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HANSARDHigher Education ReformIn relation to where qualifications might be phased out, I think that my noble friend is referring to the imposition of recruitment limits by the Office for Students. To be clear,…20 Jul 2023HANSARDSchools: AbsenteeismI know that the noble Lord will know that the relationship with parents is incredibly important. He is right: it seems clearer, now more than ever, that there needs to be great…20 Jul 2023HANSARDSchools: AbsenteeismAs ever, my noble friend asks a very important question. If we look at the reasons underpinning persistent absence, the majority of persistent absence is authorised, with higher…20 Jul 2023HANSARDSchools: AbsenteeismMy Lords, the latest data show improvements in attendance across all phases, with 350,000 fewer pupils being persistently absent in spring 2023 compared with summer 2022. Our new…20 Jul 2023HANSARDSchools: AbsenteeismI find it hard to believe that my noble friend bunked off school—although, obviously, medieval poetry was the first thing that came to mind. In terms of examples of good practice,…20 Jul 2023HANSARDSchools: AbsenteeismI understand where the noble Baroness’s concern comes from. Obviously, the children I meet tend to be hand-picked for perfection, but when I talk to children and suggest to them…20 Jul 2023HANSARDPrison: Support for Dependent ChildrenI take this opportunity to thank my noble friend for all his extraordinary work in this area, and for his generosity in acknowledging the work of my colleagues in the department.…18 Jul 2023HANSARDPrison: Support for Dependent ChildrenOf course, we need to focus on supporting those children and trying to mitigate some of the terrible scarring effects of the trauma that they will have suffered. That is why there…18 Jul 2023HANSARDPrison: Support for Dependent ChildrenThe Government have sought to explain just how seriously they take the safety and well-being of those children. Being complicit in some way with people traffickers is not the way…18 Jul 2023HANSARDPrison: Support for Dependent ChildrenThe work with the pre-sentence reports is being rolled out more widely. Your Lordships will agree that the fact that a woman before them is a mother feels like quite a basic thing…18 Jul 2023HANSARDPrison: Support for Dependent ChildrenAs the noble Baroness understands very well, on one level we know the impact of separation, which is a very traumatic event, particularly for the child. We also know that…18 Jul 2023HANSARDPrison: Support for Dependent ChildrenA lot of women in prison have substance use issues. That is why we are doing work in those settings to make sure that they get the therapeutic and, if necessary, addiction…18 Jul 2023HANSARDPrison: Support for Dependent ChildrenMy Lords, sentencing is entirely a matter for the courts. However, my noble friend Lord Farmer’s review made it clear that pre-sentence reports should identify dependent children.…18 Jul 2023HANSARDPrison: Support for Dependent ChildrenThe noble Baroness is right, of course, that the welfare of the child should be paramount. There has been a significant reduction in the number of women receiving custodial…18 Jul 2023HANSARDPrison: Support for Dependent ChildrenObviously, part of the pre-sentence report focuses on whether there are dependent children in the family, as the noble Lord knows very well. In all too many cases, when women end…18 Jul 2023HANSARDPrison: Support for Dependent ChildrenWe are working very hard at every stage of the process, at the point of bail decisions versus remand and at every stage beyond, to make sure that the rights and interests of the…18 Jul 2023HANSARDSchools: AdmissionsThe noble and right reverend Lord makes a very important point, and I absolutely agree with him.17 Jul 2023HANSARDSchools: AdmissionsI am not quite sure that I follow. To the best of my knowledge, all Catholic schools outside the independent sector are funded by the state.17 Jul 2023HANSARDSchools: AdmissionsI am not aware that we have looked in detail at any of those proposals in the way that the noble Lord describes, but I am aware that all schools—potentially faith schools in…17 Jul 2023HANSARDSchools: AdmissionsI looked at those numbers just before this Question, because I anticipated that the noble Baroness might raise them. I am happy to pick this up with her afterwards, but the data…17 Jul 2023