Michelle Scrogham MP for Barrow and Furness has voted for a landmark children’s bill, designed to put children and their wellbeing at the centre of government policy, as it makes its way through Parliament.

Michelle Scrogham MP said: “I am pleased to be able to back this bill which will make a real difference for local families.

“Free school breakfast clubs are much needed, ensuring that children can have hungry minds, not hungry bellies at the start of the school day – but also great for employers and the wider economy because it helps support parents who want to get back in to work.”

The focus of Labour’s Children’s Wellbeing & Schools Bill is to make ‘child-centred government’ a reality through a series of reforms to deliver on the government’s mission to break down the barriers to opportunity.

Central to the bill are a number of measures to cut the cost of sending children to school and make life easier for families in Furness, notably including a cap on the number of branded school uniform items.

It comes as research shows almost half of parents are concerned by the cost of uniform and over 1 in 10 experience financial hardship as a result.

Estimates show the legislation could save parents over £50 per child on the back to school shop.

Accompanied by Labour’s plan for free breakfast clubs in primary schools, to save families an estimated £450 per year per child, the bill contains measures that could keep a sizeable £500 in parents’ pockets.

In addition to steps to ease the burden on families, Labour have outlined a number of reforms to schools in order to drive high and rising standards.

This includes putting more qualified, expert teachers at the front of classrooms and rolling out a new, cutting-edge national curriculum designed to ensure young people are ready for work and ready for life.

In response to a number of shocking cases of children being failed by a disjointed system over recent years, the Labour government has also brought forward a number of measures within the bill to protect children at risk of abuse and stop vulnerable children falling through the cracks. 

Bridget Phillipson MP, Secretary of State for Education, said: “This bill will be a seminal moment for the Labour government as we put our vision of child-centred government into action.

“The bill will allow us to lead pragmatic, but radical, reform to drive high and rising standards in schools, make lives easier for families by cutting the cost of sending children to school and make real, lasting change by stopping children from falling through cracks.  

“Children in our country deserve the best start in life, nothing less. Labour will make that a reality.”

Labour’s Plan for Change will rebuild Britain with investment and reform to drive a decade of national renewal and put politics back in the service of working people.

As part of this, the government has committed to ensuring a record share of children are school ready, helping deliver our mission to close the break the link between background and success.

To tackle the obstacles holding children back, Labour has already taken steps to increase the availability and accessibility of childcare, strengthen school accountability through Ofsted reform and end the tax breaks private schools enjoy to reinvest in the local schools that 94 percent of children attend.