Lords
Committee Stage
14 July 2026
3 contributions
Industrial Training Levy (Engineering Construction Industry Training Board) Order 2026
My Lords, I am grateful for the opportunity to debate this instrument today. In my view, the provisions in the instrument are compatible with the European Convention on Human Rights. The statutory purpose of the Engineering Construction Industry Training Board—ECITB—is to make better provision for t…
I thank the Committee for its contributions to the debate, and I welcome the noble Baroness, Lady Spielman, as this is the first time we have faced each other in her new role. I congratulate her on that.
The debate has underlined not only the importance of the ECITB’s work but the scale of the chal…
+1 more contribution in this session
Lords
Proceedings
30 June 2026
9 contributions
University Student Finance
My Lords, this Government are taking decisive action to improve the student finance system that we inherited. We are capping interest rates to protect plan 2 and plan 3 borrowers from inflation shocks. We increased the plan 2 repayment threshold twice—its first increases since 2021. We have future-p…
My Lords, I acknowledge my noble friend’s criticisms of plan 2 loans, which were designed by the Conservative and Liberal Democrat coalition. Having said that, in principle, a combination of income-contingent student loans and grants is a fair way to ensure that those who benefit from higher educati…
+7 more contributions in this session
Lords
Proceedings
29 June 2026
8 contributions
Construction Sector: Skills Shortage
My 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, £98 million for industry placements, £100 million to establish 10 construction technical excellence colleges, a £90 milli…
My 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 young people who have made that decision. We need to make sure that that message gets through in the improved careers educat…
+6 more contributions in this session
Lords
Proceedings
22 June 2026
8 contributions
Master’s Level History Scholarships
My 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, weigh evidence, sift arguments and develop perspective and judgment—all vital skills. Decisions on scholarships, bursaries o…
Yes, 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 that noble Lords across the House will be rushing to their copies of Gibbon to brush up on that bit of history. He is ri…
+6 more contributions in this session
Lords
Proceedings
16 June 2026
9 contributions
Children: Physical Punishment
My 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 towards delivering the Government’s mission to break the link between young people’s background and their future success, a…
The UCL research is interesting. I note that UCL itself says that the analysis does not necessarily prove causality, although it does demonstrate correlation. The action that this Government are taking is not a small step, including as it does the reform of the children’s social care system and cons…
+7 more contributions in this session
Lords
Proceedings
15 June 2026
8 contributions
Teachers’ Pension Scheme: Automatic Enrolment
My Lords, I declare my interests as a recipient of the Teachers’ Pension Scheme and as the parent of a teacher, both of which are in my public declaration of ministerial interests. The Teachers’ Pension Scheme is subject to automatic enrolment legislation. However, scheme regulations have long requi…
My noble friend is right. I am aware of the financial challenges that universities, particularly post-1992 universities, face, exacerbated by the large increases in the employer contribution rates in the TPS. These have gone from 16.48% in 2019 to the current 28.6%. However, the Government Actuary’s…
+6 more contributions in this session
Lords
Proceedings
8 June 2026
9 contributions
School Admissions: Selective Inclusion
My Lords, as set out in our White Paper, Every Child Achieving and Thriving, all children should have access to high-performing schools. However, more could be done to reduce barriers in the system, particularly for children from disadvantaged backgrounds and children with SEND. We will ensure that …
I think we need to make sure that all schools achieve the levels of inclusive education necessary to support children with special educational needs and disabilities. That is the reason for the investment we are putting in place, the emphasis we are placing on inclusion—for example, through our RISE…
+7 more contributions in this session
Lords
Proceedings
8 June 2026
11 contributions
Children’s Social Care: Enduring Relationships Strategy
