Contributions
1,330 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDEarly Years Provision: Bell ReviewWhile we are ambitious for early years and childcare, we will need to consider the outcome of the spending review in thinking about where we can focus our resources. We intend to…21 Oct 2024HANSARDEarly Years Provision: Bell ReviewThe noble Lord is right about the challenge for the workforce. That is why, last week, as he says, we published further information about the 75,000 additional staff that will be…21 Oct 2024HANSARDEarly Years Provision: Bell ReviewIn my case, I could say that slightly older mothers were probably not particularly good at looking after their young children either. The noble and learned Baroness makes a very…21 Oct 2024HANSARDEarly Years Provision: Bell ReviewThe right reverend Prelate is absolutely right to identify that disadvantage —in fact, special educational needs impact on children at a very early stage in their development. My…21 Oct 2024HANSARDGovernment’s Childcare ExpansionMy noble friend tempts me to relive my days developing the national identity scheme and, in fact, having one of the very first identity cards issued by the last Labour Government.…21 Oct 2024HANSARDGovernment’s Childcare ExpansionOne of the very last contributions that I made in the House of Commons before I came face to face with the electorate in Redditch was to suggest that I feared that a future…21 Oct 2024HANSARDEarly Years Provision: Bell ReviewThe early years sector is facing shortages of places and workers, and it will be challenging to deliver the entitlements promised by the previous Government. Sir David Bell’s…21 Oct 2024HANSARDEducation (Values of British Citizenship) Bill [HL]My Lords, I congratulate the noble and right reverend Lord, Lord Harries of Pentregarth, on securing this Second Reading for his Education (Values of British Citizenship) Bill. As…18 Oct 2024HANSARDEducation Sector: Equality of OpportunityMy Lords, this Government are committed to promoting equal opportunities and breaking the link between young people’s backgrounds and their future success. Breaking down barriers…17 Oct 2024HANSARDEducation Sector: Equality of OpportunityMy noble friend is right that white working-class boys are among the lowest-attaining groups in our schools. That links to the point about regional inequality made previously. It…17 Oct 2024HANSARDEducation Sector: Equality of OpportunityThe right reverend Prelate is absolutely right that regional inequalities at key stage 2, GCSE and A-level are not just persistent but, certainly in some of those cases, have…17 Oct 2024HANSARDEducation Sector: Equality of OpportunityHaving spent 11 years teaching economics and business studies— I am not sure my personal financial literacy quite matches up to what might have been expected from that—I think the…17 Oct 2024HANSARDEducation Sector: Equality of OpportunityThe noble Lord makes an important point about early identification of children with special educational needs or some form of disability—he is absolutely right. In the early…17 Oct 2024HANSARDEducation Sector: Equality of OpportunityThe noble Baroness will understand that in FE there is no pay review body in the same way as in schools. The Government were pleased to be able to fund the 5.5% pay increase for…17 Oct 2024HANSARDEducation Sector: Equality of OpportunityMy noble friend is absolutely right that children with special educational needs and disabilities are not receiving the sort of education that they need and deserve, despite the…17 Oct 2024HANSARDIndependent Schools: VATI thank the noble Lord, Lord Lexden, for securing this debate and providing another opportunity for noble Lords to discuss the implications of tax changes affecting private…17 Oct 2024HANSARDEducation Sector: Equality of OpportunityI am surprised, given the efforts that the noble Baroness made when she was a Minister in the Department for Education, that she is quite as complacent about performance in…17 Oct 2024HANSARDFreedom of Speech in UniversitiesNo, I do not, which is why I did not use that expression.10 Oct 2024HANSARDFreedom of Speech in UniversitiesAs the noble Lord, Lord Wallace, made clear, there might be different views about the causes of the particular event to which the noble Baroness refers. For that reason, I shall…10 Oct 2024HANSARDFreedom of Speech in UniversitiesI agree with my noble friend. Vice-chancellors say to me that theirs is a difficult job, made tougher by the previous Government’s failure to address the financial challenges that…10 Oct 2024