John Whitby
MP for Derbyshire Dales · Labour · United Kingdom
“This Government are rightly committed to breaking down barriers to opportunity, but care leavers still face disproportionate challenges as they move into independent adulthood.”
“It would be helpful if the Minister can say when the Government will respond to the Whitehead review and what their position is on two key recommendations from the report.”
“I welcome the Government’s support so far, and the National Wealth Fund’s investment announced last year—that support has been important—but if we are to unlock the full potential of projects such as Peak Cluster, industry needs certainty, investors need confidence, and businesses need to know that there is a clear route to market for car…”
“Every tonne of carbon that we do not emit is better than having to remove it later, but it is increasingly clear that emissions reductions alone will not be enough. Some sectors will remain difficult to fully decarbonise. If we are serious about reaching net zero, greenhouse gas removals will have to play a crucial role.”
“It is fitting that we are debating carbon budget 7 on the hottest June day in our history. I am sure that there are a few contributory factors to the latest heatwave, but we all know that one of those factors is that there is simply too much carbon in the atmosphere as a result of mankind’s activities since industrialisation.”
“It states that the Government should also accelerate decisions on the future carbon capture, usage and storage clusters. We have one of those right on the edge of my constituency. The Hope valley is home to the Peak Cluster, the world’s largest cement decarbonisation project.”
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“Cash is still alive and well, and for some, access to it is still a necessity—indeed, last year £80 billion in cash was withdrawn from the Link network. However, with the rise and rise of internet banking and contactless payments, we have seen a near-complete withdrawal of bank branches from certain parts of the country. As has been mentioned, there were 10,000 branches 10 years ago; now, there are just 3,000. One of those closures was the NatWest bank in Bakewell, in February 2024. It was not just the last bank in Bakewell; it was the last bank in the entire Peak District national park. In a few weeks’ time, when the Lloyds bank in Ashbourne closes, there will be no banks in the entire Derbyshire Dales constituency—an area of nearly 400 square miles.”
“On the subject of disease, the 2023 national risk register states that the emergence of antimicrobial resistance and the presence of exotic diseases, such as foot and mouth disease, represent a threat to our food sustainability. Will my hon. Friend join me in welcoming calls from the National Farmers Union for the Treasury to fund a cross-Government plan to tackle such diseases?”
“My hon. Friend mentioned many real stories influencing this debate. I will mention one more: my constituent Mick Murray, who is in the Public Gallery today. Mick helped two close friends, Bob and Ann, to make the painful journey to Dignitas. Both simply wanted to die at home with dignity and surrounded by loved ones; instead, they had to make that journey overseas at great cost and legal jeopardy. Mick said: “I helped them out of compassion — and I think that is what’s missing from our current law.” Does my hon. Friend agree—”
“Since 2010, there has been a fall of more than 50% in the number of young people admitted to A&E with injuries sustained outside. Of course, that is a good thing, but it implies that young people are just not going out and participating activities as they used to. Youth services do not just provide a lifeline for young people; they also set them up with skills and support for life. Very often a youth worker could be the one who turns around a person’s life. [ Interruption. ] I am sorry, Madam Deputy Speaker—I have run out of time.”
“Since 2010, spending on youth services in Derbyshire has fallen by two thirds in real terms. Those cuts have had particularly damaging implications for rural areas, as young people in rural communities face limited public transport options and more challenging access to employment. Young people today are growing up experiencing the negative impacts of social media addiction alongside the loss of youth services. As a result, they are experiencing a toxic cocktail of challenges that are having an impact on their wellbeing. A YouGov poll found that more than 65% of adolescents said they had felt alone “often” or “sometimes” in the last fortnight. With youth centres and community spaces being closed across the country, it is no wonder that young people are crying out for support.”
“Having dedicated spaces, support and community for young people can transform the trajectory of someone’s life. I and many Members here, I am sure, benefited from having a youth provision. I took part in activities that I would not have done otherwise. The previous Government stripping funding away from local authorities was a travesty, because it meant that youth services, which are vital but mainly discretionary spend, were often one of the first things to be cut. Our child and adolescent mental health services are overstretched, and too often young people have been left to fall through the cracks. Investment in youth services is therefore not an extra; it is a form of frontline mental health support. The need for funding for youth services in Derbyshire Dales is particularly clear.”
