Kevin Hollinrake, the minister for postal services, says a government announcement on the scandal is imminent

Here are some more lines from Bridget Phillipson’s speech and Q&A this morning.

Phillipson, the shadow education secretary, said keeping schools open should be a priority if a future pandemic ever required another lockdown. She said:

When the Government first reopened schools for most of our children, the pubs had already been open for weeks.

That was entirely the wrong way around. And I tell you today, that if I’m secretary of state for education, if and when such a national crisis comes again, school should be the last to close and the first to open.

Phillipson said the fact that Gavin Williamson, the former education secretary, did not give evidence to the Covid inquiry in person showed how schools were sidelined by the government. She said:

It says a lot that the Covid inquiry isn’t even taking evidence from Sir Gavin Williamson. I don’t blame them because he wasn’t important.

The education secretary – he wasn’t at the table. Ministers failed our children in their greatest hour of need.

She condemned parents who take their children out of school for holidays, saying that was a sign of disrespect. She said:

Cheaper holidays, birthday treats, not fancying it today – these are no excuses for missing school.

Penalties must be part of the system, but they can never be the answer alone. Allowing your child to skip school without good reason shouldn’t just be cause for a fine. It’s deeper.

She said Labour would introduce a single number, like the NHS number, to hold children’s records across different services together. She said:

Labour will bring a simple single number, like the NHS number that holds records together and that stops children’s needs falling between the gaps within schools and between them, between all of the services that wrap around them. That linkage allows us not just to support children with the issues that they face today, but to help identify the challenges of tomorrow.

She said Labour would “always be the party of family”.

She suggested Labour would take steps to ensure parents cannot avoid paying VAT on private schools fees by paying all fees in advance. This is from the BBC’s education editor, Branwen Jeffreys.

Will labour apply VAT on school fees retrospectively if parents try to pay fully in advance @bphillipsonMP says will make sure there isn’t avoidance

She praised Michael Gove, the Tory former education secretary, for bringing energy and drive to the department.