Lords
Proceedings
14 July 2026
Autism: Parenting Support Programmes
My Lords, the Government sound very confident about this, but on the 29th of last month, in Committee Room 10, I was in a room full of parents of people on the autism spectrum who have gone through the process. Generally, they were terrified of the idea of integration into schools with untrained sta…
Lords
Committee Stage
9 July 2026
Contemporary Cultural Boycotts
My Lords, this subject is one of those where you suddenly think, “Yes, there shouldn’t be any form of cancellation”—here, primarily on grounds of antisemitism. I have always felt it to be rather absurd that the Abrahamic religions attack each other over which day they pray on, given that half the ti…
Lords
Committee Stage
7 July 2026
2 contributions
Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026 (Establishment of Schools) (Consequential Amendments) Regulations 2026
My Lords, remembering the bit of the Bill we did when we started this, I think this is quite a sensible provision. There is no great disagreement in principle on this, certainly on my part. We have a mixed economy for schools, and indeed the previous Government discovered, when they wanted everythin…
I will let the noble Baroness know that I do not have to keep noble Lords up to date; it is going to let everybody know.
Lords
Debate
24 June 2026
2 contributions
Sporting Events Bill [HL]
My Lords, I apologise to the Committee—I had not quite got myself in the right position to start proceedings. This is a probing amendment that looks at some of the minor problems that arise when a big Bill such as this comes out. The amendment probably refers more than it should to licensed premises…
I thank the Minister for that reply. Yes, I think the idea is that everybody is saying, can we avoid what we can only describe as the cock-up school of history? That is when something goes wrong that is unintended and gets in the way of the enjoyment here. I will take away what the noble Baroness ha…
Lords
Debate
22 June 2026
Sporting Events Bill [HL]
My Lords, to intervene for the first time in Committee on this group of amendments is rather an odd one. I had not looked at it when we started out. I also feel that, if you are bringing a games into a country, you are going into an existing framework of laws and rights. If you bring something into …
Lords
Proceedings
17 June 2026
Social Media: Substances Unfit for Human Consumption
I thank the Minister for her Answer and accept that this is a cross-government problem; the Department of Health could just as easily have taken this Question. What exactly are the Government going to do to make sure that influencers who make money out of saying, “You will look better if you take ce…
Lords
Proceedings
15 June 2026
Teachers’ Pension Scheme: Automatic Enrolment
My Lords, we are talking about professions that are essential for the functioning of the education system. Will the Government undertake to look into the effect that doubt about the pension scheme is having on the supply of people to fulfil these vital roles in the education system?
Lords
Proceedings
8 June 2026
School Admissions: Selective Inclusion
My Lords, will the Minister enlighten us on exactly how the Government will make sure that there is an aggressive approach under this new SEN system to identify and support students and that this is reflected widely in things such as Ofsted reports? What is measured gets done, and at the moment it i…
Lords
Proceedings
8 June 2026
Children’s Social Care: Enduring Relationships Strategy
My Lords, it is quite clear that the Government are taking an important step forward here to support those from the care system and that everybody has recognised the lack of parental support going on into the early years of adulthood, which is incredibly important. Could the Government go a little f…
Lords
Proceedings
4 June 2026
EU-UK Creative Sector Cultural Exchange Arrangements
My Lords, can the Minister give us some idea of what the Government have done about looking into the amount of red tape created by the Brexit deal and whether they have a strategy for cutting through? At the moment, we seem to be benefiting lawyers and administrators, and stopping everybody else doi…
Lords
Proceedings
3 June 2026
World Cup Ticket Prices
My Lords, the current situation in the United States is that individual states are trying to have legal redress on this. The Government are saying that they are quite friendly, but will they make sure that everybody involved in politics is singing from the same hymn sheet? If we bid for something in…
Lords
Proceedings
20 May 2026
2026 FIFA World Cup: Replica Kit Pricing
My Lords, kits always seem to be too expensive for everybody. They have done for a long time, and the club game has suffered from this for a long time as well. It would help if national teams were to publish what revenue they get from this and where it is spent to make sure that people know, because…
Lords
Oral Questions
20 April 2026
Charity Giving
A huge number of charities now use card readers, and it is shifting quite rapidly. The noble Lord is correct that a lot of people would not necessarily have change. I am not clear, but I will go back and check whether the department has seen a corelation between people not carrying cash and the repo…
Lords
Committee Stage
15 April 2026
2 contributions
