I pressed the most senior civil servant at the Department for Education on the long-delayed SEND review. 

It's vital this review is published soon so that the Government can detail its full strategy on supporting children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities.

The continued fallout from the Prime Minister’s unacceptable behaviour during lockdown means he’s taking his eye off the ball on the issues that matter to Hackney: an increase in the cost of living, wages not keeping up with prices, and rising energy bills. It is clear the Government has no plan for how to support people. I’ll keep pressing the Government to step up and address these issues. I’ve also called for the Prime Minister to take responsibility for his actions during lockdown and resign.
 

The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care recently informed NHS England about the use of private health providers in the event of a COVID surge. The deal reached with private health providers is hugely expensive. It will see private hospitals receive a guaranteed minimum income of between £75 million to £90 million a month. This is an up-front payment without anything being delivered. In the event that surge arrangements are necessary, this cost could increase up to £175 million a month. 

The dominant issue this week in Parliament was the Prime Minister's behaviour. He denied there were any parties at Downing Street then admitted to attending one. His apology was not acceptable and his backbenchers should do the right thing and remove him.

Increases in the global price of gas have seen energy bills rising. Next month, Ofgem will announce the new Energy Price Cap for April 2022 onwards. According to some estimates, bills could rise by 46 per cent. 

The Government opened its long-awaited Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme last week. However, there are currently over 12,000 Afghan refugees already in the UK in temporary hotel accommodation waiting to be resettled. The Government needs to step up.

I also pressed the Minister for Afghan Resettlement on family reunion rules, particularly the challenges around the English language test. 

The Government opened its long-awaited Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme last week. However, there are currently over 12,000 Afghan refugees already in the UK in temporary hotel accommodation waiting to be resettled. The Government needs to step up.

I also pressed the Minister for Afghan Resettlement on family reunion rules, particularly the challenges around the English language test. See my question and here response above.

COVID-19 has meant that schools have had to implement measures to protect students and staff and this has been funded by the Government in the short term. I challenged the Education Secretary on how long this funding will continue as school budgets have been squeezed in the past decade. 

See my question and his response above. 

Happy New Year!

We returned to Westminster on Wednesday and I challenged the Prime Minister directly on the shortage of lateral flow tests in Hackney and nationally, but he was unable to provide a clear answer. With the rise in cases due to Omicron, we have seen huge demand for lateral flow tests but supplies have not kept up. See here for my question in full. 

I challenged the Prime Minister directly on the shortage of lateral flow tests in Hackney and nationally, but he was unable to provide a clear answer. With the rise in cases due to Omicron, we have seen huge demand for lateral flow tests but supplies have not kept up.

See my full question and his response above.