I thank the noble Lords opposite for their welcome of the Government’s proposals around enduring relationships. The noble Baroness, Lady Cash, is right that the independent review of children’s social care was commissioned by the last Government and led by my honourable friend Josh MacAlister, the M…
The noble Lord knows from his experience about the range of traumas that young people, even those who have not been in care, may well be reflecting. As he says, severe mental health needs may be one of them. That is why we are introducing mental health support into schools at an earlier stage. It is…
+9 more contributions in this session
Lords
Proceedings
4 June 2026
7 contributions
Young People and Work
My Lords, this Government’s priority is to ensure that young people have the best opportunities to get on in life. That is why we commissioned Alan Milburn to identify the underlying drivers of the NEET participation crisis. His interim report shows that this is a systemic challenge across departmen…
I was with the noble Baroness for the first part of her question. She is right: the Milburn report does identify a wide-ranging problem and a need for systemic and country-wide action. I am afraid that she may not have read it as carefully as she should have in relation to the last part of her quest…
+5 more contributions in this session
Lords
Proceedings
1 June 2026
11 contributions
For Women Scotland Ltd v Scottish Ministers
My Lords, the Supreme Court ruling that the noble Lord’s Question refers to brings clarity for women and service providers. We expect all duty bearers to follow the law and to seek legal advice where necessary, and that includes government departments. Departments have been reviewing and updating th…
Of course it is the case that the NHS should be obeying the law, in terms of both the provision of goods and services, which this code covers, and employment practices, on which further guidance will come from the EHRC. On the provision of the services that the NHS is responsible for, it is of cours…
+9 more contributions in this session
Lords
Debate
28 April 2026
3 contributions
Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill
My Lords, in moving Motion A, I will also speak to Motion A1. On this group, we will debate amendments made in this House and in the other place relating to restrictions on social media use for children. Once again, before getting into the detail of these Motions and amendments, on behalf of my nobl…
My Lords, as we reach these final stages of ping-pong on the Bill, I will first express the profound regret and disappointment of the Liberal Democrat Benches at the posture now being adopted by the Conservative Opposition. I have immense respect for the noble Lord, Lord Nash, and the tireless campa…
+1 more contribution in this session
Lords
Oral Questions
28 April 2026
7 contributions
Ballet
I thank my noble friend for her Answer. Whatever Timothée Chalamet may say, people care about ballet. The Central School of Ballet, almost uniquely as a degree-awarding classical ballet school, has faced financial uncertainty in recent years, with funding regimes changed and the gap between tuition …
My Lords, the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland has offered a BA degree course in modern ballet since 2009. However, British students from outwith Scotland are financially disadvantaged as the RCS is not recognised as one of the dance centres for advanced training, CATs, probably because there was no …
+5 more contributions in this session
Lords
Debate
27 April 2026
8 contributions
Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill
My Lords, in moving Motion A, I will also speak to Motions A1, A2, B, C and C1. With this group, we are debating amendments made in this House and the other place relating to a social media ban for under-16s, mobile phones in schools, and school admissions. Before getting into the details of the Mot…
My Lords, I must inform the House that, if Motion A1 is agreed to, I will not be able to call Motion A2 by reason of pre-emption.
Motion A1 (as an amendment to Motion A)
+6 more contributions in this session
Lords
Debate
20 April 2026
11 contributions
Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill
My Lords, in moving Motion A, I shall also speak to Motions A1, A2, D and D1. In this group, we will debate amendments on restricting social media for under-16s, digital literacy in the school curriculum and mobile phones.
I turn first to Motion A1, tabled by the noble Lord, Lord Mohammed, which di…
My Lords, in calling Motion A1, I must inform the House that, if it is agreed to, I will not be able to call Motion A2 by reason of pre-emption.