Warwickshire County Council (Adult Education Functions) Regulations 2026
My Lords, I am very grateful for the opportunity to speak on these regulations, which transfer adult education functions to Buckinghamshire, Surrey and Warwickshire councils from the 2026-27 academic year and, as the Minister said, from 1 August 2026. I am very grateful for the detail that the Minis…
Much of what we will be talking about in the next parliamentary Session will obviously relate to special educational needs and disability funding and provision in schools, both in early years and post-16. What we are talking about today is adult skills funding, which, as I said, for those with speci…
Lords
Committee Stage
15 April 2026
Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) (Amendment) Regulations 2026
My Lords, as other noble Lords were declaring their interests, I thought, “Oh, that’s good; I have no relevant interests”. But, the last time I thought that, a number of people tweeted at me for not declaring my interests, so I will bore all noble Lords with them. I am a professor of politics and in…
Lords
Oral Questions
26 March 2026
Learning Disabilities: Health and Social Care Access
My Lords, I thank all noble Lords for their valuable contributions, including the noble Lord, Lord Scriven, and the noble Baroness, Lady Ramsey, for their lived experience of this important issue. Ensuring that people who live with learning disabilities are able to access safe and effective health a…
Lords
Oral Questions
26 March 2026
Curriculum and Assessment Review
My Lords, I, too, would like to thank the noble Lord, Lord Freyberg, for his excellent introduction and for securing this short debate. As we have heard, the Curriculum and Assessment Review built on the work of the previous Government and is described as “evolution not revolution”. I briefly acknow…
Lords
Debate
25 March 2026
Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill
My Lords, please bear with me again; I will keep to the two-minute limit. I too speak in favour of Amendments 105B and 105C, tabled in lieu in Motion M, and in doing so declare my interest as COO of the Natasha Allergy Research Foundation, the UK’s food allergy charity.
I thank the noble Baroness, …
Lords
Committee Stage
17 March 2026
2 contributions
Further Education (Initial Teacher Training) Regulations 2026
My Lords, further to what my noble friend has just said, can I say that there used to be a very highly regarded City & Guilds qualification for teachers in further education, which virtually all of them held? Of course, teachers in FE are nearly always also practitioners, so they spend time actu…
We are always grateful for the noble Lord’s insight into these areas, but we know that FE colleges are incredibly inclusive. We must, as I think the noble Lord is suggesting, look out for good practice and make sure that, where we see it, it is replicated and becomes the norm. That is the exact poin…
Lords
Oral Questions
16 March 2026
Antisemitism on University Campuses
I hope I have indicated the range of actions we are taking in my responses so far. Of course the Government condemn all racial and religious hatred in the strongest possible terms, and we strongly encourage universities to take steps to foster the cohesion on campuses that I mentioned earlier. Howev…
Lords
Debate
11 March 2026
Crime and Policing Bill
My Lords, I am an unworthy substitute for the noble Baroness, Lady Pidgeon, but I am afraid it is one of those occasions when real life catches up with your Lordships’ House; it has stopped her being here today. She supports the amendment. When you start to think about it, it comes under the heading…
Lords
Oral Questions
10 March 2026
Student Loan System
I believe this is a very sensitive area and we should not make assumptions about directions of employment from particular courses that students take. It is important to recognise that universities are being asked to look at the quality of the education they provide and destination studies from their…
Lords
Oral Questions
10 March 2026
Special Educational Needs: Dyscalculia
The noble Lord raises these points at every available opportunity, and I commend him for that. This is an exceptionally important issue, but there is no getting away from the fact that we need a holistic approach that covers the needs of all children and makes sure they can thrive. I welcome the att…
Lords
Oral Questions
5 March 2026
Class Inequality in the Arts
The apprenticeship piece is a critical part of making sure that it is not just who you know but what your future potential is. We are doing this by focusing on making sure that we get world-class vocational training. As well as apprenticeships, we are doing things such as making sure we have a BRIT …
Lords
Debate
2 March 2026
2 contributions
Crime and Policing Bill
My Lords, I join the Bill, at this late stage, very much as the understudy. I am afraid my noble friend Lord Clement-Jones could not be with us any longer, but the hour is late and I do not think anybody can accuse him of not putting in a shift. He gave me brief notes, and I will try to précis them …
My Lords, I thank the Minister for giving that assurance. Having it repeated again at the Dispatch Box makes it easier for people to feel secure about this. That, along with the letter, which I am sure is a work of great wisdom, will add to the fact that we will have a defence in place, just in case…