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
Lords
Oral Questions
24 February 2026
10 contributions
Post-16 Education and Skills White Paper
I thank my noble friend for that response. I know she is aware that tomorrow marks the 60th anniversary of the launch by the then Arts Minister, Jennie Lee, later Baroness Lee of Asheridge, of the White Paper which led to the establishment of the Open University. That institution stands today as one…
My Lords, the lifelong learning entitlement was intended to usher in a skills revolution. But I fear that it will turn into a pea-shooter initiative unless the funding, the eligibility of which is restricted to level 4 and level 5 courses, is widened so that students can take level 7 courses. Will t…
+8 more contributions in this session
Lords
Oral Questions
23 February 2026
10 contributions
V-levels
I thank my noble friend the Minister and welcome the clarity and reassurance she has given. Given the concerning new figures on youth unemployment, what steps are being taken to ensure that businesses engage with the meaningful work placements that are envisaged for V-level students, and have His Ma…
For V-levels to succeed, they need to be linked with a good opportunity to get a well-paid job. So what measures will the Government take urgently to tackle the unacceptably high levels of youth unemployment brought about by high taxes and anti-business culture, when, for these V-levels to succeed, …
+8 more contributions in this session
Lords
Oral Questions
23 February 2026
8 contributions
Free Speech Complaints Scheme
I thank the Minister for her reply. Can she please explain why a complaints scheme has not yet been introduced, despite the Government’s promise set out in the Department for Education policy paper published in June 2025 to
“seek a legislative vehicle at the earliest opportunity”?
Do the Governmen…
My Lords, I declare my interest as director of the Free Speech Union. The Minister has said in the past that the complaints scheme provided for in Section 8 of the Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Act 2023 has not yet been introduced because the Secretary of State wants to amend the scheme to pr…
+6 more contributions in this session
Lords
Debate
9 February 2026
6 contributions
Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill
My Lords, before dealing formally with the amendments at Third Reading of the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill, I will make a brief statement regarding legislative consent on this Bill.
During its development and parliamentary passage, the Secretary of State for Education has regularly corresp…
I beg to move Amendment 1, on behalf of my noble friend Lord Mohammed.
+4 more contributions in this session
Lords
Oral Questions
5 February 2026
9 contributions
Youth Unemployment
My Lords, I am grateful for that reply, and I welcome the initiatives the Minister has just mentioned, such as the youth guarantee. However, do not those initiatives need to be accompanied by welfare reform, which can quite often pull young people in the opposite direction? A few weeks ago, the Prim…
My Lords, can my noble friend the Minister tell the House what data, if any, the Government hold on the casual employment of young people between the ages of 16 and 18? Does she agree with me that young people who are able to find employment over this period, when they are often in full-time educati…
+7 more contributions in this session
Lords
Debate
3 February 2026
9 contributions
Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill
My Lords, in concluding this group, I start by paying tribute to those who have campaigned so hard on school allergy safety, especially Helen and Peter Blythe, Tanya and Nadim Ednan-Laperouse, my noble friend Lady Kennedy of Cradley and other noble Lords, including the noble Baroness, Lady Morgan of…
On the second point, I said that schools are able to purchase their own spares. Many do so, but I said that our statutory guidance will be clear that we expect schools to do so. The statutory guidance will say that schools should have those spares.
On the point about funding, no, I am not saying th…
+7 more contributions in this session
Lords
Debate
3 February 2026
4 contributions
Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill
With respect to the amendments in the first group, let me be completely clear that this Government are committed to ensuring that all children, especially the most vulnerable, can access a school place where they can achieve and thrive. The whole range of measures in the Bill reflects this objective…
My Lords, we now move to the group on opening new schools. Our priority is that good schools are opened when they are needed. Amendment 202 would amend Section 10 of the Academies Act 2010, relating to the establishment of new academies.
Currently, where academies are established under Section 6A o…
+2 more contributions in this session
Lords
Oral Questions
29 January 2026
9 contributions
Erasmus+ Eligibility: Asylum Seekers
I thank my noble friend for that Answer. Like many Members across the House, I hope, I am pleased that the UK’s resumption of participation in Erasmus+ is taking place. I hope that by the summer there will be a website with further information available. Does my noble friend agree that Erasmus+ supp…
My Lords, I very much support the inclusion in this programme of those who have successfully got refugee status in the United Kingdom, in order to strengthen their integration into our society. But can the Minister explain why it is also open to those still seeking asylum who have not yet establishe…
+7 more contributions in this session
Lords
Debate
28 January 2026
18 contributions
Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill
My Lords, Amendment 107, tabled by the noble Lord, Lord Bird, seeks to place a duty on the Secretary of State to set legally binding child poverty reduction targets. I agree with other noble Lords that we have a shared objective to tackle child poverty. I thank the noble Lord, Lord Bird, for his com…
My Lords, it seems appropriate to follow the debate on child poverty with a debate about the action this Government are taking to cut costs for families—in this case, our commitment to cutting the cost of school uniforms for families by limiting the number of branded items that schools can require p…
+16 more contributions in this session
Lords
Oral Questions
28 January 2026
9 contributions
Schools: Music and Dance Scheme
I thank my noble friend the Minister for that response. In earlier debates, noble Lords have raised concerns that funding for this vital scheme has been frozen or increased only below inflation since 2011-12, and since 2022 grants have been limited to a one-year settlement. The eight music and dance…
I am grateful to the Minister for reiterating the Government’s commitment to the important role of the schools in providing high-quality, world-class training to these elite dancers and musicians. This intensity of training would not be appropriate nor possible in state schools, but the Government r…
+7 more contributions in this session
Lords
Debate
21 January 2026
2 contributions
Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill
My Lords, the amendments in the third group cover free school meals, the nursery milk scheme, the Healthy Start scheme and school food. Ensuring that every child has access to nutritious food and support is fundamental to their health, development and ability to learn. We know that good nutrition st…
Absolutely, it will be. First, by virtue of the fact that it is now open to all those on universal credit without the £7,400 cut-off, it is much clearer to families, to those supporting them and to schools who is eligible. Secondly, as I said, the provisions that enable the sharing of information, a…
Lords
Debate
21 January 2026
2 contributions
Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill
My Lords, as others have said, this has been an important debate on two issues that go to the heart of how we need to care for those in the most vulnerable and difficult circumstances, and we share the objective of ensuring that we do better in both situations.