“I thank my hon. Friend for securing the debate. In the Derbyshire Dales libraries play a crucial role, hosting all kinds of community activities and providing space for the next generation to socialise and learn. They are a lifeline for those in the most remote and rural parts of the constituency, especially the elderly. The access that libraries give to the internet, and physical and digital services such as printing and archives, is vital for so many in our towns and villages. The previous Conservative council made significant cuts to opening times of local libraries, and the newly elected Reform group has made no promises to safeguard them. Does my hon. Friend acknowledge the urgent need to protect our local libraries from cuts, especially where they serve remote and rural communities?”
“The machine has now been replaced due to serious functionality issues, but that has not stopped her having to pay the fine. The issue is particularly problematic for disabled constituents, who often need more time to get to parking meters and pay for parking. One such constituent, Claire Ashbrook, has told me that she has been left feeling particularly stressed because she does not have the money to pay the fine, as she is caring for her sick daughter. These stories demonstrate that the private parking companies cannot be allowed to mark their own homework. Although it is welcome that a voluntary code of conduct has now been introduced, it is voluntary. Only a statutory code of conduct will ensure that private parking companies are held to account.”
“Rachel Betton is a constituent of mine who was dropping off her grandchildren at a trampoline centre in Derby; I believe it may be the same one that my hon. Friend the Member for Derby South mentioned. Rachel never even parked, but she was charged £60 by Excel Parking Services for entering the car park. Like many constituents, Rachel felt that she did not have the time or energy to appeal, so she decided to pay the fine despite feeling that it was unjust. Unbeknownst to her, however, her payment never went through, leaving her to pay an increased fine of £170. Other constituents have had the same negative experience with the same company. Kathleen Jackson, who is 76, told me that she was fined £170 after it took her over 10 minutes to figure out how to use the machine.”
“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Efford. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Derby South (Baggy Shanker) and the hon. Member for Newton Abbot (Martin Wrigley) for securing this debate. The RAC estimates that 14.5 million drivers will receive a parking fine this year. That is more than one in three drivers in this country. In the Derbyshire Dales, I have heard time and again from residents that private parking companies sometimes employ tactics akin to bullying and intimidation, many of which have been eloquently outlined in this debate, to get them to pay unjust fines. It has clearly become widespread: just 2% of drivers state that private parking firms treat fairly those who contravene parking rules. I will share a few stories from the Derbyshire Dales that highlight the severity of the issue.”
“English football has been such a success, bringing joy and occasional pain to so many. I do not want another mass march to save Derby County. I do not want another 21-point deduction. Everyone wants their team to be successful. More than that, everyone wants their team to exist. I urge Members to support the Bill.”
“Clause 45 will prevent another European super league debacle—a situation where there was no consultation and no real competition, just a licence to print money at the expense of the integrity of the English game. Cardiff fans will no doubt be pleased to see clause 49, which prevents a change of team colours. While I strongly support the Bill, I want to raise an issue brought to my attention by one of my constituents, former Arsenal and Leeds goalkeeper John Lukic. He has highlighted the growing number of ex-players suffering from CTE, which is a form of dementia caused by repeated heading of the ball. I am encouraged to hear that the Secretary of State will meet with Football Families for Justice. Football can and should do more to look after its former players.”
“It is, after all, a recommendation from the fan-led review. The objectives of the IFR are sound: to protect and promote financial stability and financial resilience, and to safeguard our football heritage. Under the Bill, each club will have to submit regular financial plans and regularly consult with fans. Clubs will also have to demonstrate that they have the resources to sustain operations and show that they have the systems in place to manage financial risk. The measures will help ensure that the risks taken by Derby County cannot be taken again. I welcome clause 46 of the Bill, which will require clubs to get approval IFR before selling their home grounds or using them as security for a loan.”
“Therefore, its unusual take on amortisation and its questionable way of making money out of its own stadium became much bigger problems. It was the premier league or bust, and for Derby it was very nearly bust. Derby went into administration, which in itself cost the club about £3 million just for the administrators. Despite the club’s proud history and remarkable fan base, with home gates averaging 28,000, Derby County almost ceased to exist as a result of financial issues, with the club being, according to the current owner David Clowes, just one week away from going out of business. I imagine that most Derby supporters would say that the creation of an independent football regulator would be a good idea. The concept of a regulator comes from the people who make football what it is: the fans.”
