To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the number of, and amount of time, that (1) teaching staff, and (2) school support staff, are working on activity relating to SATs during the school holidays.

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the number of, and amount of time, that (1) teaching staff, and (2) school support staff, are working on activity relating to SATs during the school holidays.

My Lords, this is clearly a very useful technology, but given that it has very wide application, can my noble friend say anything about how we monitor the level of possible misrecognition by these systems?

My Lords, this is clearly a very useful technology, but given that it has very wide application, can my noble friend say anything about how we monitor the level of possible misrecognition by these systems?

My Lords, I thank my noble friend for all the answers she has given, as I thank the noble Lord for asking the Question. Only this week it was said in this Chamber that the conflict in Sudan does not have a high enough profile in our own media here...

My Lords, I thank my noble friend for all the answers she has given, as I thank the noble Lord for asking the Question. Only this week it was said in this Chamber that the conflict in Sudan does not have a high enough profile in our own media here...

My Lords, I am grateful to all the organisations that provided briefings on this crucial subject. I congratulate my noble friend Lady Lister on securing this debate and pay tribute to her for the considerable and tireless work she has done in this area over, frankly, years. The impacts of...

My Lords, I am grateful to all the organisations that provided briefings on this crucial subject. I congratulate my noble friend Lady Lister on securing this debate and pay tribute to her for the considerable and tireless work she has done in this area over, frankly, years. The impacts of...

I thank the noble Baroness for the intervention. I am sure that the pupil premium is being used as best as it possibly can be in every school. Often schools are having to top up their pupil premium because, frankly, there is not enough money in it, but I welcome...

I thank the noble Baroness for the intervention. I am sure that the pupil premium is being used as best as it possibly can be in every school. Often schools are having to top up their pupil premium because, frankly, there is not enough money in it, but I welcome...

Lords presentation and first reading. (HL Bill 26).

Lords presentation and first reading. (HL Bill 26).

My Lords, I heard what my noble friend the Minister said, but given reports of some universities seeking to move staff out of the TPS to reduce employer costs against the background of a likely drop in that figure, will the Government take action to stop employers circumventing the scheme and to protect staff’s statutory pension rights?

My Lords, I heard what my noble friend the Minister said, but given reports of some universities seeking to move staff out of the TPS to reduce employer costs against the background of a likely drop in that figure, will the Government take action to stop employers circumventing the scheme and to protect staff’s statutory pension rights?

My Lords, my noble friend the Minister has already recognised that there is a gap not just in attainment between advantaged and less advantaged students and pupils; there is also a gap in whether they can access any music education in school. That will lead to a significant downward spiral, with fewer people presenting who want to become teachers of music. From around the House, I think there is enthusiasm in saying that we need more music in schools. I encourage my noble friend the Minister to make sure that we are promoting music teaching as a very good career.

My Lords, my noble friend the Minister has already recognised that there is a gap not just in attainment between advantaged and less advantaged students and pupils; there is also a gap in whether they can access any music education in school. That will lead to a significant downward spiral, with fewer people presenting who want to become teachers of music. From around the House, I think there is enthusiasm in saying that we need more music in schools. I encourage my noble friend the Minister to make sure that we are promoting music teaching as a very good career.

My Lords, I too congratulate all the Peers who have given their maiden speeches today. I would also like to endorse the speech of my noble friend Lady Bousted in all its particulars. There is a widespread agreement that the current SEND system is, as the NEU describes it, “adversarial,...

My Lords, I too congratulate all the Peers who have given their maiden speeches today. I would also like to endorse the speech of my noble friend Lady Bousted in all its particulars. There is a widespread agreement that the current SEND system is, as the NEU describes it, “adversarial,...

My Lords, speaking as a person who was identified as possibly prediabetic and having a significant heart and cholesterol problem, I can tell the House that, when I looked at the charts of what I might be able to eat from both of those sources, it seemed I was left with kale and cucumber. A holistic approach for this is very important, and I am pleased to say that I am very healthy and do not eat only kale and cucumber.

My Lords, speaking as a person who was identified as possibly prediabetic and having a significant heart and cholesterol problem, I can tell the House that, when I looked at the charts of what I might be able to eat from both of those sources, it seemed I was left with kale and cucumber. A holistic approach for this is very important, and I am pleased to say that I am very healthy and do not eat only kale and cucumber.

Does my noble friend agree with me and the University and College Union that this is the time to make a clean break with the outsourced delivery of prison education and to bring it back in-house to be run by the Department for Education, for the benefit of prisoners and as a public service rather than for profit? Hundreds of jobs look like being cut and we hope this would stop that. Can he make an intervention to ensure that we do not lose more prison educators, whom we clearly need? I thank him for the warmth with which he speaks about prison education, but we need to keep them in and it should be an in-house service.

