Members of Parliament regularly consider the matter of public spending by individual government departments. In part this is to ensure that taxpayer’s money is being spent efficiently and that government departments can provide the services that they need to. These debates take the form of Estimates days where individual departments have their budgets scrutinised.
I was interested to speak in today’s Estimates day in particular as it considered the budget for the Department of Education; focusing on funding for childcare and early years spending. My constituents will be aware that this is an issue that I have taken a keen interest in throughout my time in Westminster and in my role on Hillingdon Council before my election to Parliament. Having seen first-hand how departmental money is being spent, it is important to contribute to such debates.
As I have done in the past, I spoke at length on the effectiveness of funding being provided for the provision of early years settings. This is an issue that is close to the heart of many of my constituents as young families often look to live in areas such as Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner to start a family. All MPs wish to see these families supported and as such this debate was well intended with excellent contributions made by many.
In my remarks, I drew from my own experience as a local councillor, but also as a father to two very young children, to comment upon the importance of local authorities in delivering excellent support. We are seeing record spending in schools at present to match the record numbers of children in schools. In my contribution to the debate, I discussed the distribution methods, impact of sure start centres, spending for special need schools and wider support for parents.
You can watch my contribution to this debate here.