“The prize money for coming last in the premier league is four times greater than the prize money for the winners of the championship, and that is before the over £80 million that each premier league club gets from TV rights. This makes the desperation to reach the top flight greater than ever. Promotion does not just mean competing with the best teams; it now represents financial security. One of a number of clubs that have fallen foul of too much risk and overstretching themselves in order to reach the promised land of the premier league is my beloved Derby County FC—one of the founding members of the football league, champions of England twice, FA cup winners, and European cup semi-finalists. Sadly, having failed in the championship play-offs four times in six years, Derby could not quite take the final step to financial security.”
“Football is the beautiful game, and it is truly the world’s game. For a century or so, the game had an ever-changing churn of clubs having periods of success. The game was not totally dominated by money, though money has always been a factor. With the inception of the premier league, quite literally the game changed. I am not being overly critical of the premier league—it has, after all, made the English league the greatest and most watched league in the world. The money that has flooded in from TV rights and sponsorship has led to many of the world’s greatest players plying their trade in this country, which only adds to the global appeal. But the money, vast as it is, is nearly all in the premier league. The gulf between the bottom of the premier league and the top of the championship is enormous.”
“More than half the countries that have submitted UN biodiversity plans have not yet released plans for how they will protect 30% of land and sea for nature, despite agreeing to do so at COP15. What steps are the Government taking to ensure more countries develop plans to protect at least 30% of land and sea?”
“On Friday I visited the central Co-op in Ashbourne, which recently experienced an armed robbery. Elizabeth and Georgia were working there when the robbery took place and are still deeply affected several months later. What action are the Government taking to stop violence against shop workers, especially in rural areas where the geographical distances involved often mean that the police take longer to respond?”
“Last year we saw Australia’s Government move to take serious action on these issues, banning children under 16 from using social media and having the power to fine companies that fail to comply. It is clear that we have a very long way to go, but the Bill is a positive step and will help to build the national conversation that is needed to tackle the scale of these problems. I want to end with a quotation from the parent of a child who took his own life. The parent, Chris, filed lawsuits against two tech giants. I found this quotation in an article in the magazine The New Yorker , published in September 2024. Chris said: “I thought I was a good and responsible father. I checked around the house and locked the doors every night, making everything nice and safe. I didn’t understand that the lion was already inside the house.””
“Research shows that some social media apps can trigger brain responses similar to those triggered by slot machine gambling. Right now, many parents are forced into an impossible position, with a choice between allowing their child to access potentially harmful and addictive content and feeling that their child is left out and isolated from his or her peers. The impacts on mental health and learning are especially pronounced among vulnerable young people who may already lack the support that they need at school and in the community. We cannot ignore the political impacts of unregulated social media either. It is incredibly concerning to see extremist content being pushed to young people who are increasingly isolated. Many of them spend less time with friends and in physical community spaces.”
“The covid period exacerbated the social and mental health impacts of smartphone and social media use, but the issues we now face have been in the making for more than a decade, and failure to hold the tech companies accountable and provide the necessary mental health support for our young people has created a perfect storm for the crisis we are now facing. We must not treat smartphones and social media addiction as a natural phenomenon; tech companies have created systems that are intended precisely to be addictive and to maximise the time that users spend on their phones. Currently, more than one in four young adults show signs of behavioural addiction to smartphones. The algorithms and user interface of social media sites are designed to be addictive, targeting dopamine circuits in the brain.”
“I recently met parents in my constituency who are rightly concerned by the impact that social media and phone use is having on their children’s mental health, sleep and learning. The earlier that children have access to social media, the more pronounced the impacts are on their social development and wellbeing. Cyber-bullying, content designed to make young people feel insecure, and unwanted explicit content are just some of the issues that children now face. Children are losing out on socialising and time spent outside to activities that isolate them and keep them inside. One third of mental health problems in adulthood are directly connected to childhood experiences. Between 2010 and 2018, the number of young people attending A&E with a psychiatric condition more than tripled.”
