Contributions
3,240 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDCapita: Turing Scheme ContractI have stated that the Turing scheme is extremely important. It is a real priority for us; obviously, we will look at future funding as part of future SR agreements.27 Jan 2022HANSARDCapita: Turing Scheme ContractI cannot comment on my noble friend’s final point but it is important that we look at the data and the evidence of what happens. As my noble friend has pointed out, the evidence…27 Jan 2022HANSARDCapita: Turing Scheme ContractThe noble Baroness is absolutely right to pick me up on not having acknowledged the British Council’s role in the set-up of the scheme. We are very grateful to it, as we are for…27 Jan 2022HANSARDCapita: Turing Scheme ContractI can only repeat for the noble Lord that funding has been made available this year for over 41,000 placements. I appreciate that they are not all comparable in scale to the…27 Jan 2022HANSARDCapita: Turing Scheme ContractI thank my noble friend for his question. As I mentioned, 48% of applications have come from students from disadvantaged backgrounds. We have made it a great focus of the scheme…27 Jan 2022HANSARDCapita: Turing Scheme ContractNo, I tried to set out at the beginning how the decision was taken but I can give the noble Baroness more detail. The criteria for appointing the new provider were based 70% on…27 Jan 2022HANSARDCapita: Turing Scheme ContractThe noble Earl is right to raise the issue of tuition fees, but I am sure he is aware that even under Erasmus+ half of mobility placements were outside Erasmus+. Judging by the…27 Jan 2022HANSARDCapita: Turing Scheme ContractI absolutely cannot accept what my noble friend suggests. We have had over 41,000 applications for the scheme this year. That compares with around 16,500 under Erasmus+ in…27 Jan 2022HANSARDCapita: Turing Scheme ContractI am happy to try to reassure the noble Baroness. We are confident that Capita has the capacity and the skills to administer the Turing scheme. The delivery of the scheme is a…27 Jan 2022HANSARDCapita: Turing Scheme ContractMy Lords, the procurement was run in line with Cabinet Office rules and bids were evaluated on the answers to four questions relating to quality and social value, compliance with…27 Jan 2022HANSARDEducation: Return in JanuaryFace masks are part of the answer. As the noble Baroness well knows, it is a mixture of a number of elements, including—importantly —vaccination, ventilation, hygiene, testing and…06 Jan 2022HANSARDEducation: Return in JanuaryTo pick up on the noble Baroness’s final point, face masks—as she puts her face mask on enthusiastically—06 Jan 2022HANSARDEducation: Return in JanuaryI thank the noble Lord for his question. He will have seen the same figures that I saw about the extraordinary efforts over Christmas on the vaccination booster campaign, with…06 Jan 2022HANSARDEducation: Return in JanuaryI thank the noble Lord and the noble Baroness for their good wishes for 2022 and offer my good wishes to the whole House. I echo the sentiments of the noble Baroness, Lady Garden,…06 Jan 2022HANSARDEducation: Return in JanuaryI am not sure, with respect, that the question asked by the noble Baroness is the right question. We had 350,000 CO 2 monitors in schools last term. They are portable and are…06 Jan 2022HANSARDEducation: Return in JanuaryOne can never have enough music in one’s life, but the point we are trying to make is that we are in a relatively brief—hopefully—but intense and challenging period for schools.…06 Jan 2022HANSARDSchool Openings: January 2022The noble Baroness’s tone is a little harsh in saying “budget spare”. We are talking about making sure our classrooms are safe for children, which is why we prioritise the…16 Dec 2021HANSARDSchool Openings: January 2022We have been extremely clear in our gratitude to school leaders for the extraordinary job they have done over the last couple of years. We have the workforce fund, which provides…16 Dec 2021HANSARDChildren and Young People in Care: AccommodationMy Lords, all children in care deserve to live in homes that meet their needs and keep them safe; that is why we are reforming unregulated provision for children aged 16 and 17…16 Dec 2021HANSARDChildren and Young People in Care: AccommodationI thank the noble Lord for his question, and echo his sentiment, and the sentiment of the House, in relation to the two recent cases to which I think he was referring. In relation…16 Dec 2021