Lord Storey: My Lords, the Minister will know through her visits to schools that school budgets are stretched to breaking point. Head teachers are telling me, and no doubt telling the Minister, that day in and day out they are struggling to make ends meet. The average primary school will receive £12,000 less than the average secondary school and £57,000 less than was expected. Schools will have planned...
Lord Storey: We welcome this cultural education plan, and we have every confidence in the noble Baroness, Lady Bull. Of course, cultural education is not just about learning—it has to be about seeing, doing and having the opportunity to visit art galleries and museums, listening to concerts, going to theatres and seeing heritage. But, of course, children and young people from poor families really...
Lord Storey: To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Scott of Bybrook on 14 April (HL7026), what is the total financial cost to date of the Commissioners sent to Liverpool.
Lord Storey: To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that bereaved families are able to retrieve a note or letter written by an individual who has died by suicide.
Lord Storey: To ask His Majesty's Government how many (1) children, and (2) adults, have undertaken the Bikeability cycle training course for each of the past three years.
Lord Storey: To ask His Majesty's Government what was the total number of pupils (1) excluded, and (2) permanently excluded, from (a) primary, and (b) secondary, schools in each of the past three years.
Lord Storey: To ask His Majesty's Government what is the legal age for riding (1) an electric scooter, or (2) an electric bike, on the road; and what road and safety awareness training is required in order to do so.
Lord Storey: To ask His Majesty's Government what was the total amount of apprenticeship levy unspent and returned to the Treasury in each of the past five years.
Lord Storey: The Minister may recall that one of the first acts of Michael Gove as Secretary of State for Education was to cancel Building Schools for the Future. I well remember the impact it had on the city where I live. Also, the Chancellor of the Exchequer—
Lord Storey: The noble Baroness is right, to our regret. I have not been heckled before—it is quite impressive. Under the then Chancellor, there was a plan to build 200 new schools, but the funding for only 50 was provided. Parents are worried; how do we bring transparency to this issue and how do we reassure them?
Lord Storey: My Lords, I begin by thanking my noble friend Lady Garden for initiating this important debate, and for her valuable, witty and life-affirming contribution. I suppose we ought to start by understanding what we mean by life skills. The list of life skills varies depending on who you talk to and the circumstances and needs of society. There are various lists, but, for me, UNESCO and the World...
Lord Storey: My Lords, the number of teacher vacancies has doubled in two years. The number of students wanting to go into teaching has declined by 79%. We then have the issue of specialist subjects; for example, there are 400 schools where there is no qualified physics teacher. Increasingly, we see our children being taught by supply teachers, which is not the best way to teach young people. How have we...
Lord Storey: To ask His Majesty's Government what percentage of graduates have not reached the salary level to start repaying their student loan.
Lord Storey: To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the speech by the Foreign Secretary on 29 June, what assessment they have made of the UK’s future relations with growing regional powers in (1) the Indo-Pacific region, and (2) Latin America.
Lord Storey: To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the speech by the Foreign Secretary on 29 June, what assessment they have made of the impact of the proposed addition of a permanent member of the UN Security Council from an African nation.
Lord Storey: To ask Her Majesty's Government what percentage of children with special needs completed the education healthcare plan within 20 weeks in each of the last three years.
Lord Storey: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the strikes relating to marking of university exams and essays on students awaiting end of year grades.
Lord Storey: My Lords, I declare an interest as a former head teacher of a Church of England school. As the Minister knows, a third of all our schools in England are faith schools. She will also know that in 2010 we introduced the 50% rule whereby 50% of new academies had to have open places. Has her department reviewed the success of that scheme in terms of community cohesion, understanding of different...
Lord Storey: My Lords, 40,000 teachers left the teaching profession last year—the highest since we started recording the number. There are 2,300 empty posts and 3,300 posts are filled by supply teachers. We have heard that 23% of specialist maths teachers and 42% of physics teachers are required. How do parents feel about this situation when their children are, in some cases, being taught not by a...
Lord Storey: To ask His Majesty's Government how many retailers have been prosecuted for selling disposable vapes to children.
