Contributions
3,240 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDSkills and Post-16 Education Bill [HL]My Lords, I am pleased to be back in the Chamber to discuss the Bill as it reaches its conclusion. After listening to debate from noble Lords a fortnight ago—the noble Lord, Lord…07 Apr 2022HANSARDEducation: Multi Academy TrustsI have got that, although I am well out of time—but the noble Lord has given me permission to overrun. We are going to consult on the ability under certain circumstances for…06 Apr 2022HANSARDEducation: Multi Academy TrustsMy Lords, I thank my noble friend Lord Lingfield for securing this important debate and congratulate him on his vision, so long ago in the mid-1980s, in the work he proposed at…06 Apr 2022HANSARDSpecial Educational Needs and Disabilities ReviewThe Government are putting significantly more resource in. I absolutely hear what the noble Baroness says but I hope she also accepts that we have little consistency in how we…30 Mar 2022HANSARDSpecial Educational Needs and Disabilities ReviewMy noble friend raises an important point. She is right that early years education, even before reception, has consistently been proven to be absolutely fundamental to…30 Mar 2022HANSARDSpecial Educational Needs and Disabilities ReviewI understand why the noble Baroness talks about initial teacher training, although she will be aware that it is outwith the scope of this Green Paper. Our wider vision for…30 Mar 2022HANSARDSpecial Educational Needs and Disabilities ReviewThe noble Baroness makes a very good point. Given that this is a consultation, I really encourage her to share that as part of her consultation response so that we can take it…30 Mar 2022HANSARDSpecial Educational Needs and Disabilities ReviewIn answer to the noble Baroness’s second question, they could potentially be presumption free schools. However, as she knows, all new schools are free schools. On early childhood…30 Mar 2022HANSARDSpecial Educational Needs and Disabilities ReviewI start by asking the right reverend Prelate—I am sure I speak on behalf of my ministerial colleagues as well—to share how warmly we welcome the creation of the networks. We very…30 Mar 2022HANSARDSpecial Educational Needs and Disabilities ReviewMy Lords, I thank both noble Lords for their remarks and acknowledge the opening positivity of the noble Lord, Lord Watson. I genuinely believe that the reason his initial…30 Mar 2022HANSARDSchools: Creative Subjects and the English BaccalaureateThe Government work extremely closely with employers. Our T-level programme was developed with over 250 employers. I would ask the noble Lord why we are seeing such huge…29 Mar 2022HANSARDSchools: Creative Subjects and the English BaccalaureateThe department does not track the expenditure on these subjects in independent schools. What the department is committed to, and restated in the schools White Paper yesterday, is…29 Mar 2022HANSARDForeign Languages: Economic ValueMy Lords, the Government believe in the importance of languages and welcome the report’s findings on removing language barriers to benefit the economy. We support language…29 Mar 2022HANSARDForeign Languages: Economic ValueI do not have time to answer the noble Baroness’s question in full, but I remind her that the uptake of French GSCE is slightly up between 2017 and 2021, Spanish is up very…29 Mar 2022HANSARDForeign Languages: Economic ValueI absolutely agree with the noble Lord. Indeed, returning to diplomats, more than 70% of FCDO staff in speaker slots, which require language skills, now have a valid exam pass in…29 Mar 2022HANSARDForeign Languages: Economic ValueThe noble Baroness, Lady Coussins, referred to the Mandarin Excellence Programme, but I point out that, as the noble Baroness understands, French and Spanish are very widely…29 Mar 2022HANSARDForeign Languages: Economic ValueI think it is not elusive to British exporters. There are a number of mechanisms for improving our competitiveness on the world stage; language is one of them. However, English is…29 Mar 2022HANSARDForeign Languages: Economic ValueWe were very pleased to announce in the schools White Paper the network of modern foreign language hubs. We are also increasing the languages bursary to £15,000 for 2023 to…29 Mar 2022HANSARDForeign Languages: Economic ValueI absolute agree with the noble Lord and that is why I referred to the Turing scheme, which we hope will be part of creating that richer picture of the world we live in.29 Mar 2022HANSARDForeign Languages: Economic ValueI do not have that data to hand and I am not sure whether it is yet available, given the newness of the Turing scheme, but I will write to my noble friend to clarify that.29 Mar 2022