high-quality teaching is central to ensuring that all pupils are given the best possible opportunities to achieve. To support all teachers, the Department is implementing a range of teacher training reforms that will ensure that teachers have the skills to help all pupils to succeed. We are determined to make sure that every family is a stable, loving home, and that no child grows up in poverty, lacks food or warmth or is denied success due to their background.”
“My hon. Friend makes a really important point, and I was about to respond to a question that she raised in her very good contribution to this debate. We will set out the details of our approach to SEND reform in a schools White Paper, which we intend to publish in the autumn. We recognise that we need to support mainstream schools in providing much greater inclusion for children with SEND. We need to commence a phased transition process, which will include working with local authorities to manage their SEND system, including deficits. There will also be an extension to the dedicated schools grant statutory override until the end of 2027-28—an issue that many Members have raised on behalf of their local authorities.”
“Our shared goal has to be providing the highest-quality outcomes for every child. The Government are investing in education, and we remain committed to renewing the entire system to make our ambitions a reality. We are putting our promises into action, and we are determined to change the lives of children across the country.”
“We will create a reception-year experience that sets children up for success, and are working with sector leaders to drive high-quality reception practice. We are increasing access to evidence-based programmes teaching early literacy and numeracy skills. We are delivering the largest ever uplift of 45% in the early years pupil premium to better support disadvantaged children at the earliest point in their school lives. Unfortunately, having taken a couple of interventions, I have gone over my time. To summarise, we have inherited a challenging set of circumstances, but we are determined to change the life chances of children in this country. My final words are of appreciation for everyone working in our education system to support our children and young people.”
“The changes that we have made to the fair access limits will ensure that more children have access to the fund, because year-on-year demands have increased. When we brought forward the legislation, which was the biggest overhaul in children’s social care in a generation, the opposition parties voted against it. We are determined to improve the life chances of children, to broaden access, and to ensure support for those that need it, despite our tough fiscal inheritance. To return to childcare, at the spending review, we announced almost £370 million of further funding to create tens of thousands of places in new and expanded school-based nurseries. Despite the tough decisions we made to get our public finances back on track, we are continuing to invest in early years, and are supporting the delivery of entitlements.”
“I thank all our partner organisations, colleagues and the relevant combined authorities for their time, expertise and input. To conclude, the draft order will give nine combined authorities the ability to fund the delivery of new technical qualifications from August ’25 onwards to meet local skills needs, enhance economic growth and bring greater prosperity to their region. I commend the order to the Committee.”
“The Secretary of State has considered the views expressed by the relevant combined authorities, as well as those received in response to the public consultation, and is satisfied that it is appropriate to make the order to transfer the power under section 100(1B) of the 2009 Act to these authorities. The draft order is likely to improve the economic, social and environmental wellbeing of some, or all, of the people who live or work in the areas to which it relates, because it will enable adults to access reformed qualifications that are designed to lead to sustainable occupations. It is appropriate to make the order, as it will enable combined authorities to provide the full range of technical qualifications that have been approved for adults. I therefore confirm that we have concluded that the statutory tests have been met.”
“Each of the combined authorities affected, and all their constituent councils, have also consented to the transfer of the power and to the making of the order. Such an order can be made only if the appropriate consent is given and the Secretary of State considers that it is “likely to improve the economic, social and environmental well-being of some or all of the people who live or work in the areas to which this Order relates”. These combined authorities have been delivering adult education functions for some time already, and have demonstrated effective administration of the adult skills fund allocated to them in respect of their area.”
“Transferring this power will enable combined authorities with an existing devolution deal to fund new technical qualifications. Ensuring that all authorities have access to reformed, high-quality qualifications is key to reducing regional disparities. If the draft order is approved, the nine combined authorities will be able to choose to fund new technical qualifications available for delivery from August 2025 onwards. It is a statutory requirement for public consultation to take place before changes are made to combined authorities’ existing arrangements. The Department for Education carried out a public consultation in November last year, and 85% of respondents agreed that the Secretary of State should transfer this additional power to the existing combined authorities.”