“I am extremely pleased to be able to take part in today’s debate, and I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Whitehaven and Workington (Josh MacAlister) for bringing forward the Bill. It is no exaggeration to say that we are facing a crisis. As has already been expertly outlined by Members across the House, there is a growing consensus that unregulated smartphone and social media use is harming our children’s health, learning and wellbeing. Many of the long-terms implications for those who have grown up with social media remain unknown, but we can already see the warning signs. The number of children aged eight to 16 facing a probable mental health disorder has already doubled since 2017. Some 445,000 people were in contact with children and young people’s mental health services in November 2023—up from 362,000 two years earlier.”
“My constituency faces a chronic lack of housing as well, which disproportionately impacts young people; they face a future where they cannot afford to live in the place where they grew up. Some 8.4% of all residential properties in the dales are not the primary homes of residents. Does my hon. Friend recognise the significant impact that second homes and holiday lets have on housing supply and prices in rural areas?”
“T3. Residents in Ashbourne have been left feeling hopeless and frustrated after waiting decades for a relief road. More than 700 heavy goods vehicles pass through the town each day, endangering local pedestrians, increasing pollution and causing significant congestion. Will the Minister meet me regarding the need to install a relief road for Ashbourne?”
“Having read the Ofsted report, it is clear that the SEND operation in Derbyshire county council is in complete chaos, with what appears to be a revolving door of senior officers, unfilled posts, consultants and temporary positions. My constituent Claire tells me that the council is completely unresponsive, and that point about nobody ever getting back to people is a recurring theme. Does my hon. Friend agree that it is imperative that Derbyshire county council gets its act together and starts responding to parents who are in such desperate need?”
“On the point about longevity and heritage, Wirksworth Heritage Centre—a key community space and cultural asset in Derbyshire Dales—has recently had to close because of economic pressures. Does my hon. Friend recognise the specific challenges facing cultural and heritage sites on rural high streets?”
“Of course, there are various factors and no consensus view; it would only be fair to say that the number of unaccompanied asylum seekers in care has more than doubled in that period. For me, there are two main factors. First, the significant rise in poverty that started during austerity, coupled with a housing crisis, has pushed more families to the brink. A report by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation found that approximately 3.8 million people experienced destitution in 2022.”
“I beg to move, That this House has considered Government policy on children in care. It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Sir John. I asked for this debate because we as parliamentarians must maintain the focus on children the state is responsible for. I have been a foster carer for 25 years, a member of an adoption panel for a decade and a lead member of a tier 1 local authority, and I have seen the pressures build at the same time as resources and support have declined. The number of children in care has increased by 28% since 2010, and the number of children in residential care has increased by 102% since 2010, so the question is: what has caused these huge spikes?”
“Early help did exactly what it said on the tin: it provided parents with health and wellbeing support, parenting advice, childcare and learning, and support for children with special needs. There were benefits to social care and to health. Indeed, an Institute for Fiscal Studies study found that Sure Start prevented so many children from being hospitalised that it saved the NHS the equivalent of a third of the entire Sure Start budget. The IFS also stated that Sure Start almost certainly delivered benefits significantly greater than its cost.”
“I recognise that children go to placements with plastic bags, and it is heartbreaking. What a fabulous thing the hon. Member has raised. The Joseph Rowntree Foundation found that approximately 3.8 million people experienced destitution in 2022, including approximately 1 million children—nearly triple the number in 2017. The second factor was the withdrawal of universal early help. Sure Start was withdrawn at different speeds and to differing degrees around the country, as local authorities removed their discretionary spending due to a loss of revenue support from the previous Government. It went from being a universal service to a targeted one. The spending on early help is now £1.8 billion a year less than it was in 2010. Here is the kicker: we are now spending more on children’s residential placements than we are on early help.”
“I do agree. It appears as though the Government are expanding the services available to children in kinship care, and that sounds like a good thing. I would like every child in care to have therapeutic support, because they all need it. They have all been massively traumatised by something. The next question is: why has the number of residential placements increased so much faster than the number of children in care? The answer is simple: the number of foster families has remained fairly flat in the same period, despite the significant efforts of authorities and independent fostering agencies to attract new carers.”
“Mockingbird puts a constellation of new carers around an experienced foster carer, who will guide and support them, and enables the building of support networks among the carers. If we cannot get enough new foster carers into the system, we need to ensure that the ones we have do not leave unnecessarily. That support means fewer placement breakdowns and less disruption in children’s lives.”
