Russell Group Universities: Foreign Student Admissions

Debate between Baroness Barran and Lord McFall of Alcluith

Thursday 1st February 2024 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Barran (Con)]

The noble Baroness makes important points. To be clear, our work will focus particularly on the unscrupulous behaviour of recruitment agents, and whether it is genuinely easier for international students than for domestic students to get places on undergraduate courses. However, there is no evidence that international students are displacing domestic students in England, where UK students make up 85% of the total population. We will be working on this as a matter of urgency, but I do not have as yet a definite timeline to give the noble Baroness.

[The Lord Speaker (Lord McFall of Alcluith)]

My Lords, the noble Lord, Lord Campbell-Savours, is participating remotely.

[Lord Campbell-Savours (Lab) [V]]

My Lords, as someone who benefited from free higher education in France, and in gratitude has remained a lifetime Francophile, I argue that the best way to develop sympathetic international relationships is to invest not by bringing the rich, unqualified undeserving into the United Kingdom just for the money, but bringing instead the brightest and the best from problematic parts of the world, even at our expense? Is that not one of the best investments we can make in developing international understanding?

--- Later in debate ---

[Baroness Barran (Con)]

I think the noble Baroness brings together a number of different issues. However, the essence is: do we need high-quality degrees in this country that are accessible, particularly to those from disadvantaged backgrounds? There are areas where we have clear concerns. We have already expressed our concerns publicly about foundation years and have reduced the funding for classroom-based subjects, as well as regarding franchise provision.

[The Lord Speaker (Lord McFall of Alcluith)]

My Lords, that concludes Oral Questions for today.

Covid-19: Effect on Education in Deprived Communities

Debate between Baroness Barran and Lord McFall of Alcluith

Wednesday 23rd February 2022 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Barran (Con)]

I partly agree with the noble Baroness about the disproportionate impact. I absolutely agree with her about the science of early childhood development and how important it is that we prioritise children in the first 1,000 days of their life. However, equally, for those children who have less time remaining in education, it has been incredibly important that we focus on them—for example, lengthening the school week for those in 16 to 19 courses.

[The Lord Speaker (Lord McFall of Alcluith)]

My Lords, the noble Baroness, Lady Brinton, is taking part remotely. I invite her to speak.

[Baroness Brinton (LD) [V]]

My Lords, last year, Sir Kevan Collins resigned when the Government allocated only 1/10th of the funds he said were needed to deliver a real post-pandemic education recovery plan. At £50 per pupil, he said it was “feeble”. In the light of the shocking delayed learning figures that the Minister has just outlined, will she undertake to review and increase the funding?

Professor Kathleen Stock: Resignation

Debate between Baroness Barran and Lord McFall of Alcluith

Tuesday 16th November 2021 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Barran (Con)]

I say to the noble Lord that reassurances to trans people were clear in the recent Employment Appeal Tribunal ruling, which I referred to in my response to my noble friend Lady Jenkin. It held that gender-critical beliefs that do not seek to destroy the rights of trans people can be protected under the Equality Act.

[The Lord Speaker (Lord McFall of Alcluith)]

My Lords, the time allowed for this Question has elapsed.

Education: Teacher Departures

Debate between Baroness Barran and Lord McFall of Alcluith

Wednesday 3rd November 2021 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Barran (Con)]

As we know, the list for teachers is a very long one, and all the things that the noble Lord mentions are important. But we also know that, without the basic skills of literacy and numeracy, it is very hard to realise the aspirations which the noble Lord rightly highlights, hence our focus on those subjects in particular.

[The Lord Speaker (Lord McFall of Alcluith)]

My Lords, the time allowed for this Question has elapsed.

Education: Music and the Arts

Debate between Baroness Barran and Lord McFall of Alcluith

Monday 25th October 2021 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Barran (Con)]

I apologise to the noble Lord if I was not clear. I hoped I had acknowledged that A-level numbers have dropped but that GCSE figures have been broadly stable with around 45% of children in state-funded schools, both academies and maintained schools, doing an arts subject.

I cannot add to my earlier answer on the arts premium, but I remind the noble Lord that we committed £79 million during 2021-22 for music education hubs and during the pandemic emphasised the importance of continuing with a culturally rich curriculum.

[The Lord Speaker (Lord McFall of Alcluith)]

My Lords, the time allowed for this Question has elapsed.

Schools: Examination Assessments

Debate between Baroness Barran and Lord McFall of Alcluith

Tuesday 12th October 2021 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Barran (Con)]

The rate of improvement in exam results was faster in state schools, with the exception of selective secondary schools, than in independent schools across the board. The noble Lord will be aware that the issue of charitable status in private schools is a lot more complicated than transferring money from one pot to another.

[The Lord Speaker (Lord McFall of Alcluith)]

My Lords, the time allowed for this Question has elapsed.

Artists and Musicians: Working in Europe

Debate between Baroness Barran and Lord McFall of Alcluith

Thursday 9th September 2021 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Barran (Con)]

The noble Baroness will be aware that during our negotiations with the EU we pressed for a special derogation from the cabotage restrictions. We are working closely on the issue with the Department for Transport, which recently issued a call for evidence. We are working with the department and the sector to resolve the issue.

