Contributions
3,240 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDEducation: 11 to 16 Year-oldsThe Government are very proud of their track record on apprenticeships. I hear the noble Lord’s reflections in terms of technical apprenticeships, but actually 70% of our economy…08 Feb 2024HANSARDRussell Group Universities: Foreign Student AdmissionsI have to agree with my noble friend. The figures are very different in Scotland. I mentioned that 85% of undergraduates in England are UK students. In Scotland, that figure is…01 Feb 2024HANSARDRussell Group Universities: Foreign Student AdmissionsMy Lords, I was concerned to see the allegations of bad practice by recruitment agents and unfairness towards British students. The Department for Education has launched an urgent…01 Feb 2024HANSARDRussell Group Universities: Foreign Student AdmissionsDeveloping international understanding is important, but I imagine that universities would argue that there are a number of other potentially greater priorities in terms of the…01 Feb 2024HANSARDRussell Group Universities: Foreign Student AdmissionsThe Government share the noble Baroness’s commitment to making sure that disadvantaged students can access higher education. As the noble Baroness and the House know, our…01 Feb 2024HANSARDRussell Group Universities: Foreign Student AdmissionsAbsolutely. We focus on that and a sense of confidence in the fairness of the system is vital. However, I would underline universities are autonomous institutions, and we would…01 Feb 2024HANSARDSchools: RAACMy Lords, I echo other noble Lords in congratulating the noble Lord, Lord Addington, on securing this debate on this very important subject. I take this opportunity to thank all…01 Feb 2024HANSARDRussell Group Universities: Foreign Student AdmissionsI remind the House of the figures on university income. Over the last five years, it has grown by 24%, from £32.9 billion to £40.8 billion, and over that time UK fees have grown…01 Feb 2024HANSARDRussell Group Universities: Foreign Student AdmissionsThe noble Baroness makes important points. To be clear, our work will focus particularly on the unscrupulous behaviour of recruitment agents, and whether it is genuinely easier…01 Feb 2024HANSARDRussell Group Universities: Foreign Student AdmissionsI think the noble Baroness brings together a number of different issues. However, the essence is: do we need high-quality degrees in this country that are accessible, particularly…01 Feb 2024HANSARDRussell Group Universities: Foreign Student AdmissionsThe universities are obliged to provide information about contact hours to students before they go on a course, and there are websites that are UK-wide, such as Discover Uni,…01 Feb 2024HANSARDSchools: Financial EducationMy Lords, I congratulate my noble friend on securing this short but very important debate, and I thank noble Lords for their contributions. Economic and financial education are…31 Jan 2024HANSARDChildren’s Care Homes: Private EquityWe are looking at a number of different options in this area. Although I am not suggesting that these are absolutely comparable, in 2023-24 the average cost of a residential care…30 Jan 2024HANSARDChildren’s Care Homes: Private EquityThe noble Baroness will be aware that we are investing £36 million in foster care, starting with work with local authorities in the north-east to encourage recruitment of more…30 Jan 2024HANSARDChildren’s Care Homes: Private EquityThe noble Lord will be aware that the Competition and Markets Authority has already done a great deal of work in this area and has made recommendations which are behind our…30 Jan 2024HANSARDChildren’s Care Homes: Private EquityThere are just under 8,000 children in children’s homes, about 57,000 children in foster care and just under 7,000 children in either secure placements or independent supported…30 Jan 2024HANSARDChildren’s Care Homes: Private EquityAs I said, bringing forward the legislative changes necessary to implement a new regime depends on parliamentary time. However, we are not wasting any time in trying to support…30 Jan 2024HANSARDChildren’s Care Homes: Private EquityMy noble friend pointed to a more fundamental question, namely: why have local authorities and charities, which used to provide these services, stepped back in a world where the…30 Jan 2024HANSARDChildren’s Care Homes: Private EquityWe have announced our new social care strategy. The noble Lord will be aware of the independent review of children’s social care, which we have acted on. We are now starting to…30 Jan 2024HANSARDChildren’s Care Homes: Private EquityI am not aware of the specific cases the noble Lord referred to, and it is dangerous to generalise in this area. We have seen disgraceful behaviour by some providers—noble Lords…30 Jan 2024