“In preparation for this debate, I did the obligatory Google search for “fostering in Derbyshire” to replicate what a potential new foster carer might find online, and I am afraid Foster for East Midlands was the fifth hit after four sponsored ads. The ability for independents to outspend even combined local authority budgets should not be a surprise, given the significant cost of independent placements compared with local authority placements. The reality is that the taxpayer is paying for them to outspend local authorities. The other recent positive innovation is Mockingbird. One of the most cited reasons for foster carers leaving the role is the lack of support. It is easy for new foster carers to feel isolated, given the nature of the role.”
“I obviously want children to stay in the family network as much as possible. The Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill supports that with family group decision making and the kinship care offer, so hopefully more children will stay within the familial network, which is better for them and for the state. The previous Government introduced a couple of positive innovations on fostering. They came quite late in their term and were not extended to all areas, but they are worth pursuing. First, they introduced regionalisation. Derby, Derbyshire, Nottingham and Nottinghamshire have combined along East Midlands combined county authority lines to form Foster for East Midlands, which creates a combined and increased marketing resource. The results are positive, especially against the backdrop of UK-wide fostering inquiry numbers falling.”
“I absolutely agree with my hon. Friend that the voice of the child is key at every step of the way. We must listen to children, so advocacy is entirely fundamental. For full disclosure, I should say that I have not received fostering allowances since last May, as I have been busy doing other things, so I have nothing to gain by saying this, but the 32% of local authorities that pay allowances below the national minimum allowance will not attract new foster carers based on altruism alone. Foster carers need a reasonable amount of renumeration, like anyone else. The result of more children needing foster care without a corresponding number of extra foster carers is a crisis in placement sufficiency, which means more children in highly expensive residential placements, in many cases a great distance from their home town.”
“It is great that the Government are looking to address this issue through the planning process, so that care homes can more easily be created where they are needed. Personally, I would like to see a focus on smaller homes, because they feel less institutionalised and are easier to integrate into the community. The cost of some residential children’s home placements is extraordinary, and it is one of the factors pushing councils ever closer to section 104 notices. The cost of looked-after children has risen from £3.1 billion in 2009-10 to £7 billion in 2022-23.”
“Unsurprisingly, I definitely agree with the hon. Member: of course we need to support children in kinship care. I am sure the Minister will talk about kinship care as well, and I am glad to say that part of the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill requires local authorities to make an offer on kinship care, which is very positive. As I was saying, a lack of foster care places means more children in highly expensive residential placements, in many cases a great distance from their home town. There is a very good chance that they will end up in the north-west, because that is where a quarter of children’s homes are located. Of course, some children need to be placed away from familiar surroundings, but not on this scale.”
“In 2018-19, just 6.8% of children in care received a grade 5 or above in English and maths, compared with 43.2% of all children. In turn, that explains why just 22% of care leavers aged 27 are in employment. Even when they are in employment, there is a £6,000 pay gap between care leavers and those in the general population. It would be easy to blame educators or the care sector for the problem, but the reality is that these children have suffered some sort of significant trauma in their lives. Whether that is neglect, abuse or something else, it is never good.”
“All of government and all councils need to do more. They need to understand that we need to do more for children in care to create a level playing field, because they have such difficult issues to overcome. I completely agree with my hon. Friend. In the same period that the cost of children in care went up to £7 billion, local councils’ overall core funding went down by 9% in real terms. The Government are absolutely right to introduce a financial oversight scheme, because some providers have made excessive profits. It was widely reported that the 20 largest national providers of children’s placements collectively made profits of £310 million in 2021-22. Of course, we must focus on outcomes for children in care, which are historically and currently very poor.”
“Through Staying Close, young people leaving residential care will be afforded that bit of extra support to keep them in their property or in education, or to support their general wellbeing. Staying Close is another scheme that is bearing fruit, and I am glad it will be expanded by the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill. There are many positives to take from the Bill, and just seven months into the new Administration, it is a big step forward. I will finish almost where I started, with early help. The previous Government introduced, in some areas, family hubs, which provide universal early help from pregnancy onwards. The early signs are very encouraging, and I ask the Minister and the Secretary of State to consider extending the programme as soon as possible. It is the ultimate example of investing to save.”