Does my noble friend agree with me and the University and College Union that this is the time to make a clean break with the outsourced delivery of prison education and to bring it back in-house to be run by the Department for Education, for the benefit of prisoners and as a public service rather than for profit? Hundreds of jobs look like being cut and we hope this would stop that. Can he make an intervention to ensure that we do not lose more prison educators, whom we clearly need? I thank him for the warmth with which he speaks about prison education, but we need to keep them in and it should be an in-house service.

My Lords, fines were levied in August 2024 on Yorkshire Water and Northumbrian Water, and they have not been collected, as I understand it, because the companies have subsequently invested in infrastructure. Is that not like someone driving, injuring a person and then having the fine returned to them so that they can fix up their car and, possibly, sell it on for a profit? That would be unacceptable, as is the non-payment of these fines by water companies. Does my noble friend agree?

My Lords, fines were levied in August 2024 on Yorkshire Water and Northumbrian Water, and they have not been collected, as I understand it, because the companies have subsequently invested in infrastructure. Is that not like someone driving, injuring a person and then having the fine returned to them so that they can fix up their car and, possibly, sell it on for a profit? That would be unacceptable, as is the non-payment of these fines by water companies. Does my noble friend agree?

My Lords, it was a pleasure to listen to the speech from the noble Baroness, Lady Evans, which was about a modest change to the remit of the TRA. However, I support Amendment 190, to which I have added my name, precisely not to extend the TRA’s remit in two...

My Lords, it was a pleasure to listen to the speech from the noble Baroness, Lady Evans, which was about a modest change to the remit of the TRA. However, I support Amendment 190, to which I have added my name, precisely not to extend the TRA’s remit in two...

My Lords, I urge my noble friend the Minister to look at the amendment and think carefully about what the Government could conceivably do. I honestly think that anyone who has met Ceri, Frances or both of them could do nothing other than to say that we really need this,...

My Lords, I urge my noble friend the Minister to look at the amendment and think carefully about what the Government could conceivably do. I honestly think that anyone who has met Ceri, Frances or both of them could do nothing other than to say that we really need this,...

My Lords, I have a number of amendments in this group, and I am grateful to my noble friend Lord Hain for having signed them. It will not come as a great surprise to the noble Lord, Lord Walney, that I have differences with his presentation. My amendments represent a...

My Lords, I have a number of amendments in this group, and I am grateful to my noble friend Lord Hain for having signed them. It will not come as a great surprise to the noble Lord, Lord Walney, that I have differences with his presentation. My amendments represent a...

My Lords, I congratulate the noble Baroness, Lady Coussins, on securing this debate and acknowledge the enormous amount of work that she does through the APPG and any other channels to make sure that the question of modern languages teaching and learning remains as high on the agenda as it...

My Lords, I congratulate the noble Baroness, Lady Coussins, on securing this debate and acknowledge the enormous amount of work that she does through the APPG and any other channels to make sure that the question of modern languages teaching and learning remains as high on the agenda as it...

My Lords, my noble friend the Minister knows that there is at least a problem, if not a crisis, in teacher recruitment and retention. Is she able to say anything positive about what the Government will do to seek more teachers who will be trained and qualified to ensure that they can work with children with special educational needs and disabilities in all settings in order to meet their needs appropriately?

My Lords, my noble friend the Minister knows that there is at least a problem, if not a crisis, in teacher recruitment and retention. Is she able to say anything positive about what the Government will do to seek more teachers who will be trained and qualified to ensure that they can work with children with special educational needs and disabilities in all settings in order to meet their needs appropriately?

My Lords, services such as NHS appointments, banking and even shopping, regrettably, have moved online. The typical cost of broadband is around £400 a year—assuming, of course, that people can afford to buy a phone or computer. A new class of social exclusion is therefore emerging. What assessment have the Government made of this new level of social exclusion and its consequences?

My Lords, services such as NHS appointments, banking and even shopping, regrettably, have moved online. The typical cost of broadband is around £400 a year—assuming, of course, that people can afford to buy a phone or computer. A new class of social exclusion is therefore emerging. What assessment have the Government made of this new level of social exclusion and its consequences?

My Lords, I thank my noble friend for his characteristic frankness in the way that he is responding to these questions, for his commitment to make sure that the Prison Service works better than it has hitherto, and in particular for his positive remarks about prison staff. My question is...

My Lords, I thank my noble friend for his characteristic frankness in the way that he is responding to these questions, for his commitment to make sure that the Prison Service works better than it has hitherto, and in particular for his positive remarks about prison staff. My question is...