Results 1-20 of 938 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 Morgan of Drefelin

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

Baroness Morgan of Drefelin: My Lords, I apologise as noble Lords may be getting fed up of me popping up and down but this is my amendment. We have now reached the last group of amendments, which we debated late on Report. I am grateful to noble Lords opposite for our constructive discussions on this part of the Bill. We remain firmly of the view that, in the overwhelming majority of cases where there is a significant...

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

Baroness Morgan of Drefelin: I know that I have cleared a letter that has gone in the direction of the committee. It is another letter that we have circulated. I agree with the noble Viscount that it is very important that the committees are properly informed and that we meet the deadlines on all these matters. Amendment 31 agreed. Clause 217 : Arrangements etc. to be made by Commission Amendment 32 Moved by Baroness...

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

Baroness Morgan of Drefelin: I was about to attempt to move this formally, but that would have been most inappropriate. We now move to part of the Bill looking at the system of complaints in schools. I assure noble Lords that we intend to make the system that we are developing work efficiently and effectively for parents, children and young people, and it will be properly developed and rolled out through a phased...

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

Baroness Morgan of Drefelin: I start by thanking the noble Baroness, Lady Verma, for her remarks. It has been helpful to have a very constructive discussion about the complaints process. We have made good progress through the passage of the Bill. The noble Baroness, Lady Walmsley, asked whether information would be made available in a format accessible to children and young people. Yes, it will be. Both the noble...

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

Baroness Morgan of Drefelin: My Lords, I hear what the noble Baroness, Lady Verma, has to say. We have worked hard to ensure that the concerns of the whole House have been addressed. The Bill will lead to a strong, independent regulator able to do the job that we are all looking for; that is, to ensure that standards in examinations and qualifications more generally are properly regulated and the public can have...

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

Baroness Morgan of Drefelin: My Lords, the amendment will make the first exercise of the regulation-making power on statutory safeguarding targets subject to the affirmative procedure. It follows my commitment to consider the amendment of, and points made by, the noble Baronesses, Lady Walmsley and Lady Verma, on Report, when I gained a strong sense from the House that it wanted a debate on the new safeguarding targets....

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

Baroness Morgan of Drefelin: My Lords, I thank noble Lords for their remarks in this important debate as we come to the closing parts of the progress of the Bill through this House. Over many months, we have developed a helpful, positive and constructive understanding about what needs to be done to the Bill and more widely than the confines of the statute. We have also developed an understanding about the work that we...

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

Baroness Morgan of Drefelin: I thank the noble Lord for that insight. I am sure that, with his experience of these matters, he is absolutely right. I thank the noble Lord, Lord Baker, for his very kind remarks. I was very interested in his third Second Reading speech, which we were able to enjoy today. I listened very seriously to his remarks. I remember education in the youth justice system featuring very highly on the...

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

Baroness Morgan of Drefelin: My Lords, in moving government Amendment 21, I shall speak also to the 12 other amendments in my name in this group. The debates in Committee and on Report have shown a welcome level of support for our plans to set up Ofqual as an independent qualifications regulator. The thoughtful and knowledgeable contributions made by so many of your Lordships have been most welcome. We laid a number of...

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

Baroness Morgan of Drefelin: My Lords, we turn to the part of the Bill concerned with the education of young offenders. Amendment 17 and the others in the group concern young people in custody and will place a duty on the host authority to ensure that information about the young person's education be shared with their home authority around the time of their release. This ensures that information about their education in...

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

Baroness Morgan of Drefelin: I said that we would be aligning the production of data for any reporting with existing data streams, so we do not envisage any significant additional costs in any way.

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

Baroness Morgan of Drefelin: We are debating the question of what works. I am saying that this will work and the NASUWT says that it will work. The NUT says that it will not work. Should we look at how this works over a period of time and then take a view? Should we be considering some kind of a review? Would that be a way forward?

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

Baroness Morgan of Drefelin: My Lords, I shall not reiterate what I said in Committee. I understand the concern of the noble Baroness that a teacher should never be put in the position of having to make a report when they know that it would put a child at risk. The Government would never want to precipitate that situation. To guard against that eventuality, I commit to returning at Third Reading with a compromise that...

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

Baroness Morgan of Drefelin: My Lords, I am delighted to respond to this short debate. Amendment 221 removes the duty for schools to be part of behaviour and attendance partnerships. Amendments 218 to 220 remove the requirement for behaviour partnerships to report annually to their children's trust board. I am grateful for the support of the noble Lord, Lord Low. I am sorry that he has caught the late shift again, but I...

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

Baroness Morgan of Drefelin: My Lords, I would not want to pre-empt what future Ministers might want to do, but it would be very foolish to establish a testing period with proper evaluation and put parents and schools through all the anguish of dealing with a system that did not work properly. We would be committed to making sure that the way forward makes a positive contribution to schools.

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

Baroness Morgan of Drefelin: My Lords, I think I can give the noble Baronesses the reassurance that they are looking for. On Amendments 213 and 214, I can reassure noble Lords that the new powers do not remove existing common law powers to search for any item with consent. This is stated explicitly in the clauses so there can be no doubt on this issue. Under common law powers, schools and colleges are already able to...

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

Baroness Morgan of Drefelin: My Lords, can I remind the House that it is vital that there continue to be strong, effective relationships between schools and parents. The introduction of this new scheme is not about undermining that in any way. It is not about undermining the professionalism and the strength of leadership in schools. We made strong commitments in the children's plan to support parents to become partners...

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

Baroness Morgan of Drefelin: The board of governors would be responsible for developing a school's behaviour policy.

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

Baroness Morgan of Drefelin: Normally, we would expect the school's own procedures to be followed first and foremost. A school would have its own complaints procedure, and before going on to the new system it would first be expected to have pursued its own procedures. Does that answer the noble Baroness's question?

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

Baroness Morgan of Drefelin: They would, my Lords, but when we refer to a school in the Bill, the school is actually its board of governors. That is the entity. I am very happy to look at Hansardand to make sure that I write to the noble Baroness to make this clear. I am slightly regretful of the time; I might, perhaps, be less good at communicating at this hour than earlier on, but I am happy to do that if it would help...