Lord Gascoigne: I thank the noble Lord for his kind comments. I am acutely aware of his interest in this area. We should probably thank the Children’s Commissioner for looking into this; I understand that she has written to the Home Secretary, who will respond in due course. The cases the noble Lord raises are obviously distressing, but it is worth saying that the well-being of children continues to be our...
Lord Gascoigne: I thank the noble Lord for his question, and I completely respect his views on this. I am acutely aware that he takes this very seriously and that the whole House listens to him. I can take his points away, but I know that that subject has been well covered in debates in this Chamber and elsewhere.
Lord Gascoigne: I thank the right reverend Prelate for his question. He will have to forgive me, but I missed the beginning of it. I will take it away and make sure he gets a proper response from the department. He is absolutely right to say that local authority care is the right place for the children in question—we have been very clear about that. I know that the Government have provided funding support...
Lord Gascoigne: I thank the noble and learned Baroness for the question. As I have already said, there are lessons to be learned from this. I am sure there are circumstances that noble Lords may be able to give as examples, but the department and the whole of government take very seriously the care, welfare and well-being of these children.
Lord Gascoigne: I thank the noble Baroness for her question. I hope I do not damage her street cred by saying that I am an admirer of hers and that she has always been very courteous to me outside the Chamber—I hope that that continues in the Chamber. Forgive me, my Lords, but it is worth making the point that this has all been in response to a rise in the number of illegal boat crossings since 2021, to...
Lord Gascoigne: I thank the noble Baroness for her question. I think it is similar to one I received earlier and I am more than happy to take it away. We will continue to work with Kent County Council to tackle the issue. I do not have the answer in front of me, but I am more than happy to take that away to the department after Questions.
Lord Gascoigne: I thank my noble friend. I agree with most of the things he says, and I think on this he is absolutely right. It is important, as I have said before, to recognise that the hotel situation and the pressures that have been put on local authorities are because of this significant rise in the number of crossings. Let us not forget that. We talk about children, and obviously these are sad...
Lord Gascoigne: The Government published guidance in April which sets out how employers can measure, report on, and address any unfair ethnicity pay gaps within their workforce. This was an action from our ambitious Inclusive Britain strategy, published in March 2022. We have no plans to introduce mandatory ethnicity pay reporting. Instead, we want to encourage and support employers who want to use ethnicity...
Lord Gascoigne: This Government is committed to increasing representation of disabled people in elected office. Earlier this year, the Minister for Disabled People, Health and Work wrote to political parties represented in the House of Commons to seek support in ensuring that disabled candidates and people in elected office have the support they require. The Government has been clear that political parties...
Lord Gascoigne: My Lords, it is the honour of a lifetime to rise to speak for the first time in your Lordships’ House. Never in my wildest dreams did I expect to be granted such a privilege. Before entering, I was repeatedly assured that everyone in the House would be warm and welcoming, and I assumed such words were akin to those given by your dentist just prior to them unveiling drilling equipment last...
