The House Article | If we cut the parliamentary education service, children will miss out

Image by: Guy Bell / Alamy

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This year marks the 20th anniversary of the UK Parliament Teacher Ambassador Programme, an initiative that gives teachers across the country a chance to experience Parliament beyond a screen or textbook. This knowledge is brought home to inspire pupils, colleagues, and their wider community, and spark interest in our political system.

Yet, against the backdrop of this anniversary, there has been a proposal to cut the UK Parliament education outreach service and move toward more online provision – a move that risks reducing access to parliamentary education for rural and coastal areas like Cornwall.

For constituencies like mine in Truro and Falmouth, this outreach provision is vital. Some schools cannot get to Parliament – and those that can often struggle to secure places. Not long ago, students from King Charles Primary School in Falmouth were in London but were unable to get a slot for a tour of Parliament. I ended up meeting them at Millbank Pizza Express, which was not quite the visit I hoped the pupils from Year 6 would have.

This is not an uncommon experience for my area. If children from Cornwall are rejected for their parliamentary visit, then the six hour journey, minimum two night trip to the capital becomes simply unaffordable. And those children, many of whom will have never been to London, will miss out.

Currently, the South West has a regional outreach officer who plays an important role in connecting people with Parliament. Last year alone, they worked with 20,000 children and 780 adult learners, including Youth Parliament members, SEND learners, English for speakers of other languages (ESOL) learners, young people not in education, employment or training (Neets), and other communities often underrepresented in democratic participation.

For constituencies like mine in Truro and Falmouth, this outreach provision is vital

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The team has helped facilitate several non-partisan politics summer schools for MPs across the region, including my own in 2025, and they will support me again this summer. At my last politics summer school, the outreach officer taught 23 young people from Truro and Falmouth about how Parliament works, how laws are made and the traditions and procedures that underpin our democracy. This sort of outreach feels more important than ever as discussions around votes at 16 continue and efforts are made to engage those who might otherwise feel disengaged.

Having worked in schools, I know that online provision doesn’t effectively replace in-person engagement. The outreach team already delivers digital sessions, yet in-person engagement is categorically favoured, with digital uptake accounting for less than five per cent of total delivery. This work requires a unique skill set, and I have seen how much it helps young people to participate in an objective and helpful way – something of great value in a politically divisive time.

Communities closer to Westminster already benefit from greater access to Parliament, so it seems counterproductive to cut regional staff while retaining a small Westminster-based team. Those of us who are more than 200 miles away are not only physically distant but often socially disconnected too. It risks creating more unequal opportunity, something rural communities know all too well. The education team are changing the rules this summer so that schools from remote areas will be able to apply early for visit places and this cannot come soon enough. But if there is also any way of increasing visit capacity I know it would be immediately filled.

This is about protecting democracy and ensuring access and opportunity wherever people live. I am concerned how areas situated far from Parliament will be considered and how the loss of in-person services will affect SEND schools, those with disabilities, and those facing digital exclusion. Parliament belongs to everyone, and everyone should have the opportunity to properly engage with it, whether that’s through a visit to Westminster or outreach in their own community. I understand the limitations of cost – but I would hate to see this diminished.

Jayne Kirkham is Labour MP for Truro and Falmouth