I want to write to Baroness Benjamin
Baroness Benjamin: My Lords, people of my generation were led down the wrong path into using plastic, so the conscious reduction in its use is very welcome. Single use, irrespective of the material, is not compatible with goals to reduce emissions and be sustainable. Plastic waste and pollution created by the products we use is a problem that will affect the youth of today and tomorrow more than previous...
Baroness Benjamin: My Lords, if, as suggested, students coming back to school remain in year groups and are kept separate, it might prove difficult in secondary schools and will certainly impact years 10, 11, 12 and 13 as students may be with different students for every lesson of the day. Can the Minister explain how that will work with option classes if this suggestion is put in place?
Baroness Benjamin: My Lords, I want to draw attention to the difficulty that some children of migrant families brought up in the UK are facing, which has the potential to become another Windrush-style scandal. It is only when these children are planning to go into higher education and start to fill out their UCAS forms that they realise that they do not have the right documentation. Those over the age of 18...
Baroness Benjamin: My Lords, I declare an interest as chair of the Windrush Commemoration Committee. For more than 40 years I have been striving for true racial equality, and I have sat on many panels and committees to address the issue—but to little avail. There are hundreds of recommendations in existing reviews; it is exasperating. So, while I welcome the formation of the Windrush cross-government...
Baroness Benjamin: My Lords, monuments are intended to commemorate important and significant events in our history. Black history needs to be addressed. I am proud to chair the Windrush Commemoration Committee, which, under the auspices of the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, will unveil in 2022 a Windrush monument at Waterloo station, where thousands of Caribbeans arrived. There will also...
Baroness Benjamin: My Lords, the BBFC research shows a clear demand for age ratings online and the value that these can bring to parents around child protection, especially as, unbelievably, there is still no age verification in place for harmful material. It is good to hear that the Government are encouraging more video on demand services to follow the example of Netflix and adopt the trusted BBFC ratings, but...
Baroness Benjamin: My Lords, 50 years ago I was stopped in my car and aggressively questioned by the police. My three brothers have all been stopped and searched aggressively. Twenty years ago my 16 year-old nephew was stopped and brutally beaten up in the back of a police van, then falsely charged. Shockingly, in 2020 during lockdown we saw excessive force used when a black man was tasered in front of his...
Baroness Benjamin: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to prevent 18 to 25 year-olds becoming child sex predators online. The Question was considered in a Virtual Proceeding via video call.
Baroness Benjamin: My Lords, I beg leave to ask the Question standing in my name on the Order Paper and declare an interest as a champion of the Internet Watch Foundation.
Baroness Benjamin: I thank the noble Baroness for her Answer. In April, during lockdown, data from three internet companies serving the UK market and deploying the Internet Watch Foundation’s webpage blocking list identified 8.8 million attempts to access known sexual abuse imagery of innocent children. The IWF is essential in preventing internet users, especially young men, accessing—often...
Baroness Benjamin: My Lords, the coronavirus crisis has exposed the fact that the majority of NHS BAME healthcare staff—including Filipino workers, who are often forgotten—hold junior positions and are therefore more likely to find themselves on the front line in the fight against Covid-19; many have lost their lives doing so. After this crisis, what will the Government do to encourage the NHS to develop...
Baroness Benjamin: To ask Her Majesty's Government how they will monitor and report on the impact of the relaxation of regulations for supporting vulnerable children.
Baroness Benjamin: To ask Her Majesty's Government how, in the light of the relaxation of regulations for supporting vulnerable children, they are monitoring whether (1) children are meeting or speaking to their social worker, and (2) care reviews are being completed in the right timeframe.
Baroness Benjamin: To ask Her Majesty's Government how, in the light of the relaxation of regulations for supporting vulnerable children, they are monitoring and reporting on the impact of this decision on particular groups of vulnerable children, including (1) those in the care system, (2) young carers, and (3) those known to be at risk of sexual abuse or living with domestic abuse.
Baroness Benjamin: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether, in the light of the relaxation of regulations for supporting vulnerable children, they plan to consult charities working with vulnerable children to help assess the impact of these changes.
Baroness Benjamin: To ask Her Majesty's Government how they will determine when the relaxation of regulations for supporting vulnerable children should end.
Baroness Benjamin: My Lords, according to the government guidelines, parents need to have been consulted about the new relationships, sex and health education curriculum changes, so what expectations will there be for schools that have not been able to consult parents about the changes due to the coronavirus school closures?
Baroness Benjamin: To ask Her Majesty's Government what guidelines they have given to headteachers in order to protect teachers from COVID-19.
Baroness Benjamin: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure the safety of teachers during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Baroness Benjamin: My Lords, in 2017 I was honoured to be asked by the Government to chair the Windrush Commemoration Committee, to create a Windrush monument in recognition of the contribution that Caribbean people have made to Britain. In 2022, the monument will be erected at Waterloo station, where thousands of West Indians like myself arrived in Britain before dispersing across the whole of the UK. However,...