Baroness Blower: Does the Minister agree that on the occasion of this anniversary, it would be extremely fitting for His Majesty’s Government to announce that anti-racism should be an explicit part of the national curriculum, to be taught in all our schools in England?
Baroness Blower: My Lords, water companies have borrowed £56 billion, even though investment has declined in real terms. Water bills include about £80 to cover interest payments. However, much of the debt is actually intra-group and is used to shift profits and dodge corporate tax. That much was acknowledged by Michael Gove in a speech on 1 March 2018. Can the Minister explain why the Government have...
Baroness Blower: My Lords, as the Minister said, it is not just about hitting a target; it is also about public trust. How concerned is he about the media reports around police recruitment of unsuitable so-called rogue candidates being given jobs, precisely to meet government targets? The police inspectorate has said explicitly that hundreds of people have joined the police in the past three years who simply...
Baroness Blower: To ask His Majesty's Government what diplomatic efforts they are making to pursue a ceasefire in Northern Syria given the continuing clashes in that region.
Baroness Blower: To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that relief materials reach the earthquake victims in Northern Syria.
Baroness Blower: To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to assist in the protection of women and girls in the earthquake hit region of Northern Syria.
Baroness Blower: To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Bellamy on 6 March (HL5835), when the tendering process for the delivery of prison education when the current contract for the Prison Education Framework ends will (1) start, and (2) end.
Baroness Blower: To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Bellamy on 6 March (HL5835), whether there will be a formal consultation over the model to deliver prison education when current contract arrangements for the Prison Education Framework end; and if so, when the consultation period will (1) start, and (2) end.
Baroness Blower: To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Bellamy on 6 March (HL5835), what is their timeline for the (1) development, and (2) delivery, of the model to deliver prison education when current contract arrangements for the Prison Education Framework end.
Baroness Blower: To ask His Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the potential merits of bringing the delivery of prison education into the public sector.
Baroness Blower: Does the Minister agree with me, Charlie Taylor and the Education Select Committee that education is fundamental to rehabilitation, so the fact that current providers do not have teaching prisoners to read as their responsibility is staggering? Can the Minister agree to look, at least, at the launch of the prisoner education service as an opportunity to bring all prison education back into...
Baroness Blower: One of the issues in teaching is precisely that all the voluntary activity is entirely without contractual arrangements. I am sure the Minister will agree that, if we bear down on people’s arrangements in the way this legislation proposes, good will—which is how we normally describe it—will evaporate as teachers will not feel valued and will certainly not feel properly rewarded.
Baroness Blower: My Lords, it is a pleasure to follow the noble Lord, Lord Mann, in many respects. I began teaching in 1973 and I can count on the fingers of both hands—probably not even using them all—the number of times that I have been on strike. One of the reasons why I was not on strike in the early phases of my career was because we had sectoral collective bargaining: we could make an impact on what...
Baroness Blower: My Lords, I am sure that no one would want to understate the importance of making sure that we do everything we can for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities, and their families, but I believe that a lot of teachers have lost trust and confidence in the system, partly because of the £6,000 question but also because it is quite opaque in some cases, so a...
Baroness Blower: To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Barran on 20 February (HL5424), why they do not collate statistical data on the proportion of children’s education spent with unregistered providers.
Baroness Blower: To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Barran on 20 February (HL5425), why they do not collate statistical data on the proportion of children with (1) special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), or (2) an Education, Health and Care plan (EHCP), receiving their education from unregistered providers.
Baroness Blower: To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the potential (1) costs, and (2) savings, that could be achieved for the public by bringing the delivery of prison education into the public sector.
Baroness Blower: To ask His Majesty's Government when the annual report The UK's future nuclear deterrent: the 2022 update to Parliament will be published; and what is the reason for the delay in its publication.
Baroness Blower: My Lords, it is a genuine pleasure to follow the noble Lord, Lord Balfe, whom I have known for many years in various capacities. I believe that the Front Bench opposite would do well to listen to both his intricate technical knowledge and his general principles in relation to the Bill. As many noble Lords have already said, this proposed legislation is anti-democratic, draconian, counter-...
