Covid-19: Disparate Impact
Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle Excerpts(4 years, 1 month ago)
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Baroness Berridge (Con)
My Lords, the noble Lord raises a very difficult issue. Many of us will have seen footage of the situation for many families when outside support was removed during the period of lockdown: it is incredibly moving, as well as incredibly distressing. The Government have tried to support families with children with additional disabilities—obviously, with a school place, if that was appropriate, and with more funds being given to the family fund. I will, of course, write as the noble Lord requests when I have received the report he mentions, and, as I say, I will draw it to the attention of Dr Emran Mian, who is doing the wider work on disparities and Covid.
Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (GP) [V]
My Lords, in response to the Front Bench contributions, the Minister said we do not have evidence of the reason for these disparities. I am sure she is aware of the report published by Citizens Advice in June that nearly 1.4 million people in the UK have no access to welfare payments because they have a “no recourse to public funds” status. Research conducted by the Migration Observatory at the University of Oxford found that “no recourse to public funds” falls disproportionately on people in the BAME community. Some 82% of people who were helped with a “no recourse to public funds” issue by Citizens Advice in the last year were from a BAME background.
People with “no recourse to public funds” status have difficult choices: they have to risk exposing themselves or simply having no money. Is there not clear evidence that “no recourse to public funds” is discriminatory, and is indeed a structurally racist policy? Further, do the Government have, or are they planning to secure, data on the death and infection rates for people with “no recourse to public funds” compared to those for otherwise similar individuals?
Baroness Berridge (Con)
My Lords, noble Lords will have heard me earlier make reference to the fact that the children of many people who have “no recourse to public funds” have been able to access free school meals. The furlough scheme and the job retention scheme are not counted as public funds, so those in the category that the noble Baroness outlines were able to access them. No one in this country is charged for testing or treatment for Covid-19, and certain services, including primary care and A&E, are free to all. It is very clear that, if there are charges to be applied, treatment that is considered by a clinician to be urgent or immediately necessary must not be delayed or withheld. We have made essential healthcare available to all people who are within the boundaries of our country.
National Curriculum
Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle Excerpts(4 years, 2 months ago)
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Baroness Berridge (Con)
My Lords, yes, as I have outlined, teachers are encouraged to use their flexibility to meet the needs of all the pupils in their classroom and to choose from a diverse range of sources to educate those children in accordance with the context they are living in and the history of this country.
Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (GP) [V]
Does the Minister agree that it is essential to understand the genocidal and ecocidal impacts of the British Empire, from the late-Victorian famines, and many others, on the subcontinent, to the destruction of the Australian natural environment and aboriginal societies, recently set out in books such as Dark Emu, if you are to have an understanding of modern economics, ecosystems, societies, international relations—in fact, almost any subject?
Baroness Berridge (Con)
My Lords, the value of history in helping us to understand today and to learn from the past is one of the purposes of educating children. The only compulsory element on the national curriculum is the study of the Holocaust but, of course, that leads to teachers being able to talk about wider discrimination and prejudice to avoid such events happening again.
Lifetime Skills Guarantee and Post-16 Education
Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle Excerpts(4 years, 2 months ago)
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Baroness Berridge (Con)
My Lords, yes, the funding that has been announced for the National Careers Service—that is the adult careers service. The Careers & Enterprise Company is available in schools and I know that additional funding has been given to that to ensure that young people are made aware of those opportunities. In relation to apprenticeships, as I have already outlined, through the Careers & Enterprise Company we are assisting schools to promote those. Fire It Up was our campaign to make sure that young people are aware of those apprenticeships. We are encouraging schools to know their destination data: it is important to know where those young people go on to, so that the best opportunity for the young person is put first by our schools and colleges.
Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (GP) [V]
My Lords, I can only express my pleasure that the Government have suddenly been converted to lifelong learning after a decade of slashing the funding and support for it. The Statement refers to the risk that jobs will no longer exist because of technology. I would add that that is also the case because of environmental factors, Covid and many other changes in our society. I have two questions for the Minister. Would she acknowledge that narrowly focused job and skills training is not the right way to operate in this fast-changing landscape, and that employer-focused training that teaches for the jobs of today, rather than preparing people, particularly young people, for decades in a fast-changing workplace, is not the right way to go? What we need is creativity to encourage a love of learning and curiosity. The teach-to-the-test ethos pushed in our schools, focused on exams, is absolutely the wrong direction. What we need is to encourage an enthusiasm for soil, for growing food and other plants, for repairing things, for upcycling and recycling—something like, perhaps, the national nature service that the NGOs have been promoting. Do we not need that broader focus?