“That will ensure that the skills needs of business and industry are better served, and that clear progression pathways are created, delivering the outcomes learners need either to enter into a skilled job or to progress within a skilled career. Learners deserve high-quality qualifications that meet their needs. If the draft order is approved, combined authorities will have the freedom to fund these qualifications in order to meet the local needs of learners and employers. It is important that local areas are empowered to make decisions that address the specific challenges in their area, so that more people of all ages and backgrounds are given opportunities to develop the skills and experience they need. Adults should be able to access the same learning offer regardless of where they live.”
“Namely, it is the power to secure the provision of financial resources “in connection with approved technical education qualifications or approved steps towards occupational competence.” The power will be used by each of the combined authorities in respect of their area, concurrently with the Secretary of State. It will enable combined authorities to fund new technical qualifications for adults approved for funding at levels 2 and 3 from 1 August 2025. The new technical qualifications are high quality, aligned to occupational standards and offer learners clear routes into skilled employment. There are 110 reformed technical qualifications at levels 2 and 3 that have been approved to be first taught in the next academic year. The qualifications are based on occupational standards that have been co-designed with employers.”
“I beg to move, That the Committee has considered the draft Combined Authorities (Adult Education Functions) (Amendment) Order 2025. It is a pleasure to serve under you as Chair, Mr Stuart. The draft order was laid before the House on 19 May 2025. If it is approved, the Department for Education will transfer an additional funding power to nine existing combined authorities to enable them to use their adult skills fund allocation to fund new technical qualifications that have been approved for adults, starting from the new academic year on 1 August 2025. The function being transferred to those combined authorities is under section 100(1B) of the Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Act 2009.”
“To be clear, the draft order will give combined authorities the ability to fund new technical qualifications from August 2025. Our priority is to deliver a skills system that will drive forward opportunity and deliver the growth that the economy needs, and for local areas to be empowered to make decisions to address specific challenges in their area. We really want to see all adults become active participants in the workforce and deliver on that growth agenda, and empower combined authorities to target support in local areas in a way that we know will unlock opportunity for more people. I think that is what we all want to see. I commend the draft order to the Committee. Question put and agreed to.”
“As he will know, the context of each local area is different, by design, so that local areas can manage their overall budget, make their own choices and allocate funding towards the priorities that they regard as the most important. I will certainly take away the hon. Member’s question, and see whether that information can be presented in the way that he asked for, given that the measure is particularly about devolution, and local areas do have the ability to make decisions in their own context. I will take his question back to the Department, as he asks, and see to what extent that information is available to be provided to him. I thank again our partner organisations and colleagues in the combined authorities for their time, expertise and input.”
“I appreciate the hon. Member’s interest in this issue, and his support for the outcomes of the draft order, which, as he acknowledged, is technical in nature. I appreciate his concerns about devolution, and the extent to which local areas are empowered to maximise outcomes from the funding. The intention is very much to give local areas the freedom to use the funding as best suits the needs of their local area, and to make sure that local areas can maximise the effectiveness of those resources to deliver the greatest benefit to local people. As the hon. Member agrees, adult skills have a vital role to play in driving economic growth, but tough decisions have had to be made across Government on how we target spending. He asked specifically about how local areas are spending the funding.”
“By having conversations with children about water safety and providing practical learning, we can equip children with the knowledge and skills to recognise danger, know how to respond in an emergency and enjoy water safely, which is fundamentally what we want for children. Schools have a vital role in achieving this aim.”
“I want to put on record how sorry I am to hear about Serren Bennet, who is still missing from Redcar beach. My thoughts go out to her family and friends and to the emergency services, who will be working incredibly hard to find her. This is a timely debate, as we mark the Royal Life Saving Society UK’s Drowning Prevention Week. I am pleased to support this important campaign. Each year, it reminds us of the sobering truth that drowning is one of the leading causes of accidental death in the UK, and children remain a very vulnerable group. As parents, carers and educators, we have a shared responsibility to ensure that every child understands the fundamentals of water safety.”
