I have had a number of residents get in touch regarding votes on the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill yesterday.

I voted in favour of the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill because it strengthens child protection laws and introduces crucial reforms to improve children’s education and wellbeing. It is deeply disappointing to see the Conservative Party use this most serious issue as a political stunt.

MP’s voted on a bill which aims to improve children’s education and wellbeing through measures that will help limit school uniform costs, introduce free breakfast clubs, make important reforms to academy schools, introduce a power to cap the profits made by children’s social care providers and create a compulsory Children Not in School register among other measures.

This was not a vote on a national inquiry into child sexual exploitation. There was no amendment that would have added such an inquiry to the bill. At this stage of the legislative process, it is not possible to add such an amendment. Claims suggesting otherwise are misleading.

I want to make it clear that I am not opposed to a further national inquiry into grooming gangs. However, we must urgently implement the recommendations of the previous inquiry—something the Conservatives have repeatedly failed to do. We cannot afford to delay action on this serious issue with yet more inquiries when the steps needed to protect children are already clear.

Even if the Tory amendment had passed, it would not have initiated an inquiry. Instead, it would have derailed the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill entirely, blocking all the positive measures it contains.

The Government has committed to taking decisive action, including:

• Introducing legislation in the upcoming Crime and Policing Bill to make it a criminal offence, with professional and legal sanctions, to fail to report or cover up child sexual abuse.
• Recognizing grooming as an aggravating factor in sentencing to reflect the severity of this crime.
• Implementing stringent measures to combat the alarming rise in online grooming and exploitation.
• Accelerating the work of the Grooming Gangs Taskforce, which has already led to a 25% increase in arrests between July and September last year.
• Overhauling how data on child sexual abuse is gathered and used, with a new performance framework for policing to ensure these crimes are taken far more seriously.

Please be assured that your concerns have been heard and will be conveyed to the appropriate channels. I remain committed to do all that I can to improve child protection legislation, support victims and survivors, and to prevent this abhorrent crime alongside advocating for the systemic changes necessary to protect children from harm and ensure justice for victims.