We should also acknowledge the fact that so many of our jobs now wear people down. The noble Lord, Lord Storey, referred to the construction sector, where 60% of manual construction workers are self-employed. Just the grind of getting through the day, of finding jobs, of getting an income, makes it very difficult for people to engage in training. We need to look at the broader issues that can keep people from training even if it is available.
Baroness Berridge (Con)
The noble Baroness is correct that, obviously, for many people, the concept of a job for life is a thing of the past. People have numerous careers or jobs during their working life. I can assure her that the curriculum taught in our schools is knowledge-based and it is rich. Young people are encouraged to explore nature and to use the outdoors. I know that many schools, whether it is forest schools or woodland schools, et cetera, have adopted that. Obviously, teaching about the environment is an important part of that.
She is entirely right, as well, that employers need to be at the centre of this. That is why there has been this transference on to employers. The institutes of technology will be a partnership of employers, universities and FE colleges. Apprenticeships are employer-standard led, and also there are local skills advisory boards that bring together local employers, the LEPs and others. There will now be a national skills and productivity board, so that we have a structure around employer engagement in these qualifications.
Schools and Colleges: Qualification Results and Full Opening
Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle Excerpts(4 years, 3 months ago)
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Baroness Berridge (Con)
My Lords, it is my understanding that, although people received those letters earlier in the year, shielding ended on 1 August. In relation to the test kits, there are initially 10 per school for school leaders to distribute to families or support staff who might have difficulty accessing a test either by post or by attending one of the mobile centres. Test results should be received within 24 hours and unfortunately not within the 10 minutes the noble Baroness suggested.
Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (GP) [V]
My Lords, I welcome the assurance from the Minister in response to the question from the noble Baroness, Lady Morris of Yardley, that moderated assessment will be considered for next year. But is this not an opportunity—given that in our age of shocks, there could be a more resilient and secure method of testing—to allow students to show what they can understand and think critically about in coursework, rather than relying on the 20th-century, old-fashioned idea of testing what people can regurgitate in exams?
Baroness Berridge (Con)
My Lords, although I agree to take back the suggestion to see whether it was in train or any one of the processes, the Government stand by their view that, as this year has shown, the fairest way to assess student attainment is by public examinations, and that is what we expect to do next summer.
Education Settings: Autumn Opening
Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle Excerpts(4 years, 5 months ago)
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Baroness Berridge
My Lords, the noble Lord is correct: I suspect that many parents have a renewed and deepened appreciation for the role of the teacher in their children’s lives. In relation to the situations we hope to avoid going forward—we are obviously seeing a decrease in the prevalence of the virus in the population—the guidance makes it clear that by the end of September we are expecting schools to have a remote education offer that they can stand up as necessary to deal with the situation that the noble Lord outlines.
Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (GP) [V]
My Lords, in responding to the noble Lord, Lord Lexden, the Minister referred to a new focus on sharing best practice, but the Statement says that Ofsted inspections will restart in the autumn, and suggests that Ofsted will be visiting to discuss how schools are managing, gathering data and sharing learning. Given the fear, the stress and the fraught nature of Ofsted inspections over many years for teachers, does the Minister really think that it can suddenly turn around that culture and the expectation of teachers and other staff? Is this not a good time to recognise that Ofsted is a failed, confrontational model—as, indeed, is the whole focus on school league tables? Can we not start again—“build back better”, as the Government often say—with a different kind of institution and a different way of sharing that is not based on a confrontational model?
Baroness Berridge
My Lords, Ofsted is a vital part of our school system, providing accountability, and many parents rely on the grades that Ofsted gives. It has become common currency, I might add, within the school system—so no, we will not be going back to the drawing board in relation to Ofsted. However, in relation to the point the noble Baroness makes, the autumn involvement of Ofsted is going to be by way of visits. One of the first things the Government did, except in relation to unregistered schools and safeguarding, was to suspend the routine inspection of schools, so that teachers did not have that pressure. These will be visits in the autumn, but they will look at such issues as how a school is responding and what remote education it can provide. That is important, because parents are making it clear that sometimes the disparities in what is on offer are of concern to them. These will be visits with a letter and they will enable them to theme and help the Government and parents to know what is happening in our schools sector at the moment. I am particularly pleased that Ofsted will be visiting inadequate schools under the regime as a matter of priority.