“A number of Members present are clearly working very hard in Parliament on water safety issues, and it is a real honour to work with them. I welcome the engagement from my hon. Friend the Member for Southampton Itchen on this topic and wish him every success in his new role as chair of the all-party parliamentary group on water safety education. By holding this debate, we alert more people to the issue of water safety, and we spread understanding of the dangers of water, particularly in this hot weather. As mentioned by my right hon. Friend the Member for Oxford East (Anneliese Dodds), we must remember those who have been affected. There have been many names mentioned and many tragic stories, and by remembering them today, we save lives and prevent tragedies from happening to others.”
“I join Members in congratulating my hon. Friend the Member for Southampton Itchen (Darren Paffey) on securing a debate on this incredibly important topic in this very timely week and on his powerful opening speech. I was truly saddened to hear of the deaths of his constituent Joe Abbess and Sunnah Khan at Bournemouth beach in June 2023. I extend my heartfelt condolences to their families and pay tribute to Vanessa Abbess for her campaigning. I thank the hon. Member for Harborough, Oadby and Wigston (Neil O’Brien) for paying such thorough tribute to all Members for their contributions. If I am honest, he has saved me the task, as he did real credit to the widespread and important contributions that have been made.”
“Two hundred young water safety champions will be trained to promote water safety to their peers. Seven new online resources will be created. The consortium will work with disability sport organisations, and nine inclusive school swimming specialists are being delivered to help deliver continuing professional development to staff at schools and leisure centres.”
“We are really keen to work with the sector, not only on what will be included in the curriculum, but on how, as a Government, we can support its implementation so that we have high-quality standards across all schools. Every child deserves the best start in life, no matter their background or ability, and it is our mission to ensure that we do everything we can to achieve that. No child should miss out on the opportunity to learn how to keep themselves safe in and around water. Last month I was pleased to announce a grant of up to £300,000 a year to the consortium led by Youth Sport Trust to deliver Inclusion 2028, a programme to upskill teachers to deliver high-quality and inclusive PE, sport and physical activity to pupils with special educational needs and disabilities. Inclusion 2028 will provide inclusive swimming and water lessons.”
“In 2024 the Department launched its independent curriculum and assessment review, chaired by Becky Francis CBE, to shape a curriculum that is rich and broad, inclusive and innovative for learners from five to 18. The interim report, published in March, rightly recognises the growing challenges that schools face in prioritising subjects like PE, particularly at key stage 4, and the lack of sport opportunities for 16 to 19-year-olds. So I really want to thank members of the National Water Safety Forum education group for their thoughtful contributions to the panel’s call for evidence. The review is considering a wide range of evidence.”
“That is why we are working to ensure that teaching pupils the water safety code at primary and secondary school will feature in our new RHSE statutory guidance, which will be published shortly. I hope that reassures the hon. Member for Esher and Walton (Monica Harding) and many others who expressed concern today. During my time as Chair of the Petitions Committee, when I sat on the Opposition side of the House, I worked really closely on water safety, alongside Rebecca Ramsay, who was mentioned by my hon. Friend the Member for Southampton Itchen, who tragically lost her son Dylan in 2011. So I am really pleased now to be in a position where I can help deliver better water safety education in schools and really make further, meaningful progress on this issue, so that no more families lose a child in such circumstances.”
“Schools can use their premium funding to provide teacher training and top-up swimming and water safety lessons for pupils if they still need additional support to reach the standard required in the national curriculum after they have completed their core swimming and water safety lessons. Then, alongside water safety and PE lessons, schools also currently integrate water safety into their PSHE programmes, equipping students with an understanding of risk and the knowledge required to make safe, informed decisions. The water safety code provides a foundation for water safety education, providing simple, easy-to-remember information that helps keep people safe.”
“Support is available, as has been highlighted, through the PE and sport premium, and a range of guidance and support is available from sector organisations. We are working really closely with sector experts, including the Royal Life Saving Society UK, the Royal National Lifeboat Institution and Swim England, to ensure that all schools have access to high-quality resources to provide swimming and water safety lessons to their students. I was therefore delighted to announce last week that the PE and sport premium would continue at £320 million for the upcoming academic year.”
