The Prime Minister opened Cabinet by inviting the Leaders of both
Houses to update on parliamentary business. This
includes the Universal Credit Bill, which has its remaining
stages in the Commons tomorrow.
Turning to the Best Start in Life strategy, the Prime Minister
thanked the Education Secretary for her work and asked her to
update Cabinet. The Education Secretary set out how the strategy
would build on the proud legacy of Sure Start by delivering
funding for Family Hubs to local authorities which did not
currently have them, with a real focus on tackling disadvantage
and poverty prevention. The Education Secretary said this would
make an enormous difference, alongside the massive expansion of
childcare being offered by this government, rolling out free Best
Start breakfast clubs, delivering new school-based nurseries and
the huge expansion of free school meals.
The Education Secretary then turned to SEND, saying the driving
principle of this government is to secure better outcomes for
children, who are currently not getting the outcomes they
deserve. She added there is a general acknowledgement and
acceptance of that. The Education Secretary added a better,
strengthened system is needed that supports children, on top of
the investment already put in by this government. The Education
Secretary said this is a piece of work that is still underway and
she is continuing to speak to parents, experts and campaigners to
get this right. The Education Secretary said they should be
reassured that although this is challenging, we are doing this
with care.
The Prime Minister then turned to security, introducing Sir
Richard Moore, or ‘C', Chief of MI6, Sir Ken McCallum, the
Director General of MI5, and Richard Horne, the CEO of the
National Cyber Security Centre. The Prime Minister noted Sir
Richard's impending retirement as head of MI6 and thanked him for
his service to his country, saying the entire Cabinet shared this
view. He then invited each of the intelligence chiefs to
update on their respective fields. Whilst this conversation was
classified, broad themes covered included state threats,
terrorism and cyber security.
The Prime Minister concluded Cabinet by thanking the Chiefs for
everything they – and their teams – do to keep Britain safe every
day amid growing threats – especially to Sir Richard Moore as his
tenure as ‘C' comes to an end.