“Following on from family group decision making, the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill will require all councils to publish a kinship offer, as we have heard, so that more children can stay in more familiar surroundings. Those children will be further supported by the virtual school. On the subject of the virtual school, and with corporate parenting in mind, I encourage the Government to consider taking up the recommendation of the Education Committee to give virtual school heads statutory powers over the process of school allocation. On the subject of corporate parenting, we need to be conscious that this is everyone’s responsibility, and all Government Departments should consider how they can give that bit extra for children in care. When children have left care, we need to go on supporting them.”
“That is supported by the fact that persistent absence from school, which has been a national issue since covid, is actually better among the cohort of children in care than the overall school population. With more children, less money and a placement sufficiency crisis, we need to put much more focus on keeping families together and children out of care wherever it is possible and safe to do so. Mandating local authorities to offer family group decision making is a big step forward. The evidence shows that that prevents a significant number of children from going into care in the first place, and keeps them out of care going forward.”
“There is clearly a theme here. I am sure the Minister will address the growing consensus that kinship care needs the support that children in care receive. Children are bound to be impacted by the problems they have experienced. That is not to say that we accept poor results; it is just to put them in context. The statistics show that children who have been in care for longer than 12 months receive better grades than those who have been in care for less than 12 months. That makes sense to me, because the longer they are in care, the longer they have stability in their home lives and a focus on education from their foster carers or residential care workers. It is also worth saying that in my experience, the virtual school is a real positive for the child.”
“Under the previous Government, bus services in rural areas were decimated. The number of bus journeys in the Derbyshire Dales declined by 55% between 2010 and 2023. What steps is the Minister taking to stop further cuts to bus services in rural areas like the Derbyshire Dales.”
“Derbyshire county council’s spending on looked-after children rose from £44 million in 2015-16 to £110 million in 2023-24. That growth in spending is unsustainable and is diverting precious resources away from the children who are most in need of support and into the pockets of shareholders. I therefore welcome the fact that the Bill requires large children’s placement providers to give regular financial information to a newly created financial oversight scheme and gives the Government the power, if necessary, to cap the profits of children’s homes providers and independent fostering agencies.”
“It is worth saying, however, that parents who are home-educating children with no issues have nothing to be concerned about—I heard the Secretary of State say that just yesterday. The Bill addresses the exorbitant fees being charged by some of the large children’s placement providers. I was at the national social care conference in November 2023, when, at almost every plenary debate and presentation, someone would mention the statistic that the largest 20 providers of children’s placements collectively made £310 million in profit in 2021-22. That was all off the back of the taxpayer, all paid through our local authorities, and they felt it. The public have felt it as well, because there is simply less money to go around for everything else.”
“Parents choose that route for a number of reasons, and I am comfortable that in most cases the decision to home-educate is taken with the child’s best interests in mind. However, there are those who choose to home-educate when difficult questions start to be asked by concerned professionals who are in regular contact with the child. As a foster carer of 25 years, I have seen the consequences of those families managing to avoid the spotlight for far too long by moving house, moving school and avoiding scrutiny. The Bill is therefore immensely positive for those particularly vulnerable children. It will mean that authorities will know where children are and they can be better monitored through the creation of the register. Children going through section 47 action can have an application to be educated at home refused by the local authority.”
“This is an extremely welcome Bill that addresses some long-standing issues in social care and education. There are much-needed measures to ease the capacity pressures on fostering services by offering family group decision making and requiring all councils to publish a kinship offer. There are very welcome measures for hard-pressed families on school uniforms and free breakfast clubs. On behalf of care leavers, I am pleased to see the focus on Staying Close, which offers vital support in the transition from being in care to leaving care. It is very much a Maslow’s hierarchy of needs issue: unless young people have the basics in place, it is very difficult to focus on moving forward. In my limited time, I want to mention three measures that I am particularly pleased with. There are around 112,000 children currently being educated at home.”
“I cannot because I have to go to a Delegated Legislation Committee in a minute. I apologise. I also welcome the fact that the Bill enables the creation of new local authority schools. Under the previous Government, new schools were required to be academies or free schools, and that policy was based on ideology rather than evidence. Ending that requirement will mean that when new schools are built, they can be opened by the provider best suited to meet the needs of the local community. Ending the restriction will also ensure that when schools fail, a broader range of measures can be taken to give schools the support they need to succeed. There are a broad range of positives in the Bill. They may not realise it yet, but the future of our most vulnerable children has just become a little brighter.”