Contributions
1,330 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDConstruction Sector: Skills ShortageThe noble Lord is right. What is more, of course, small businesses are often the businesses that offer apprenticeships to young people and to people from disadvantaged…29 Jun 2026HANSARDConstruction Sector: Skills ShortageMy Lords, in 2025, the Government announced a £625 million investment to train up to 60,000 more skilled workers in construction. This includes £100 million for skills bootcamps,…29 Jun 2026HANSARDConstruction Sector: Skills ShortageMy noble friend makes a really important point. It is why local skills improvement plans, of which the second round are due to be published quite soon, identify where there are…29 Jun 2026HANSARDConstruction Sector: Skills ShortageWe have a target to increase by 50,000 the number of young people starting apprenticeships, after 10 years in which that number fell by 40%. That is the reason behind some of the…29 Jun 2026HANSARDConstruction Sector: Skills ShortageThe noble Lord makes a really important point about the power of government procurement. Many of those contracts already require support for training, and particularly…29 Jun 2026HANSARDConstruction Sector: Skills ShortageThe noble Baroness makes an important point about how the curriculum overly narrowed during recent years. That was the reason for the Government’s Curriculum and Assessment Review…29 Jun 2026HANSARDConstruction Sector: Skills ShortageMy noble friend is right about some of the new areas within construction where we need to support training. I am sure he will be pleased to know that one of the new apprenticeship…29 Jun 2026HANSARDConstruction Sector: Skills ShortageMy noble friend is absolutely right. There are well-paid, secure jobs in the construction industry. One of the benefits of my role is that I quite often get the chance to meet…29 Jun 2026HANSARDMaster’s Level History ScholarshipsMy Lords, the study of history is of immense value, as it helps students to understand Britain’s past and that of the wider world. It also equips students to think critically,…22 Jun 2026HANSARDMaster’s Level History ScholarshipsIf the noble Lord is making the case that it is not just at undergraduate level in universities that we need to promote wider access but at postgraduate level, I strongly agree…22 Jun 2026HANSARDMaster’s Level History ScholarshipsYes, I agree with my noble friend, and that is why, throughout our education system, we have to tackle the elements that prevent children and young people fmaximising their…22 Jun 2026HANSARDMaster’s Level History ScholarshipsIt is important, first, to ensure the financial sustainability of our higher education sector, which this Government have taken action to do by increasing the maximum tuition fee…22 Jun 2026HANSARDMaster’s Level History ScholarshipsOn the subject of history, it is well worth noting that today is the Windrush anniversary, and we should recognise the significance of that element of our history. We remain in…22 Jun 2026HANSARDMaster’s Level History ScholarshipsMy study was rather more in the area of economics than in history There are some interesting examples of where some of those have worked, but I am not going to rise to the noble…22 Jun 2026HANSARDMaster’s Level History ScholarshipsI am sure the noble Baroness will be very pleased to know that we made an announcement this morning—which, for some unknown reason, did not get quite the attention I would have…22 Jun 2026HANSARDMaster’s Level History ScholarshipsYes, I agree with my noble friend, and I congratulate him on the personal commitment that he has made to supporting studentships in history at his former college. I feel confident…22 Jun 2026HANSARDChildren: Physical PunishmentMy Lords, we welcome the evidence in this report, in particular the inclusion of the voices of children and young people. The Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act is a key step…16 Jun 2026HANSARDChildren: Physical PunishmentThe law in this country gives the strong message that it is wrong to assault a child. The clear advice from government is that it is wrong to use physical punishment against a…16 Jun 2026HANSARDChildren: Physical PunishmentWe have looked, for example, at the Welsh report on the implementation of the abolition of the defence of reasonable punishment in Wales. As I said, the report is on the…16 Jun 2026HANSARDChildren: Physical PunishmentThe point I am trying to make is that, even if you look at the evidence in Scotland and Wales, I am not sure that changes to the specifics of the law around reasonable punishment…16 Jun 2026