Contributions
1,271 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDCovid-19: Disparate ImpactMy Lords, I am grateful to the noble Viscount. It might not be a royal commission, but the Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities has been set up by the Government, building on…27 Oct 2020HANSARDFree School MealsMy Lords, the noble Baroness, who I thank for her comments, raises a wider issue. When power is devolved, whether to councils, combined authorities or different nations, we have…27 Oct 2020HANSARDFree School MealsMy Lords, I am sure that all noble Lords, whether politically aligned or not, will agree that we want to help those children who are in need and that working together is the way…27 Oct 2020HANSARDFree School MealsMy Lords, in relation to children in England, I have outlined the local government welfare assistance scheme. When schools came back properly, the box of fruit and vegetables…27 Oct 2020HANSARDFree School MealsMy Lords, we are indeed living through a time when special measures have been needed. However, for the reasons I outlined, it would not be right to expect schools at the moment to…27 Oct 2020HANSARDFree School MealsMy Lords, the Government have an overall principle that the best way for families is to be in work, but, when they are not in work, the universal credit system provides funding…27 Oct 2020HANSARDFree School MealsI do apologise if the noble Lord felt rebuffed. But, as he will be aware, in addition to the support that has been given to disadvantaged children, there are now over 500,000…27 Oct 2020HANSARDCovid-19: Disparate ImpactMy Lords, I can only reiterate that it is important for us to know what factors are the causes of these disparities; that was not clear earlier, and as I say, there are still gaps…27 Oct 2020HANSARDFree School MealsMy Lords, the main way in which the Government fund, outside free school meals and breakfast clubs, is through the universal credit system. It may seem like a big figure—£9…27 Oct 2020HANSARDCovid-19: Disparate ImpactI am grateful to the noble Lord and I am sure that I will give his report my personal perusal and respond to it. Of course, we need to ensure that the public health messages going…27 Oct 2020HANSARDCovid-19: Disparate ImpactMy Lords, we are working closely with the Office for National Statistics and analysts from PHE. I will have to check with them and will write to the noble Baroness in relation to…27 Oct 2020HANSARDCovid-19: Disparate ImpactI am grateful to the noble Baroness. As Minister for Women, one of my specific concerns is the underachievement of Gypsy Roma in most categories. The Government are firmly…27 Oct 2020HANSARDCovid-19: Disparate ImpactMy Lords, I hope that I have been clear that what is glaringly obvious is the disparities. The answer to the next question, which is why there are those disparities, is not so…27 Oct 2020HANSARDCovid-19: Disparate ImpactI am grateful to the noble Baroness. In fact, £4 million has been spent on communications translating public health information, along with 600 targeted publications to ensure…27 Oct 2020HANSARDCovid-19: Disparate ImpactMy Lords, I welcome this review and quarterly report, which has been published and sent to the Prime Minister, who has endorsed its recommendations, as the noble Baronesses said.…27 Oct 2020HANSARDCovid-19: Catch-up PremiumMy Lords, the laptops are being delivered to young people either via the local authority, if they are in a maintained school, or via the academy trust. The change is that we have…26 Oct 2020HANSARDCovid-19: Catch-up PremiumMy Lords, the number of laptops made available was 250,000 and it is now over 300,000, so the number has increased. Over 100,000 of those have been delivered. The allocation is…26 Oct 2020HANSARDCovid-19: Catch-up PremiumMy Lords, the low prior attainment year 7 sum of money that the noble Lord is referring to was increased by £49 million, so nearly £1 billion of the national funding formula…26 Oct 2020HANSARDCovid-19: Catch-up PremiumWe all know the importance of parents’ aspirations for their children. Of course, we also want to make sure that disadvantaged students are given every assistance, so £2.4 billion…26 Oct 2020HANSARDCovid-19: Catch-up PremiumMy Lords, understanding the impact of Covid disruption on attainment and progress is a key research priority for the Government, and we have commissioned an independent research…26 Oct 2020