Starmer faces new Labour backlash over special needs
Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson refused to rule out scrapping Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs), which are statutory documents guaranteeing specialist help for children with disabilities.
Labour MPs are concerned the reforms could lead to cuts in support for disabled children, fearing a repeat of previous welfare controversies and warning of significant pushback.
Campaigners, including charities and parents, have warned that removing EHCPs would deny thousands of children vital provision and undermine their statutory rights to education.
The Department for Education stated it inherited a struggling SEND system and aims to improve support for children and parents, not to abolish tribunals or remove funding, noting a recent increase in EHCPs.
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South Wales Argus
17 minutes ago
- South Wales Argus
King to highlight vital bond with France over threats that ‘know no borders'
Charles and the Queen are set to welcome the French leader and his wife Brigitte to Windsor Castle on Tuesday as Mr Macron begins his three-day state visit to the UK. At a glittering banquet in the historic Berkshire landmark in the evening, the monarch will deliver a speech, highlighting how 'these challenges know no borders: no fortress can protect us against them this time'. The King will deliver a speech at the state banquet in honour of French president Emmanuel Macron (Chris Jackson/PA) But he will tell Mr Macron that Britain and France can help lead the way in confronting threats relating to defence, technology and climate change, saying: 'Our two nations share not only values, but also the tireless determination to act on them in the world.' Charles and Camilla are hosting Mr Macron and the first lady at the historic royal residence. They will be feted with a carriage ride through the town, a ceremonial welcome and the opulent state dinner. Brigitte Macron and the Queen join in with a toast alongside the King and French President Emmanuel Macron at a Palace of Versailles banquet in 2023 (Daniel Leal/PA) The King, in his toast, will reflect on 1,000 years of 'shared history and culture between our two peoples', including many of the royal family's personal connections to France. 'For centuries our citizens have admired each other, amused each other, and imitated each other', he will say, and reveal how he remains 'in awe of France's extraordinary attributes and achievements'. Charles will also hail the Anglo-French partnership as vital amid the many challenges of today, saying: 'Our two countries face a multitude of complex threats, emanating from multiple directions. 'As friends and as allies, we face them together.' The King delivering a speech at the State Banquet at the Palace of Versailles, Paris in 2023 (Daniel Leal/PA) It marks the first state visit to the UK by an EU head of state since Brexit, and will see Mr Macron address parliamentarians in the Palace of Westminster's Royal Gallery and, on Thursday, join a UK-France Summit at Downing Street. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has signalled a 'reset' in relations between the UK and Europe as he looks to heal the wounds caused by the Brexit years. Defence, growth, security, migration and French tactics on tackling small boats will be discussed, with the two leaders expected to dial in to speak to other allied nations who are looking to support any future peace deal in Ukraine. Downing Street said on Monday that the UK's relationship with France was 'key' to dealing with boat crossings, following reports French police officers had used knives to puncture a boat off the coast. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer during a bilateral meeting with Mr Macron at the G7 summit in June (Stefan Rousseau/PA) The Prince and Princess of Wales will also play a role by meeting the president and the French first lady at RAF Northolt on Tuesday morning on behalf of the King and travelling with them to Windsor. Charles and Camilla will formerly greet their guests on a Royal Dais constructed on Datchet Road in Windsor town centre, with the castle in the backdrop as gun salutes sound in nearby Home Park. The King, the Queen, the Waleses and Mr and Mrs Macron will then take a carriage procession through Windsor and along part of the Long Walk which leads to the castle, just as former French president Nicolas Sarkozy did in 2008. Mr Macron's state visit to the UK, from July 8-10, is the first to be hosted at Windsor Castle, rather than Buckingham Palace, in a more than a decade since that of the Irish president Michael D Higgins in 2014. Guests listen during a speech by Queen Elizabeth II in honour of the President of Ireland Michael D Higgins at Windsor Castle in 2014 (Dan Kitwood/PA) State visits, which capitalise on the royals' soft power to strengthen diplomatic ties overseas, will be hosted at Windsor for the next few years while reservicing work continues at the London Palace and starts to affect the state rooms. The last state visit to the UK from France was in March 2008 when the now-disgraced Mr Sarkozy, since convicted of corruption and influence peddling, and his wife Carla Bruni, were the guests of Elizabeth II at Windsor. The arrangements are likely to form the template for US President Donald Trump's high-profile state visit in September, but much will depend on security considerations for the US leader, who survived an assassination attempt last year. A ceremonial welcome will be staged in the castle's quadrangle with Camilla, William, Kate and Mrs Macron watching as the King and Mr Macron inspect the Guard of Honour. The Prince and Princess of Wales will also take part in the state visit (Yui Mok/PA) Lunch will be hosted in the State Dining Room, after which the president and his wife, the King and Queen and members of the royal family will view a special exhibition of items relating to France from the Royal Collection in the Green Drawing and Mrs Macron will also travel to London on Tuesday afternoon to see the Grave of the Unknown Warrior at Westminster Abbey and visit the Palace of Westminster where the French leader will address parliamentarians before meeting opposition leaders at Lancaster House. The King and president will both deliver speeches at the banquet in the medieval St George's Hall, where some 160 guests will be seated at the elaborately decorated 50 metre table, which will run the full length of the vast room. A state visit is being hosted at Windsor Castle for the first time in 11 years (Steve Parsons/PA) Kensington Palace has yet to confirm whether Kate will attend the banquet. The princess opened up about her 'rollercoaster' cancer recovery, its life-changing impact and putting on a 'brave face' last week. The King and Queen paid a state visit to France in September 2023 and enjoy a warm rapport with Mr and Mrs Macron, who will stay in the castle during their trip. Mrs Macron, 72, sparked a storm in May when she was seen pushing her husband's face away with both hands before they disembarked a plane in Vietnam. Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte (Gareth Fuller/PA) The 47-year-old president dismissed the gesture – caught on camera – as horseplay, but it caused a stir in France, with daily Le Parisien newspaper asking: 'Slap or 'squabble'?' The couple, married since 2007, met at the high school where Mr Macron was a student and Brigitte was a married teacher. The visit comes a year after the UK and France celebrated 120 years since the signing of the Entente Cordiale. The Anglo-French agreements in 1904 ushered in improved relations between the two countries which had fought against each other during the Napoleonic Wars.
