Catherine West

I thank my Treasury Committee colleague. There was quite a lot in today’s Budget on skills and nutrition for children so they can get their educational qualifications, and quite a lot that will help us to solve the productivity puzzle. I look forward to questioning, with him, the OBR on its data and how it got to that position, and how we can be helpful in pushing the Government towards even more investment in skills and apprenticeships, and in deepening our investment in young people so that our productivity can improve over time. I know that so many of us in the House are in politics because we want every child and every family to have the chance to thrive in school, work and life. Let us look back at past Labour Governments. In 1945, despair and hunger stalked many communities. London was flattened in the blitz and rationing would continue for nine more years. Keynes famously said: “Anything we can actually do, we can afford…we are immeasurably richer than our predecessors.” What did Labour then do? Labour went on to build the NHS, build the country and build the welfare state. We can do this, we will make the UK fairer, and today is a really good start on that journey. Very briefly, because I know so many Members wish to speak today, as a former borough leader, I introduced free schools meals for all primary schoolchildren. It was a great equaliser and social leveller, children were more focused and made better progress, families who were just about managing saved money, and there was no stigma—everyone sat together and talked with each other. Free school meals for all primary schoolchildren were subsequently rolled out across London, and we know that more secondary school children will benefit under the Government’s proposals today. We need to continue to restore hope and deliver change. The two-child cap on universal credit is another pro-family measure, the most cost-effective quick measure to bring up to half a million children out of poverty ,and paid for by an increase in the tax on the most addictive forms of gambling. My personal view is that we could have gone even further, because remote gambling—people in their bedroom on their phone —is deeply damaging to society. I hope that it raises between £1 billion and £3 billion,. The Trussell Trust’s September “Hunger in the UK 2025” report makes for sobering reading. In 2024, 16% of UK households were food-insecure. We know that that is not a food problem, but an income problem. We must continue to interrogate the issue, and I am very pleased to have secured a Backbench business debate on food inflation and poverty. In conclusion, together with school meals, more breakfast club provision and a higher living wage since the general election, slowly the living standards of families will turn around. It is particularly positive to see the first woman Chancellor recognise the impact that the difficult financial climate has had on families. I hope that by this time next year, once these measures are really embedded, we will begin to see the closure of food banks. I have heard a lot about what we want to see by the end of this Parliament. Let us aim for the closure of food banks in this country by 2029. We hope that every child and every family will have the chance the thrive.