Motion A1 (as an amendment to Motion A)
+9 more contributions in this session
Lords
Oral Questions
20 April 2026
9 contributions
Schoolchildren: Swimming
I am grateful to my noble friend, but I have a slightly different figure for 11 year-olds. According to Swim England, only one in four 11 year-olds leaving primary school can swim 25 metres. That is not entirely unrelated to the fact that we have lost 500 pools in the last 16 years. That is not the …
I thank the noble Lord, Lord Cryer, for bringing up this subject. He mentioned the loss of pools. I add that 1,200 pools are now more than 40 years old and are coming to the end of their maintenance life. We are losing 25 pools a year at the moment, which are not being replaced. Obviously, wages are…
+7 more contributions in this session
Lords
Committee Stage
15 April 2026
5 contributions
Warwickshire County Council (Adult Education Functions) Regulations 2026
I am pleased to have the opportunity to ask the Committee to consider these three instruments together today: the Buckinghamshire Council (Adult Education Functions) Regulations 2026, the Surrey County Council (Adult Education Functions) Regulations 2026 and the Warwickshire County Council (Adult Ed…
My Lords, I thank the Minister for giving us that introduction. It is nice to have her back, and I hope she is fully recovered. The most pedantic thing I could think to say is that the Minister said Buckinghamshire, Surrey and Warwickshire but the regulations are in a different order on the Order Pa…
+3 more contributions in this session
Lords
Oral Questions
15 April 2026
9 contributions
Masculinity and Misogyny in Schools
My Lords, the NASUWT survey indicates that misogyny is on the rise among our young people. Some 23% of female teachers have experienced misogyny in our classrooms; this figure has increased year on year and is up 6% since 2023. Teachers are pointing to the influence of the manosphere, online misogyn…
My Lords, to pick up on the point about parents that the Minister raised, how do the Government intend to engage with not only parents but communities, particularly to deal with the negative cultural influences on the perception of women among some of our young people? It is not just in schools that…
+7 more contributions in this session
Lords
Debate
25 March 2026
4 contributions
Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill
My Lords, in moving Motion A, I shall speak also to Motions B, K and K1. In this group we will be debating amendments made in this House relating to child protection plans, multi-agency child protection teams and local authority consent for children not in school. For each, I will set out the ration…
My Lords, I will speak to Motion D and briefly to Motion F. I place on record the fact that I am extremely grateful to the Government for bringing forward Amendment 17B in lieu, in response to the amendments that I tabled in Committee and on Report. It is a major step forward in strengthening and pr…
+2 more contributions in this session
Lords
Committee Stage
17 March 2026
Further Education (Initial Teacher Training) Regulations 2026
My Lords, I thank the Secondary Legislation Scrutiny Committee and the Joint Committee on Statutory Instruments for their scrutiny of this instrument. These draft regulations were laid in Parliament on 22 January 2026.
As noble Lords will be aware, the quality of teaching is critical to securing th…
Lords
Proceedings
6 March 2026
International Women’s Day
What a splendid debate we have had today. I recognise the excellent maiden speeches we have heard. My noble friend Lady Nargund vividly described her and her family’s journey from south-west India and her family’s history of struggle, which I have no doubt will inform her contributions to our House.…
Lords
Proceedings
24 February 2026
12 contributions
Schools White Paper: Every Child Achieving and Thriving
My Lords, our White Paper, Every Child Achieving and Thriving , sets out our ambition to improve the lives of all children and young people, combining the support they receive at home with a school experience that is challenging, enriching and inclusive.
First, we will broaden children’s experience…
The noble Baroness is right that I know that constituency very well, having proudly represented it for 13 years—although I am afraid that the history of Worcestershire’s approach to special educational needs has not always been as effective as we would want it to be. There is a challenge to be made …
+10 more contributions in this session
Lords
Oral Questions
24 February 2026
8 contributions
Student Loans: Review
I am grateful for that. At the moment, a student leaving with an average debt of £53,000 has to earn £66,000 per year just to cover the interest on the debt. The deputy leader of the Labour Party recently described that as “egregious”. The Budget made the situation even worse by freezing the thresho…
My Lords, what assessment have the Government made of how the increasing burden of student debt will influence young people’s decisions not to go to university, particularly for young people in regions of the UK where average salaries are really low? Are we going back to a situation where attending …
+6 more contributions in this session