BBC News
21 minutes ago
- BBC News
The Documentary Podcast Re-homing France's immigrant workers
France's last foyers – housing for immigrant workers – are set for demolition. But some current residents are worried about what they'll lose. Hundreds of 'foyers' - housing units especially for immigrant workers – were built after World War II. The economy was booming and France needed unskilled labour to help rebuild the country. But since the 1990s there has been a policy to get rid of the old foyers and replace them with a type of social housing. However, residents of the old foyers fear they are going to lose out in this transformation. Carolyn Lamboley has been visiting some foyers around Paris and speaking to those who for decades have called these places home. They fear for the break-up of their communities, for a loss of their culture and the little they have. This episode of The Documentary comes to you from Assignment, investigations and journeys into the heart of global events.
South Wales Guardian
21 minutes ago
- South Wales Guardian
China and US ‘should be in toughest tier' of foreign influence scheme
The UK must also engage with Beijing economically 'even if this prompts retaliation' from the White House, the paper published by the Chatham House foreign affairs think tank concludes. Sir Keir Starmer's Government has sought to balance a revival of Chinese relations in its pursuit of growth with matters of national security amid concerns about Chinese interference in Britain. However, Beijing has been spared from the most stringent requirements of the UK's new Foreign Influence Registration Scheme (Firs), which would see anyone working for the state to declare influence activities in Britain. Under existing rules, China is in the lower tier of the scheme which requires the declaration of 'political' activity alone, while Iran and Russia have been placed in the higher 'enhanced' tier covering a wider range of activities. In its report, Chatham House called for both the US and Beijing to be placed in the enhanced tier 'as part of a wider move to build UK resilience to great power influence'. Report author William Matthews said: 'Including both China and the US on the enhanced tier of Firs need not entail casting them as threats, and should be considered in terms of a policy of adapting the UK to a world of great power competition. 'Inclusion of the US could offset the risk of antagonising China, though China would still likely respond angrily, and would almost certainly provoke an angry response from the US. 'However, in the long-term it would be better for this to happen now if the UK seeks to maintain an autonomous foreign policy in its own interests, rather than at a future point when… risks are amplified due to intensifying US-China competition, which would make it harder to diverge from Washington where interests do not align.' Among the risks posed by great power rivalry are the likelihood that America will show more 'transactional' behaviour as its 'relative power' declines, and the potential for the UK to be 'targeted coercively' by Beijing if it is seen to act as a proxy for US interests, he said. Chinese dominance of supply chains for critical raw minerals, electric vehicles and green power means the UK cannot avoid economic engagement with the country, the report warns. In its recommendations, it urges against the UK taking sides in the rivalry between the US and China and calls on the Government to be prepared to diverge significantly from Washington in its approach to Beijing. 'The UK cannot afford to lock in dependence on the US at the expense of supply chains and technologies essential for economic prosperity,' it says. However, alongside maintaining economic ties it urges the Government to introduce key protections to guard against 'the risks of Chinese political interference'. Among its recommendations is a call to carry out safety checks on Chinese digital components entering UK markets, to be modelled on the previous Huawei Cyber Security Evaluation Centre – nicknamed the Cell. Where the risks can be mitigated, Chinese technology investments should be considered – outside of projects involving Government procurement and critical national infrastructure, it says. The Government should also formally make permission for entities linked to the Chinese Communist Party (CPC) to operate in Britain conditional on their adherence to UK democratic norms and civil liberties, the report recommends. A 'coordination centre' bringing together policy-makers, business chiefs, academic experts and civil society should be established and meet regularly to share approaches to China-related issues, it says. A spokesperson for the Foreign Office said: 'This Government is taking a consistent, long-term and strategic approach to managing the UK's relations with China, rooted in UK and global interests. We will cooperate where we can, compete where we need to and challenge where we must. 'This includes supporting UK business to engage with the second largest economy in the world – one of our largest trading partners – while being open-eyed to any risks and ensuring security and resilience.'
