Mark Drakeford: I thank Joel James for those questions. The more detailed review of the learner travel Measure is happening at the moment, in the sense that the detailed planning for the review is being carried out over the next few weeks, and we've agreed with our local authority colleagues that the work with them on that review will follow in the autumn term. A strand in that review will be a more detailed...
Sarah Olney: It is vital that we provide additional support to those in receipt of disability and means-tested benefits who are covered under this Bill, but in itself it is not an adequate response to the depth and breadth of the cost of living crisis we are currently experiencing. The Chancellor is already hammering families with an £800 tax hike this year, more than wiping out measures in this Bill for...
Jeremy Miles: Diolch, Llywydd. All the amendments in this group are concerned with consequential changes to existing legislation that are needed due to establishment of the commission and the introduction of the register of tertiary education providers. Amendment 70 makes consequential amendments to section 8(4) of the Employment and Training Act 1973 to adjust the scope of education providers falling...
Jeremy Miles: Thank you, Llywydd. I support amendment 78, tabled by Sioned Williams. I believe that the amendment will address, as she mentioned, concerns raised by stakeholders and the recommendations of the Children, Young People, and Education Committee regarding transparency in relation to the exercising of the commission's funding powers. I'm pleased that I've been able to work with Sioned in drafting...
Jeremy Miles: I note the concerns that the Member has expressed, but I hope it's reassuring to her for me to say they are not actually well founded in the drafting of the Bill, and so I call on Members to reject amendments 114 and 116, simply because they're unnecessary. There is no need to introduce a new, separate legal definition of degree apprenticeships, as they are captured by the existing...
Cllr Chapman-Allen: I do not necessarily think this is a position around culture and morale. Being a planning officer is one of those specialist trades in a district council, no different from an environmental health officer or a health and safety officer. It takes years to get to the standard required to undertake that duty and that requirement. The challenge we face is that framework and...
Robin Walker: ..., the department recently published new guidance setting out expectations for schools, trusts and local authorities to work together to improve pupil attendance. My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, has established an alliance of national leaders from education, children’s social care, and other relevant services to work together to raise school attendance and...
Will Quince: The government has sent a clear message that bullying should never be tolerated, and we are committed to supporting schools to tackle it. The department provides advice for schools, which outlines schools’ responsibilities. Published guidance is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/preventing-and-ta ckling-bullying. The department is providing over £2 million of...
Baroness Penn: My Lords, I welcome the opportunity to discuss further issues related to SEND on this Bill. As the noble Baroness, Lady Chapman, said, some of the individual examples and stories were quite harrowing. It is an issue that the Government take very seriously and, through the process of the SEND Green Paper, are committed to improving. I assure the noble Lord, Lord Hunt, my noble friend Lord...
Lord Kamall: I thank the noble Baroness, Lady Tyler, for securing this important debate on the report published by the Royal College of Nursing on 6 June, regarding nurses’ experiences and thoughts about staffing levels. I also thank the noble Lords who contributed to the debate. I know that all noble Lords agree that nurses perform essential duties within our healthcare system and are an integral part...
Michelle Donelan: I beg to move, That the Bill be now read the Third time. I would like to take the opportunity to acknowledge all who have contributed to the Bill’s passage. The nature of the problem and the intensity of those opposed to academic freedom has made even acknowledging the issue an incredibly brave act in many cases. I thank the many right hon. and hon. Members who have raised the issue and...
Miriam Cates: My right hon. Friend is right: this Bill is an important marker for universities, which will be forced to recognise that these are not specific isolated issues, but that there is a culture change that needs to be addressed across our whole country. We are also seeing it in other countries in the world, particularly America. I support the amendments to remove the restriction on field of...
The House divided: Ayes 152, Noes 284. Question accordingly negatived. Amendments made: 2, page 2, line 28, leave out “and within their field of expertise”. See explanatory statement for Amendment 1. Amendment 3, page 2, line 29, at end insert— ‘(9A) In order to achieve the objective in subsection (2), the governing body of a registered higher education provider must secure...
Amendments made: 7, page 4, line 36, at end insert— ‘(4A) In order to achieve the objective in subsection (2), a students’ union for students at a registered higher education provider that is eligible for financial support must secure that, apart from in exceptional circumstances, use by any individual or body of premises occupied by the students’ union is not on terms that...
Lord Howarth of Newport: ...analysis, and it is a pleasure to follow the noble Lord, Lord Griffiths, whom I hold in enormous respect. CPI inflation at 9% is, in reality, 11% for households on low incomes who have to spend a higher proportion of their resources on energy and food. Inflation for them may hit 14% by the autumn. Families on exiguous wages and capped social benefits are in deep difficulty. The noble Lord,...
Robin Walker: ...for Central Suffolk and North Ipswich (Dr Poulter) raised an important case in his constituency, as did my hon. Friend the Member for York Outer. I will try to address those cases towards the end of my remarks, so I fully understand if my hon. Friend the Member for Central Suffolk and North Ipswich has to leave the Chamber before then. It is rare to have an opportunity to speak at such...
Matt Rodda: ...the whole family enjoys a wonderful day out in central London. It is also an absolute pleasure to speak today in this important debate and I hope that we will have further opportunities to debate education, which is such a central issue for our country. I would like to speak in support of the motion, but before I start I would like to take this opportunity to thank all the education...
Baroness Merron: ...Bill—perhaps not the most snappily named one this House will ever deal with but nevertheless extremely relevant to our daily lives—and to noble Lords who have participated in this debate, all of whom, like me, are keen to ensure that it does the job it is here to do. One thing I am sure we can agree on across all sides of the House, as the noble Lord, Lord Arbuthnot, observed, is that...
Michelle Donelan: This government believes that freedom of speech and academic freedom are fundamental pillars of our higher education (HE) system and that protecting these principles should be a priority for universities. That is why the Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Bill was introduced on 12 May 2021. The Bill will strengthen existing freedom of speech duties and directly address gaps within the...
Baroness Fox of Buckley: My Lords, we have heard a lot today about the Bill being a missed opportunity, and certainly, as legislation often signals government priorities, it does seem a random mix of parts. But something this Bill definitely does not prioritise is freedom or choice in education. Instead, it promises hyper-centralisation, more regulation, more bureaucracy and more state control. For now, I want to...