Amendments 99 and 101 tabled by the n…
My Lords, it is clear from the debate that we have had this evening that this is an issue about which there is considerable concern. This Government recognise those concerns about the impact of screen time and about children’s online safety, particularly given some immensely troubling cases. This is…
Lords
Oral Questions
20 January 2026
10 contributions
Youth Unemployment
Indeed, and this very morning the ONS announced that youth unemployment has risen yet again. Our national living wage is now approaching that of France, which has a staggering youth unemployment rate of 20%. Even the Resolution Foundation agrees that when the national living wage went up for 18 to 2…
My Lords, I appreciate that the Government’s youth guarantee scheme is well intentioned, but would it not be more effective if it applied to those 18 to 21 year-olds who have been out of work and education for six months rather than 18 months—by which time many will have lost hope and confidence, an…
+8 more contributions in this session
Lords
Debate
19 January 2026
5 contributions
Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill
My Lords, on Amendments 43 and 49, in the name of the noble Baroness, Lady Tyler, everybody who has contributed to the debate today, and certainly the Government, are fully committed to every care-experienced child having loving, life-long relationships with those they care about—particularly with s…
As I reply to this group of amendments, I assure noble Lords that I will try not to drench anybody during the course of my response—although I have now decided to set myself an ambition of juggling three bottles of water by the time we get to the end of Report.
Important issues are covered in this …
+3 more contributions in this session
Lords
Oral Questions
19 January 2026
9 contributions
Equality and Human Rights Commission: Code of Practice
My Lords, the Education Secretary—the Minister, supposedly, for Women—has run out of road, with her procrastination, excuses and flannelling the object of ridicule. Organisations are using the Government’s refusal to lay the guidance as a pretext to stick with the Stonewall law, which has been wrong…
My Lords, proportionality, as I am sure the whole House recognises, is central to the Equality Act. But, of course, it will be difficult to apply. Can my noble friend the Minister assure the House that the Government promote a consistent and lawful understanding of proportionality across policy area…
+7 more contributions in this session
Lords
Debate
14 January 2026
10 contributions
Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill
My Lords, creating new multi-agency child protection teams through Clause 3 is not, as the noble Baroness, Lady Spielman, suggested, about saving money; it is about bringing together social workers, police, health and education colleagues with experience in child protection to take swift and effecti…
I regret that we included special constables. Given the criteria that will be set out in regulations for the level of expertise, experience and skills necessary to be part of these teams, I could not envisage a situation in which a volunteer special constable would be an appropriate part of these te…
+8 more contributions in this session
Lords
Oral Questions
13 January 2026
9 contributions
Youth Guarantee Scheme: Evaluation
I thank the Minister for that reply. I am sure she will agree that the youth guarantee scheme could be a vital reform to the welfare state, offering a lifeline to young people who are currently shut out from the rewards of work and learning. Can the Minister ensure that the youth guarantee scheme is…
My Lords, I declare my interest as chairman of Make UK, which has 26,000 manufacturing companies that belong to it and is a major apprenticeship provider. As the Minister is very aware, because we have spoken to her on the subject, currently, apprenticeships in manufacturing are declining across the…
+7 more contributions in this session
Lords
Oral Questions
12 January 2026
9 contributions
Sexual Harassment in Educational Settings
I thank the Minister for her response and welcome the action that she has set out. As she said, the Office for Students survey revealed that one in four students who responded, mainly young women, reported experiencing sexual harassment, including rape, attempted rape and unwanted touching, and we k…
My Lords, is the Expect Respect educational toolkit being used in all schools throughout the country, and higher education places, are people who use it being properly trained in how to use it, and is there any feedback on whether it is a success and how it is doing and whether pupils and students f…
+7 more contributions in this session
Lords
Proceedings
8 January 2026
Schools and Universities: Language Learning
My Lords, I thank the Minister very much for her reply. I am pleased and happy to hear her say that she recognises that schools still have an issue over how complicated and costly the process for applying and getting sponsorship visas can be. I hope very much that that will lead to more efficient an…