Results 1-20 of 237 for (in the 'Commons debates' OR in the 'Westminster Hall debates' OR in the 'Lords debates' OR in the 'Northern Ireland Assembly debates') speaker:Lord Baker of Dorking

Skills for Growth — Statement (11 Nov 2009)

Lord Baker of Dorking: My Lords, I was about to welcome what the Secretary of State said, apart from the last few sentences. I welcome the Statement. I wish only that it could have been made five or six years ago. If it had, today the Government would not have to announce an unemployment rate among young people of 19.8 per cent. In particular, I welcome the Government's support for university technical colleges,...

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

Lord Baker of Dorking: My Lords, as this is probably the last occasion on which I will speak on the Bill, I thank the two Ministers for their handling of it. They have shown great patience, courtesy and thoroughness, and I hold them in no way responsible for the Bill. They did not draft it but had to pick it up, and they have done a very good job of trying to explain what it is about and to improve it. They have...

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

Lord Baker of Dorking: I pay generous tribute to what the Government have done for further education. The past 25 years, under the previous Conservative Government and the present Government, have been a golden age for further education. As a result, wonderful colleges have been built which no local authority would ever have funded by itself. However, that has now stopped absolutely. The capital programmes of...

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

Lord Baker of Dorking: My Lords, this is the worst education Bill that I have seen in my 40 years in the two Houses. It is being revised even at Third Reading. It is charming to receive letters every day from Ministers explaining the Bill, but the explanations of its full ramifications are usually left to the Commons stages. I support entirely what the noble Lord, Lord Ramsbotham, has just said. The one thing that...

Higher Education — Statement (3 Nov 2009)

Lord Baker of Dorking: My Lords, I will try to resist the temptation to engage in such base politics, because I was going to welcome much of what the Secretary of State said. Perhaps he might recognise the fact that the greatest expansion of university education took place when I was Secretary of State, but that is ancient history. I welcome in particular two aspects of what he said. The first is that he will...

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

Lord Baker of Dorking: My Lords, will the Minister say who actually devised the policy of transferring from the Prison Service to two local authorities, the host authority and the home authority, responsibility for the education and training of 16 to 19 year-olds? Many of us are concerned. The noble Lord, Lord Ramsbotham, pointed out that many young offenders will slip between those two authorities. Making the...

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

Lord Baker of Dorking: I do not think that the noble Baroness, Lady Thornton, was in the Chamber when the noble Baroness, Lady Morgan, was speaking, I assure her that she mentioned local authorities and host authorities repeatedly. If she had been here, she would have heard it. She can hear it from me now. That is the dichotomy of this arrangement. I do not think that it can work administratively. After the Youth...

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

Lord Baker of Dorking: My Lords, I strongly support what the noble Lord, Lord Ramsbotham, has said and I think the House should listen to him. Few people have as much experience of the Prison Service as he has. This is the only occasion on Report when we have the opportunity to debate this extraordinary proposal to transfer the education of young offenders from the Prison Service and Home Office, and now the...

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

Lord Baker of Dorking: My Lords, it seems to me highly unlikely that the Government will accept this, because it goes to the core of their policy. Is the Minister indicating that he is going to accept it? If so, I will press him to go a little further. The flaw in the Bill is clear. It is that in the future FE colleges are going to be brought half back under local authorities, and that is a mistake. The Government...

Royal Mail: Industrial Dispute — Statement (20 Oct 2009)

Lord Baker of Dorking: My Lords, seeing as the Secretary of State is not receiving too much help from his Back-Benchers, perhaps I may offer my support for the line that he is taking. My noble friend had responsibility for the Post Office 35 years ago; it fell to me 25 years ago—so we all draw the short straw in our various careers. I, too, was faced with a national strike. The difference between now and then...

Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Bill: Committee (7th Day) (14 Oct 2009)

Lord Baker of Dorking: Before my noble friend speaks, I applaud him for moving the amendment. It touches on the grave weakness of the Bill, namely the administrative system that will be set up after it has been enacted. At the moment FE colleges have one funding agency, the Skills Funding Agency. In the future, they will have four funding agencies—the Skills Funding Agency, their own YPLA, HEFCE and the...

Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Bill — Committee (6th Day) (12 Oct 2009)

Lord Baker of Dorking: May I add to what the noble Baroness has said? The amendments attempt to pin down the responsibility of the local authority to make sure that it will do what the Bill sets out for it to do. Many local authorities might be dilatory in exercising these responsibilities, which are irksome and very expensive. I would like some estimate from the Government of what the cost will be of transferring...

Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Bill — Committee (6th Day) (12 Oct 2009)

Lord Baker of Dorking: Before the amendment is withdrawn, could I ask the Minister to remind the Committee about where the flow of funds is in all this? Clearly, under these two clauses, the local education authority is now responsible for providing adequate education and training for those held in youth custody. That presumably means that it will be responsible for funding this. There are funds available in the...

Higher Education: Universities — Question (14 Jul 2009)

Lord Baker of Dorking: My Lords, first, why is the Secretary of State, the noble Lord, Lord Mandelson, not answering this Question since the news he is conveying to the House is the worst news for universities for over 30 years? If the noble Lord was in the Commons, he would be at the Dispatch Box, but not in this House. Could someone tell the Secretary of State that he has a duty to answer to our House? Does the...

Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Bill — Committee (4th Day) (Continued) (2 Jul 2009)

Lord Baker of Dorking: In view of what the Minister has said—he makes great play about Clause 40 interacting with this clause—perhaps it will be possible to table an amendment to this clause on Report to require the local authority to bear in mind the provision that is provided locally by specialist colleges when they fulfil this duty.

Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Bill — Committee (4th Day) (Continued) (2 Jul 2009)

Lord Baker of Dorking: I certainly welcome the clause. First, I declare an interest. I am the president of a charity that provides boarding accommodation for blind and visually impaired children, nursery provision and schools up to the age of 16. We also have an extensive FE college for those aged from 16 to 19. That is a very expensive service. We have to provide not only in capital expenditure for a variety of...

Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Bill — Committee (4th Day) (Continued) (2 Jul 2009)

Lord Baker of Dorking: Can the noble Baroness give any indication of what the costs are likely to be if her amendment is passed?

Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Bill — Committee (4th Day) (Continued) (2 Jul 2009)

Lord Baker of Dorking: From 16 to 18, of course, there will be lots of apprentices who will be earning money. Would they also benefit from this subsidised meal? How would this work? It would be a substantial extra cost to the Government if they said yes to this move.

Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Bill — Committee (4th Day) (Continued) (2 Jul 2009)

Lord Baker of Dorking: Before my noble friend continues his argument, would he consider asking the Government to adjourn the Committee, because there is no Member from the government party on their Back Benches? For a party which thought that "Education, education, education" was so important, I should have thought that someone might be present to support this Bill; but there is no one. The massed ranks of the...

Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Bill — Committee (4th Day) (Continued) (2 Jul 2009)

Lord Baker of Dorking: The noble Baroness is coming back.