Baroness Benjamin: My Lords, it is an honour and a privilege to address this House for the first time, in a debate that is very close to my heart-I thank the noble Lord, Lord Taylor, for initiating it. I also thank all noble Lords. It is an honour to sit with you in this House. My family motto is, "Who would have thought?", because you never know where life's twists and turns will take you. Mine have taken me...
Baroness Benjamin: My Lords, I thank the noble Baroness, Lady Massey, for securing this timely and important debate. I feel that the noble Baroness and I are kindred spirits, as we both work to promote the well-being of children. I agree with everything that she said in her introduction, as I do with everything that has been said so far in the debate. I suppose that I should declare an interest in this debate,...
Baroness Benjamin: My Lords, I was going to speak in French today but was told that that may be a faux pas. So I said to myself, "C'est la vie". However, I am very glad to be speaking in this debate and thank the noble Baroness, Lady Coussins, for initiating it because the subject affects children's long-term ability to communicate effectively when they go out into the big wide world. I am interested in their...
Baroness Benjamin: My Lords, I was recently contacted by a distressed grandmother because her grandchild was being taken into care by the local authority and it had not included her in its decision-making process. Can the Minister assure the House that, whenever there is a question of a child being taken into care, there is always a family group conference including wider family members who are willing to...
Baroness Benjamin: My Lords, many of our Olympians and top sports stars were discovered and cultivated by sport specialists at schools and went on to make our country very proud-the noble Baroness is an example. Can my noble friend the Minister assure us that measures will be put in place to compel head teachers to spend money on sports and sport specialists, and not to divert funds into other areas at the...
Baroness Benjamin: My Lords, I am honoured to be taking part in this important debate, as it concentrates on two issues close to my heart: children and sport. Both, if nurtured, will bring joy and happiness to the world. Many people in our society realise that world-class athletes would never have discovered their talents if they had not been introduced to sport at an early age, especially by sports...
Baroness Benjamin: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the changes in Air Passenger Duty on passengers wishing to travel to the Caribbean over Christmas.
Baroness Benjamin: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assistance they are providing to the Government of St Lucia following Hurricane Tomas.
Baroness Benjamin: I thank my noble friend for that comprehensive answer. The devastation caused by Hurricane Tomas last October, which had practically no media coverage in this country, is still having an effect on the people-and on their financial well-being-of St Lucia and the neighbouring islands, St Vincent and the Grenadines. Lives have been lost and it is estimated that £500 million-worth of damage has...
Baroness Benjamin: My Lords, in my maiden speech last October, I mentioned that my mission in life is to put the well-being of children at the heart of society's consciousness, so I should like to thank the noble Lord for securing this debate, as it focuses on children's well-being. I also take this opportunity to congratulate all the new Members on their excellent maiden speeches, which highlighted their...
Baroness Benjamin: My Lords, I congratulate the noble Earl, Lord Clancarty, on securing this timely debate. There is a cold wind blowing through the art world as cuts loom on the horizon and, as usual, the ones who will suffer most are children and young people-our nation's future. Article 31 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child states: "Every child has the right to rest and leisure, to engage in...
Baroness Benjamin: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will ensure that a proportion of the funding provided by the UK Film Council to the British Film Institute will be ring-fenced for the production of films whose target audience is children.
Baroness Benjamin: I thank my noble friend for that encouraging Answer. Does she agree that the decline not just in children's television drama but also in children's UK film production denies our talented writers, our actors and production teams a creative outlet? Would my noble friend encourage the BFI to adopt the Danish film institute's model, so that there is a solution to this crisis? The Danes commit 25...
Baroness Benjamin: My Lords, I declare an interest as chancellor of the University of Exeter. If international students who are already studying here wish to take a new course, will they be expected to go back home and apply from overseas? The timeframe between finishing, getting their results and enrolling is very short, which will mean that many students will go elsewhere to study and we will lose good will...
Baroness Benjamin: To ask Her Majesty's Government what consultation and assessment has been undertaken to minimise the effects of changes to the NHS budget on funding for the provision of sickle cell and thalassaemia sufferers.
Baroness Benjamin: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Answer by Baroness Rawlings on 14 February (Official Report, col. 505), how many of the 191 films that were passed by the British Board of Film Classification in 2010 were United Kingdom productions; how many children's films were made in the United Kingdom in 2010; and what proportion of the UK Film Council's budget is spent on children's and...
Baroness Benjamin: My Lords, I am delighted to take part in this debate and thank the noble Baroness for securing it, as it celebrates the victories and challenges that women have faced and are facing across the globe. I congratulate all noble Baronesses on their excellent maiden speeches, which highlight the great contribution that women have made to society. Over 100 years ago, here in Britain, women fought...
Baroness Benjamin: My Lords, I thank the noble Lord for securing this debate and declare an interest as the past president of the Ramblers. I was so delighted to hear the news, here in this House, on Monday 28 February that Clauses 17 to 19 and Schedule 7 had been withdrawn. Thank goodness that common sense prevailed. Now we can see the wood from the trees as we make future plans, because I am sure that the...
Baroness Benjamin: My Lords, I, too, congratulate my noble friend Lord Clement-Jones on introducing this important Bill, which of course I support. I declare an interest as someone who started off at the age of 12 singing live music with a small band in small venues. Nowadays, if you were to ask a child or young person about what type of music they like, the vast majority would answer with a list of the most...
Baroness Benjamin: My Lords, I, too, support Amendment 65A, particularly subsections (1)(d), (2)(c) and (2)(d). I declare an interest as an actress, broadcaster and producer. I shall speak first on subsection (1)(d) and the subject of diversity. For nearly 40 years now, I have spoken about the need to reflect diversity in film and media and, over those years, there have been many attempts to address the issue....