Results 1-20 of 1,633 for (in the 'Commons debates' OR in the 'Westminster Hall debates' OR in the 'Lords debates' OR in the 'Northern Ireland Assembly debates') speaker:Baroness Sharp of Guildford

Skills for Growth — Statement (11 Nov 2009)

Baroness Sharp of Guildford: My Lords, from these Benches I also welcome the Statement and I thank the Minister for giving it to us. We share with the Minister the view that the role and importance of vocational skills have been consistently underplayed in this country and that more needs to be done to persuade young people—and older people—of the value of such training, particularly the value of progression...

Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Bill: Third Reading (10 Nov 2009)

Baroness Sharp of Guildford: My Lords, I thank all noble Lords who have paid tribute to my work in the House over the past 10 years as a Front-Bench spokesman on education. Ten years is long enough and it is about time that I took a Back-Bench seat. I shall remain interested in these issues and speak from the Back Benches on them. The model that I have in my head is that of the noble Baroness, Lady Perry, who was a...

Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Bill: Third Reading (10 Nov 2009)

Baroness Sharp of Guildford: We on these Benches supported the amendment and so are delighted to see it in the Bill. I know that it will be a great relief to the further education colleges and to the Association of Colleges, which I believe promoted the amendment, as it had been worried that there could be a danger that difficult-to-handle young people would be wished on colleges without any consultation. It is obviously...

Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Bill: Third Reading (10 Nov 2009)

Baroness Sharp of Guildford: My Lords, we on these Benches also welcome the amendments, particularly Amendment 20. I am pleased to say that throughout the different stages of the Bill we have supported the noble Lord, Lord Layard, in his amendments. I did not think he would get as far as he has got and I am delighted to see Amendment 20. I declare an interest as a member of the Skills Commission, which put forward the...

Disabled People: Student Loans — Question (5 Nov 2009)

Baroness Sharp of Guildford: My Lords, the Minister is right to say that the scheme has been a success until this year, but is he aware that since the Student Loans Company took it over, which was this year, only 2,500 out of 14,000 applications have so far been processed? As the noble Lord, Lord Low, mentioned, it is a scandal. They had to be sent through by post rather than online; they were sent to Doncaster, but...

Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Bill: Report (2nd Day) (4 Nov 2009)

Baroness Sharp of Guildford: I give wholehearted support to the amendment of the noble Baroness, Lady Perry. She is quite right that the question of who controls the capital budget has been left floating. The amendment has the great advantage that it sets up the joint committee, brings the two agencies together and provides a structure through which capital funding can be allocated. The mess that the Learning and Skills...

Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Bill: Report (2nd Day) (4 Nov 2009)

Baroness Sharp of Guildford: My Lords, I am grateful to noble Lords who have spoken in support of Amendment 131. Many of my doubts remain after the very powerful speech of the noble Lord, Lord Ramsbotham. He indicated that we have been taken for granted, and it is not right that we should have been. I am also left with many doubts about whether the old fashioned, top-down labour market planning with our single integrated...

Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Bill: Report (2nd Day) (4 Nov 2009)

Baroness Sharp of Guildford: I shall speak to my three amendments in this group, Amendments 131, 132 and 133. As the noble Lord indicated, they relate to the role of regional development agencies in the development of skills strategy and were stimulated by the letter of 31 July from the noble Lord, Lord Mandelson, to Jim Braithwaite of SEEDA, which I quoted extensively in Committee. The noble Lord, Lord Young, has to...

Higher Education — Statement (3 Nov 2009)

Baroness Sharp of Guildford: My Lords, I thank the First Secretary of State for his Statement and say how very welcome it is. We share with him the celebration of what has been achieved by our universities during the past two decades in widening access and exploiting their research opportunities, so that we are challenging the United States in spin-offs per capita and the quality of education provided. Equally, a number...

Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Bill: Report (1st Day) (Continued) (2 Nov 2009)

Baroness Sharp of Guildford: My Lords, I am grateful to the Minister for his very positive response and thank him for it. The three issues that concerned me included two issues of equity, one of which was the disparity over school meals. I am glad that he has given an assurance that, within the framework of the review that is taking place, there will be specific consideration of the meals issue. I hope the Government...

Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Bill: Report (1st Day) (Continued) (2 Nov 2009)

Baroness Sharp of Guildford: My Lords, we have a great deal of sympathy with the two amendments from the noble Lord, Lord Layard. Regarding Amendment 110, it is really illogical that the Government are not encouraging the expected progression. The noble Lord, Lord Layard, has pointed out that he does not want the provision to come into effect immediately. He proposes that by 2015, the raising of the participation age...

Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Bill: Report (1st Day) (Continued) (2 Nov 2009)

Baroness Sharp of Guildford: I shall speak also to Amendments 74, 75 and 80, and shall comment on government amendments that also fall within this grouping. Our amendments fall into two groups. Amendments 67 and 74 both raise issues of equity. Amendment 67 asks that young people who have been receiving free school meals should get free lunches at college. We feel that it is not right that their counterparts who stay on...

Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Bill: Report (1st Day) (Continued) (2 Nov 2009)

Baroness Sharp of Guildford: Before the Minister sits down, I seek clarification on her response to Amendment 52. She says that she will come back at Third Reading, but that she opposes the idea of having a formal assessment when the young person leaves detention—let us say at the six-month stage. As my noble friend Lady Garden said, we share the Minister's hesitation about too much assessment. Nevertheless, during...

Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Bill: Report (1st Day) (Continued) (2 Nov 2009)

Baroness Sharp of Guildford: My Lords, we have a great deal of sympathy with this amendment. It seems reasonable that, should a local authority wish to place a student in a college, it should at least consult the college before placing them there. It is well known that, where there are difficult pupils, there is an informal agreement among the heads of secondary schools to the effect that, "If you have one of mine; I'll...

Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Bill: Report (1st Day) (Continued) (2 Nov 2009)

Baroness Sharp of Guildford: My Lords, we, too, are pleased with these technical amendments which iron out one or two discrepancies in the Bill, and we are particularly pleased that they have removed the subsections relating to disproportionate expenditure. We shared all the feelings expressed by the noble Lord, Lord Rix. The wording was misleading and could lead some local authorities not to spend what they ought to be...

Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Bill: Report (1st Day) (Continued) (2 Nov 2009)

Baroness Sharp of Guildford: My Lords, I am extremely grateful to the Minister for this very positive reaction to the amendments that we tabled in Committee and for the clarification that he has given on the functions of the chief executive of the Skills Funding Agency and of the YPLA in relation to the role of local authorities. We tabled Amendments 32, 37, 38, 90, 91 and 94 because we did not find the response we had...

Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Bill: Report (1st Day) (2 Nov 2009)

Baroness Sharp of Guildford: My Lords, I, too, thank the Government very much for the lengthy discussions that we have had on these issues. I also congratulate them on the outcome, which is extremely satisfactory. We now have incorporated into the Bill a very clear definition of the concept of apprenticeship which applies equally in England and in Wales. We spent a lot of time on that interesting issue, thanks to the...

Government Scientists — Private Notice Question (2 Nov 2009)

Baroness Sharp of Guildford: My Lords, is the Minister aware that the results of the decision may well be that the Government attract only those scientists who, to quote Sir Humphrey, are "one of us"? What implications does that have for the recruitment of scientists to government advisory bodies?

Climate Change: Copenhagen Conference — Question (22 Oct 2009)

Baroness Sharp of Guildford: My Lords, as the Minister knows, there are increasing doubts about whether there is enough time or commitment to get a strong deal out of Copenhagen. Does the Minister agree that a postponed but strong deal would be preferable to a weak consensus that does not meet the challenges of global warming?

Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Bill: Committee (9th Day)(Continued) (19 Oct 2009)

Baroness Sharp of Guildford: I tabled this amendment at the behest of the 157 Group of the larger colleges to emphasise its welcome for the provisions in Clause 248. Last year's education Act gave schools the responsibility and duty to promote the well being of their pupils. This clause goes somewhat further. The further education colleges are asked to promote, "the economic and social well-being of the local area", and...