I spent a good chunk of my career before entering Parliament working with children and young people. I was incredibly proud to serve as Children’s Minister at the Department for Education, where I launched the largest ever expansion of childcare provision, worth £6,500 a year for the average family.
Locally, Surrey is experiencing unprecedented demand for SEND provision and education, health and care plans (EHCPs). When I was at the Department for Education, I took forward reforms to fix some of the most common problems families of children with SEND face, including by cutting down the mountains of paperwork and introducing digital EHCPs. I regularly take up cases on behalf of SEND parents in my surgeries and raise their concerns with Surrey County Council directly.