Covid-19 Summer Food Fund
Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle Excerpts(4 years, 6 months ago)
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Baroness Berridge [V]
My Lords, as requested, I have taken this forward with colleagues in BEIS and will have a reply imminently ready for the noble Lord. In relation to the operation of the scheme, the cost to the taxpayer is the face value of the vouchers. The administration costs of the scheme are borne in the arrangement between Edenred, the supplier, and the supermarkets themselves.
Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (GP) [V]
My Lords, we should always welcome a U-turn when it points the Government in the right direction, but will they fine-tune the navigation by ensuring that these vouchers can be used in local markets and shops, particularly with many local markets reopening, as here in Sheffield, with its Moor Market? That is the best possible source, and the cheapest, of a healthy diet of fresh fruit and vegetables. Also, small independent businesses that operate in the local community put money back into the community, rather than pumping even more government money into the hands of a few multinational companies.
Baroness Berridge [V]
My Lords, since last Friday over £150 million has been distributed through the food voucher scheme but, as I outlined, some schools already operate their own voucher schemes. They can claim back from the schools fund if they do not have funds in their existing resources to do that. The Government are not party to every system operating, but we hope that some of those systems operated individually by schools would be available to local suppliers. During the currency of the scheme, we have added two supermarkets to those eligible for it, which have the infrastructure to deliver it across all their stores.
Education Settings: Wider Opening
Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle Excerpts(4 years, 6 months ago)
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Baroness Berridge
My Lords, the department’s ambition is obviously to offer universal catch-up provision for all students in our schools but with a particular focus on those who are disadvantaged. I gave an outline of the summer catch-up provision and what will happen beyond that. We are talking about catch-up of educational attainment so that these students are able to fulfil their potential and are not blighted by the lack of provision that they have had to endure due to the health crisis that we have all been living through.
Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (GP) [V]
My Lords, the noble Baroness, Lady Bull, referred to school as a place where social skills are learned and emotional intelligence is developed. The Minister is not allowed to tell us about the summer schools, but perhaps she can tell us whether they will be targeted not just at disadvantaged pupils, who obviously have huge needs, but at pupils who are not at obvious disadvantage. I should perhaps declare an interest, having been an only child. A single child will have been in the company of one or two adults for months, and for younger children that will have accounted for a large part of their lives. Will there be provision over the summer for all children at least to develop those social skills, even if there is no educational component?
Baroness Berridge
My Lords, over this period the department has published guidance on a number of matters. We have aimed to get the balance right between guidance and respecting the professionals on the ground. School leaders have been able to apply that guidance at the school gate in relation to vulnerable children, even though those children might not fall into the categories that we have outlined. As I said, we are concerned that all children should catch up, but disadvantaged children in particular. We respect the leadership in schools and will continue to do so in relation to catch-up provision, so that children whom school leaders deem to be disadvantaged and in need of support can get access to that support.
Covid-19: Pre-school Sector
Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle Excerpts(4 years, 6 months ago)
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Baroness Berridge
My Lords, the Government recognise the commitment of the 391 remaining maintained nursery schools, which often operate in areas of disadvantage. The noble Baroness is right that £60 million of funding is still received by that sector regardless of the uptake. In addition to that, there is a £300 per child per year early years pupil premium. We remain committed to the maintained nursery sector.
Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (GP) [V]
My Lords, given the reduced risk of coronavirus transmission and the health and well-being benefits of outdoor education—everything from understanding of risk to resilience—will the Government encourage and support preschool education to shift towards outdoor models, either partially or fully? Given that lots of parents might struggle to afford the appropriate clothing, will the Government assist in ensuring that it is available?
Higher Education
Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle Excerpts(4 years, 7 months ago)
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Baroness Berridge
My Lords, the Office for Students has been very clear that the quality of provision for all students should be maintained. There has been particular advice in relation to disabled students and their access to online provision. A letter from the Minister to the sector has highlighted the need to make sure that, where online provision cannot meet the needs of students, they are able to access all the support that they need remotely, including the non-medical help that they are often entitled to. The Equality Act is still in force in relation to the provision of higher education.
Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (GP)
How will the Government’s bailout measures and future policies help universities move away from the wasteful commercial model, where they see themselves as competing businesses, towards a more co-operative model of communities of scholars working for the common good? The kind of waste that could be eliminated is, as the Augar report highlighted, the £500 per student that is spent on marketing. Does the noble Baroness agree that universities cannot afford such sums?
Baroness Berridge
My Lords, I am grateful to the noble Baroness. The £700 million is the estimate of the Office for Students for the specific access of higher education to all the schemes that have been outlined. Noble Lords spent many days debating the Higher Education and Research Act, and the Office for Students is a modern regulator, encouraging greater innovation and putting student choice at the centre of our system.
International Women’s Day
Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle Excerpts(4 years, 9 months ago)
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Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (GP)
I welcome the noble Baroness, Lady Berridge, to her new role, and thank her for securing this debate. I compliment most strongly the noble Lord, Lord Ranger, on his excellent maiden speech, and urge all noble Lords to reflect on his words and his account. Today, at this moment, there are women—mothers—on the Turkey-Greece border and throughout the world—who are refugees in a similar situation. We, the UK, need to welcome a significant number of them here and see the contributions that they, like the noble Lord, can make.
I considered talking about so many topics today. Violence against women is one of the obvious ones to address. In the other place, the honourable Member, Jess Phillips, read out the names of more than 100 women killed by men in the UK in the last year. Will the Minister consider pressing the Government to ensure that misogyny is declared a hate crime, something that there is a very large campaign for? On a global scale, more than 50,000 women a year are killed by a family member or intimate partner. Can we ensure that a significant portion of our aid money is directed to addressing and supporting women and men tackling that issue?
I considered talking about the world of work, about unpaid caring and domestic work that is so much a part of many women’s lives. I echo the call from the noble Baroness, Lady Pinnock, for the Minister to consider increasing the carer’s allowance, as it would improve the lives of so many women. Again, if we look on a global scale, young women today will, by the end of their lives, have done four years’ more work than their male compatriots, a lot of it unpaid care work. When we think about our economic and development policies, let us think about the fact that gross domestic product does not take into account or value any of that.
Those were a couple of issues that I thought of talking about, but as a Green Peer, I guess there is something that I have to mention, which is women and the climate emergency—a topic on which I am asked to speak quite often, noble Lords will not be surprised to hear. There are some obvious points to be made. Women, as heavily overrepresented among the poor around the world, are hugely vulnerable to the climate emergency while having done almost nothing to contribute towards it. They have less access to resources and information, and in disasters related to the climate emergency, they are in more danger. They become climate refugees but sometimes they do not become climate refugees when actually they need to be. The inability to move, which disproportionately affects women, is a danger and threat to life that we need to acknowledge.
More positively, I also talk about the fact that women have knowledge and solutions to the climate emergency. Too often, that knowledge is neither respected nor acknowledged and I very much hope that our aid programmes and our approach on the international stage, particularly at COP 26, will value and support that knowledge being taken into the international efforts—knowledge about food production, household management, land management and social cohesion.
A few years ago when I was speaking at a Women’s Environmental Network event, the parallels and similarities between the situation of people campaigning on the climate emergency and campaigning for women’s rights really struck me. I reflected on the words of the wonderful feminist historian, Sheila Rowbotham, back in the 1970s that we thought when we won something, that was secure and we would move on to the next thing, but then we found that we had to keep fighting the same battles again and again. I draw real parallels with the efforts against the climate emergency. The Climate Change Act 2008 was a wonderful success and a great victory, but its results were not assured. The most recent report to Parliament of the Committee on Climate Change in July 2019 showed that the Government had delivered just one of 25 policies required to get UK emissions on track to meet the targets in the Climate Change Act.
The problem is that when we fight on individual issues, once that issue is apparently won, the momentum and energy head off in new directions and the system reverts to status quo settings. It is increasingly clear that the problems identified by feminism and the problems seen by environmentalists are joined up. They are part of a system—a model—that is broken. It is an economic system that is trashing the planet while trampling all over the rights of women. Important as they are, picking off individual issues, such as misogyny as a hate crime or the recognition and valuing of unpaid caring work, is worth while, but at the same time we must make it clear that the system that created the inequalities has to be tackled—the causes as well as the symptoms of the great sicknesses of our society. That is the way in which we can join up feminism and environmentalism. As the saying goes:
“System change, not climate change”.
System change, not patriarchy.