Lord Bassam of Brighton: My Lords, before this year, music and performing arts students participated in study or cultural exchanges under Erasmus. This allowed them to develop the skills and build the networks that bring success in the creative industries sector. Published details of the Government’s Turing replacement scheme suggest no tuition fee support and significantly lower cost of living grants. Does the...
Lord Bassam of Brighton: My Lords, it is timely that we debate the TUC’s excellent report today, on International Women’s Day and as children return to school. As the noble Baroness, Lady Wyld, said, mums are exhausted after weeks of balancing home-schooling and work. It is clear that women have been disproportionately hit by the pandemic, taking on more childcare and seeing their mental health suffer. As the...
Lord Bassam of Brighton: In December, the Minister spoke of the voluntary nature of the BBFC scheme, which she reminded us of earlier for video-on-demand services. One of the strengths of the BBFC’s ratings is that they are well understood by parents and children alike. The same cannot be said for the inconsistent approaches adopted by platforms offering user-generated content. How do the Government plan to balance...
Lord Bassam of Brighton: My Lords, the Ellesmere Port plant is a major employer, and letting it wind down would have devastating consequences, with 1,000 highly skilled jobs lost in the local community. The Government must do all they can to secure the future of the plant, and it is worth reminding ourselves that the automotive sector has had no sectoral support during the pandemic. To achieve net zero and sustain...
Lord Bassam of Brighton: My Lords, events in Australia highlight the right and importance of Governments acting to ensure that online platforms recognise the value of reliable news content. Would the Minister outline for the House the principles that will inform the Government’s approach to regulatory legislation as set out in the upcoming online safety Bill, and spell out what measures are being considered to...
Lord Bassam of Brighton: To ask Her Majesty's Government to set out the relevant background of each of the current office-holders of the key decision-making roles within their COVID-19 testing programme.
Lord Bassam of Brighton: My Lords, I am beginning to wish I had brought some freelancers along to sing “Happy Birthday”, rather than ask a question. However, given that the spring Budget is fast approaching, will DCMS Ministers now lobby the Chancellor to admit the mistakes of the past and accept and correct the injustice of excluding so many of our hard-working freelancers in the cultural industries from the...
Lord Bassam of Brighton: My Lords, last week a survey from the Office for National Statistics found that 63% of students have reported worsening mental health and well-being since the start of the 2020-21 academic year, compared with 57% last November. The Covid-19 pandemic has intensified the student mental health crisis, with many isolated at home, without support, unfairly paying for accommodation that they are...
Lord Bassam of Brighton: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Bethell (HL5829) on 21 October, what is the cost of sending 150,000 tests under the Real-time Assessment of Community Transmission (REACT-1) to German laboratories; what impact did the additional time taken to process these tests in Germany have on NHS test and trace services; which company or companies process the tests...
Lord Bassam of Brighton: My Lords, I think the Minister might acknowledge it has been rather more than challenging, because UKHospitality found that sales in the sector fell by 54% in 2020 and now 650,000 businesses fear collapse over the next three months. Will the Government bring forward a comprehensive national plan for the hospitality sector as a matter of urgency, so that the recovery is not choked off? Are the...
Lord Bassam of Brighton: My Lords, I welcome this White Paper—it is not often that I say that—and I am glad that the Government have finally recognised the importance of further and technical education, especially after a decade of cuts to the FE budget. This is particularly welcome within the current context of Covid-19, with the ONS announcing today that unemployment has risen to 5%. Many people will need to...
Lord Bassam of Brighton: My Lords, competitive sport below the elite level faces continued disruption due to the current lockdown, so given the evidence that other noble Lords have referred to—that earlier lockdowns led to a falling off of participation in sports—what plans have the Government got to develop a national sports recovery plan? Will the Minister commit to ensuring early consultation with all the...
Lord Bassam of Brighton: [Inaudible]—has always said that to crash out of the transition with no deal would have been unthinkable, creating uncertainty, endless negotiation and damage to businesses in exposed sectors, particularly manufacturing and farming. To flirt with that option was highly irresponsible, so, faced with this deal or no deal, we voted in the national interest for the least-worst option for...
Lord Bassam of Brighton: My Lords, now that the Brexit transition period has ended, the creation of the Trade Remedies Authority is obviously both necessary and very welcome. It should allow the UK to protect domestic industries, investigate allegations of unfair practices by overseas competitors and seek their resolution via the WTO’s dispute settlement mechanism. We must have a Trade Remedies Authority that has a...
Lord Bassam of Brighton: My Lords, Monsieur Barnier said that pulling out of Erasmus was a choice the Government made. Why was that? If the Turing scheme to replace Erasmus is to succeed, it must reach a high bar. How will it genuinely encourage higher participation rates from disadvantaged students? How will it cover incoming students? Will participants have to pay extra fees at international student rates? And will...
Lord Bassam of Brighton: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact on supplies of COVID-19 vaccines to the UK in the event of the UK's departure from the EU without a deal.
Lord Bassam of Brighton: To ask Her Majesty's Government what proportion of (1) syringes, (2) vials, and (3) other medical equipment required for a national COVID-19 vaccination programme they have (a) purchased, and (b) ordered.
Lord Bassam of Brighton: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many staff from (1) Deloitte, (2) the Boston Consulting Group, and (3) McKinsey, are currently employed within their COVID-19 testing system; and what experience in laboratory-based testing is required in order to be eligible for those roles.
Lord Bassam of Brighton: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the impact on supplies of COVID-19 vaccines to the United Kingdom in the event of the United Kingdom’s departure from the European Union without a deal.
Lord Bassam of Brighton: My Lords, it is extremely concerning that the Government should contemplate no deal in two weeks’ time, in the middle of a pandemic, with the serious impact this could have on medical supplies and supplies of Covid-19 vaccines. How many Pfizer/BioNTech vaccines will be in the UK by 31 December? How many government ferries and RAF planes are on standby to bring Covid-19 vaccines into the UK...