“Academies and free schools are not currently required to follow the national curriculum, but they do have to provide a broad and balanced curriculum. The Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill, which was introduced in December 2024 and is making its way through the House, places a requirement on all state-funded schools, including academies, to teach the national curriculum and will, once implemented, extend the requirement to teach swimming and water safety to all state-funded schools. Data from Sport England’s active lives survey reported in 2024 that 95.2% of state primary schools surveyed reported that they did provide swimming lessons. We want all pupils to have the opportunity to learn to swim.”
“The right hon. Member is right to recognise how fundamental swimming is, but it is really important to recognise that it is not enough, as has come across very strongly in this debate. But being able to swim is the foundation that every child should have. As the right hon. Gentleman will know, it takes a cross-Government effort to make sure that we have the facilities that children and everybody else can use to learn how to swim. The national curriculum for PE, as has been noted, includes mandatory requirements on swimming and water safety at primary school. As has been acknowledged, pupils should be taught to swim 25 metres unaided, to perform a range of strokes, and to perform safe self-rescue in different water-based situations.”
“I am delighted that representatives from RLSS UK, Swim England, RNLI and the Canal and River Trust have all agreed to meet me to discuss their work to support water safety education in schools. I am grateful for their ongoing work in that area. I am also grateful to my hon. Friend the Member for Southampton Itchen, the APPG on water safety education and all Members who contributed to this important debate. My final word goes to the families who have been affected by the terrible loss of a loved one, and in particular Joe Abbess’s family, who are here today. Your brave campaigning will save lives, so thank you.”
“Evan followed that advice and managed to hold on to consciousness for 45 minutes until he was rescued. He feels incredibly grateful to be alive because he knows that many people do not have that opportunity. He did not learn that information at school, but from a public information campaign. I will therefore take away the asks that have been made—they are not necessarily for my Department, but for the Government more broadly. Many useful suggestions have been made in our discussions, and we can take those away and work on them. It is clear from this debate that water safety must be a part of every child’s education. Alongside the national curriculum, education settings should have access to a wide range of engaging programmes, so that young people can know how to enjoy water safely. It can be done and it should be done.”
“Six years ago, Evan and his friends were at Beadnell bay in Northumberland, celebrating finishing their exams, as we know lots of young people will be doing at the moment. He was caught in a rip and was swept out to sea. As Evan lost sight of the beach, he recalled an RNLI advert that he had seen very briefly—only for a minute—before a film that he had gone to see. Everyone who falls unexpectedly into cold water wants to follow the same instinct: to swim hard, to fight the cold water. Yet when people fight, the chances are that they will lose. Cold water will make you gasp uncontrollably. Breathe in water and you will drown. If you just float until the cold-water shock has passed, you can control your breathing and have a far better chance of staying alive.”
“As I said, we are working with sector organisations on the content of the curriculum, and we are working with the sector on the delivery of these programmes. I could go into detail on Ofsted and the changes we are making on accountability, but I do not believe there is time in this debate. However, I take the challenge and I will take that away. I agree that not only do we need to say that children should have these things, but we need to make sure that they are armed with the knowledge that we know will keep them safe. A number of Members, inspired by my hon. Friend the Member for West Ham and Beckton (James Asser), have mentioned public information campaigns. That brought to my mind the story of Evan Crisp from Newcastle.”
“I am pleased to inform the House that the Government are over a third of the way to meeting our plan for change milestone: compared to last year, we have over 2,300 more teachers in schools and over 1,000 more in training. Whether on private school tax breaks or on teacher recruitment and retention, the Conservatives’ scaremongering is not coming to fruition, but they continue to talk down our education system, to be disconnected from reality and to be wrong.”
