Matt Hancock today appeared in the House of Commons for the second reading of his dyslexia bill, following his third-place finish on I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here!
The West Suffolk MP made his first appearance in the chamber since he was suspended from the Conservative parliamentary party for his controversial decision to appear on the ITV programme.
Before he spoke, Commons deputy speaker Nigel Evans joked: "This is the third bill of the day and I know Mr Hancock you appear to be making a habit of coming third these days."
Mr Hancock replied: "I am not quite sure what to make of that. But I am honoured to be third today and let's see how that goes."
He went on to comment that it was a "pleasure" to be in the House of Commons "clean and well-fed", following his stint in the jungle.
The West Suffolk MP said his Dyslexia Screening and Teacher Training Bill aims to "spread opportunity and reduce inequality in society by providing every person with a world-class education".
He pointed to the "gaping hole in the Government's literacy drive", quoting statistics which show that just one in five dyslexic children are diagnosed while in school.
Mr Hancock said he was shocked to discover that these figures hadn't changed in over a decade adding: "Without early identification, we will never reach full literacy.
"So the next stage of the education revolution under this administration must be to improve opportunities that dyslexic children and children with other neurodivergent conditions have."
The MP, who is dyslexic himself, drew on his own experience of education saying he was identified at age 18 and had to "essentially relearn how to read" once he had left school.
He added: "And that allows me to stand here reading from a little piece of paper whilst speaking it out in a way that I simply wouldn't have been able to before I got that support."
As the sitting ran out of time to finish the debate, the Bill will need to return to the Commons at a later date for it to be able to pass its second reading.
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