[The Lord Speaker (Lord McFall of Alcluith)]

My Lords, the time allowed for this Question has elapsed. I call the noble Lord, Lord McConnell of Glenscorrodale.

National Lottery

Debate between Baroness Barran and Lord McFall of Alcluith

Wednesday 14th July 2021 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Barran (Con)]

This Government have been committed to supporting both elite and—in the case of the noble Lord’s remarks—grass-roots and community sport. I would be amazed if my colleagues in the Department of Health and Social Care were not aware of that too.

[The Lord Speaker (Lord McFall of Alcluith)]

My Lords, the time allowed for this Question has elapsed.

Racism in Sport

Debate between Baroness Barran and Lord McFall of Alcluith

Tuesday 13th July 2021 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Barran (Con)]

The noble Lord will be aware of some of the issues around anonymity. It is important that platforms—and this will be required in the Bill—have a functionality that does not allow anonymous users, or those using pseudonyms or multiple different names, to perpetrate their hateful abuse online.

[The Lord Speaker (Lord McFall of Alcluith)]

My Lords, all supplementary questions have been asked.

Covid-19: Broadband

Debate between Baroness Barran and Lord McFall of Alcluith

Monday 5th July 2021 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Barran (Con)]

I will clarify what I meant to say, and I apologise if I was not clear. The commercial rollout, Project Gigabit and the rural voucher and other schemes that we have announced will reach all but 0.3% of the country, which is about 100,000 homes. We are not intending that those homes should not get coverage, but that is where some of the technological innovations that my noble friend Lord Holmes of Richmond referred to will come in.

[The Lord Speaker (Lord McFall of Alcluith)]

My Lords, the time allowed for this Question has elapsed. We now come to the fourth Oral Question.

Channel 4: Funding and Governance

Debate between Baroness Barran and Lord McFall of Alcluith

Thursday 1st July 2021 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Barran (Con)]

We hope through the consultation to discern two particular areas among others. One is access to additional capital; Channel 4 is reliant on advertising for 90% of its revenue. The other is potentially greater agility to respond to market developments as we move forward.

[The Lord Speaker (Lord McFall of Alcluith)]

My Lords, all supplementary questions have been asked. We now move to the next Question.

Choirs: Restrictions

Debate between Baroness Barran and Lord McFall of Alcluith

Wednesday 30th June 2021 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Barran (Con)]

The Government have acted incredibly powerfully to support the cultural life of this country. We absolutely recognise its importance in relation to amateur choirs and the whole spectrum of performing arts, which is why we are progressing with phase 3 of the more than £2 billion Culture Recovery Fund.

[The Lord Speaker (Lord McFall of Alcluith)]

My Lords, the time allowed for this Question has elapsed. We now come to the third Oral Question.

Gambling Reform

Debate between Baroness Barran and Lord McFall of Alcluith

Tuesday 29th June 2021 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Barran (Con)]

Gambling can destroy families. Our aim with the Gambling Act review is to make sure that the majority of gamblers, whose lives are not destroyed as a result, can continue to gamble safely, but we protect vulnerable people from the harm the noble Lord talks about.

[The Lord Speaker (Lord McFall of Alcluith)]

My Lords, all supplementary questions have been asked, and we now move to the next Question.

BBC: Freedom of Information Legislation

Debate between Baroness Barran and Lord McFall of Alcluith

Thursday 24th June 2021 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Barran (Con)]

Sadly, I think religion has been a source of misunderstanding over many centuries. The noble Lord will be aware that the BBC is editorially independent so I cannot comment on the rest of his question.

[The Lord Speaker (Lord McFall of Alcluith)]

My Lords, all supplementary questions have been asked and we now move to the third Oral Question.

Public Representatives: Online Abuse

Debate between Baroness Barran and Lord McFall of Alcluith

Wednesday 16th June 2021 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Barran (Con)]

We are absolutely open to and are already working on this issue. I have met with numerous women’s groups with great expertise on this issue and we will continue to do so.

[The Lord Speaker (Lord McFall of Alcluith)]

My Lords, the time allowed for this Question has elapsed.

Destination Management Organisations

Debate between Baroness Barran and Lord McFall of Alcluith

Tuesday 8th June 2021 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Barran (Con)]

I really would not want to prejudge the review’s findings. When we get those later this summer, we will respond on a way forward.

[The Lord Speaker (Lord McFall of Alcluith)]

My Lords, all supplementary questions have been asked. We now come to the fourth Oral Question.

Digital Identification Protocol

Debate between Baroness Barran and Lord McFall of Alcluith

Thursday 20th May 2021 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Barran (Con)]

I welcome the noble and learned Lord to his place and thank him for his question. My understanding is that there will be a need for co-operation between different regulatory authorities. As he will be aware, we have not yet established the governance structure for digital identity—but if there is further information to share, I will write to the noble and learned Lord.

[The Lord Speaker (Lord McFall of Alcluith)]

My Lords, the time allowed for this Question has elapsed and we now come to the third Oral Question.

Covid-19: Artificial Intelligence

Debate between Baroness Barran and Lord McFall of Alcluith

Wednesday 9th September 2020 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Barran (Con)]

Obviously, we are working very closely with the devolved Administrations and encouraging as much collaboration as possible.

[The Senior Deputy Speaker (Lord McFall of Alcluith)]

My Lords, the time allowed for this Question has elapsed.