“There is absolutely no complacency on the Government Benches—we saw complacency over the past 10 years, and we are picking up the pieces and fixing the system. We have committed significant funding to schools. We are providing mainstream schools and high needs settings with over £930 million to support them with increases in national insurance contributions. At the spring Budget, we announced additional funding to the tune of £4.7 billion per year by 2028-29, compared with 2025-26. We are supporting schools to get on and improve education, creating excellent outcomes for every child, and we will continue to do so.”
“My hon. Friend is absolutely right to draw attention to the fantastic work done in our schools not only by teachers, but by all school staff. One of the first things we did in Government was to introduce legislation to bring back the school support staff negotiating body, to ensure that those staff are recognised for their vital work and that they are part of the conservation about terms, conditions and pay. That process is under way in Parliament, and we are in strong negotiations on a continuous basis through our improving education together plan, which allows stakeholders to get around the table.”
“I think the hon. Gentleman’s maths need a bit of work. He will know as well as anybody that pupil numbers in primary are down and keep on falling, yet recruiting and retaining expert teachers is crucial to this Government’s mission to break down the barriers to opportunity. That is why we have committed to recruiting 6,500 additional expert teachers, and we are targeting them at the sectors in which they are most needed. It is not the Government’s fault that those on the Opposition Front Bench do not seem to be able to add up or pay proper attention.”
“It is important for young people to enjoy the benefits of spending time in nature, as part of a balanced curriculum. Beyond the curriculum, the Department is also working on an enrichment framework to support schools in developing their offer, which includes a variety of outdoor education opportunities. Our National Education Nature Park initiative also aims to support young people’s wellbeing and develop skills for the future.”
“I join my hon. Friend in recognising the value of outdoor pursuits and the value of the Duke of Edinburgh’s award, which I benefited from taking part in myself when I was at school. The Department has funded 300 schools in areas of high deprivation to start offering the award, and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport is providing funding of a further £1.5 million this financial year to extend the scheme. My hon. Friend is of course keen to ensure that his constituents benefit and I would be delighted to meet him to discuss that further.”
“I agree with the hon. Gentleman. We want all schools to offer a broad and balanced curriculum, including outdoor activities, sport, PE and physical activity, and to ensure that every child can benefit. That is why we are legislating to ensure that the national curriculum applies to all schools, through the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill.”
“Colleagues across the House have already heard today about the “lose, lose, lose” system that we inherited from the Conservatives. Improving the special educational needs and disabilities system is a priority. We are working to improve outcomes for all children. Parents should not have to fight for support for their children. We will be setting out further details in our schools White Paper in the autumn.”
“I know that my hon. Friend cares very deeply about this issue. I can reassure her that we are actively collaborating with sector parents and experts on how we drive forward our SEND reforms. That includes working closely with Dame Christine Lenehan, our strategic adviser on SEND, and Tom Rees, who leads the expert advisory group on inclusion. Changes we make will focus on improving support for children and parents, ending that fight for support, and protecting existing provision. We are listening very closely as we develop the plans.”
“I agree that we need to take a constructive and collaborative approach in how we improve outcomes for all children, and intervene in children’s lives to ensure their needs are met at the earliest stage possible. We will support schools to do that in any way we can. I would be more than happy to engage with the right hon. Gentleman on his constructive suggestion.”
“Labour is delivering a new era of high and rising school standards, because we know that when standards slip it is disadvantaged children who suffer, and we will not let that happen. That is why Labour’s regional improvement for standards and excellence teams are spearheading a stronger, faster system, prioritising stuck schools, sending in advisers with a proven track record of turning schools around, and backing that up with up to £20 million—”
“We are investing significantly to make mainstream schools more inclusive for SEND students. By strengthening our evidence of effective inclusive practice, we are equipping teachers with proven tools and strategies to deliver excellent inclusive education supported by expert teaching and a world-class curriculum. We will set out more details in our White Paper in the autumn.”
“We know that there are lots of great examples of mainstream schools delivering specialist provision, such as the one my hon. Friend recently opened, enabling children to achieve and thrive in mainstream school and providing excellent support to children with speech and language needs. We have allocated £740 million to support mainstream schools to increase their SEND provision, and we want to reassure his constituent that we will continue to prioritise that in our work.”