The Government finally published the much-delayed Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) review, which you can read here. Large headline funding figures were briefed to accompany the publication of the report, but much of this is not new funding. I urged the Secretary of State for Education, Nadhim Zahawi, to come clean about how much of this was new money and asked him to spell out the detail behind the training for special educational needs co-ordinators and one-to-one support workers. See here to watch my question in full. There is now a consultation on the proposals in the SEND review. Have your say by contributing here before the 1 July 2022.
 
The Public Accounts Committee looked at the roll out of vaccines. This has been a success but I also used the opportunity to question Dr Jenny Harries, the head of UK Health Security Agency which is responsible for Test and Trace, on its plan for controlling the virus now that free COVID-19 testing has ended. See my round-up for further details. COVID-19 rates are rising steeply in Hackney (see here for the latest data) so please remain vigilant and watch out for any COVID-19 symptoms. See here for further information from Hackney Council.
 
And I was proud to speak out in support of Valerie’s Law this week. This proposal is named after a constituent, Valerie Forde, who was brutally murdered with her 23-month-old daughter, Jah-zara, by her ex-partner. Valerie’s law would mandate specialist cultural competency training for police officers, relevant government agencies, and domestic violence safehouse staff so that black women affected by domestic abuse are appropriately supported. I’ll keep working with local partners and Valerie’s family to try and secure the change we need to see.