Register of Home-educated Children

Debate between Baroness Berridge and Lord Bishop of St Albans

Wednesday 21st July 2021 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Berridge (Con)]

My Lords, unfortunately, I can give the noble Lord no further details on the time. He will be aware that when we launched the consultation on the register in April 2019, we also issued significantly strengthened guidance to local authorities, outlining the current powers and duties they have in relation to children who might not be in school in their local area.

[The Lord Bishop of St Albans [V]]

My Lords, parents often choose home schooling to escape the rigidity, values and standardisations of public education. Some people are deeply fearful that a register might seek to reimpose this. Will Her Majesty’s Government assure us that this register is for safety and quality purposes only and that parents will be able to continue to exercise their discretion and freedom of conscience over what and how best to educate their children?

[Baroness Berridge (Con)]

My Lords, obviously within our public schools system there are different ethoses, including, of course, many Church of England schools. The statutory duty on parents is that they have to ensure that their children are receiving a suitable education. Obviously, that can be at home. In the consultation there was an obligation on parents to notify the local authority, because a register without any duty to notify would not be a register at all.

Covid-19: Ethnic Minority Disparities

Debate between Baroness Berridge and Lord Bishop of St Albans

Tuesday 2nd March 2021 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Berridge (Con)]

My Lords, being relatively local to Leicester in origin, I pay tribute to the people of Leicester, who I think have endured the longest period of restrictions of any part of the country. One of the few pieces of good news for the House over recent weeks has been the FE and skills White Paper and the focus on higher technical qualifications. We are focused on giving skills to people, particularly in low-income jobs, through the lifelong learning entitlement so that while earning they can train themselves up to get better-paid and better-quality work. I will take away the specific idea of a pilot to the Minister for Apprenticeships and Skills.

[The Lord Bishop of St Albans [V]]

What are Her Majesty’s Government doing to engage with the Gypsy, Traveller and Roma communities, who are often left out of these discussions, to raise awareness of the positive vaccination process that is available?

[Baroness Berridge (Con)]

My Lords, the right reverent Prelate is correct that this marginalised community is often left out. My noble friend Lord Greenhalgh, who is in the House, is leading a specific initiative out of MHCLG on this community. We now have data on the level of take-up of the vaccine in particular communities. The local directors of public health, who are the best people to know how many vaccines have been offered and how many have been taken up on the ground, should have the detailed information in the coming weeks in order to focus on that particular community in their locality.

Hate Crime: Anti-Semitism

Debate between Baroness Berridge and Lord Bishop of St Albans

Tuesday 11th February 2020 Lords Chamber

[The Lord Bishop of St Albans]

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they have taken to address antisemitic hate crime.

[Baroness Berridge (Con)]

My Lords, the Government are committed to combating all forms of antisemitism. Our cross-party working group ensures that we are alive to Jewish community concerns and can respond effectively, alongside the advice of the noble Lord, Lord Mann, as our independent adviser. We have spent nearly £860,000 this year on projects tackling religiously and racially motivated hatred, including almost £150,000 to tackle anti-Semitism online.

[The Lord Bishop of St Albans]

I thank the noble Baroness for her Answer. According to the Community Security Trust, the number of anti-Semitic instances has risen for each of the past four years. It is a growing problem. We in the churches have been exploring with Jewish groups any role that we may have played in the past with any stereotyping. Recently, the entire College of Bishops of the Church of England signed up to the IHRA definition of anti-Semitism. Education will be key. I am grateful for what the noble Baroness has said, but can she tell us not only about the funds but which projects and resources Her Majesty’s Government are making available so that we can address, through education, the stereotyping and the troping of Jewish people to address this scourge.

[Baroness Berridge]

I am pleased to note that the right reverend Prelate said that the bishops have adopted the definition. In 2016, this Government were the first to do so. The Department for Education specifically teaches on the Holocaust in schools through programmes such as lessons on Auschwitz and the work of the UCL Centre for Holocaust Education. It is the only compulsory named topic in the history curriculum. We agree that the effective teaching of pupils can help them understand the possible consequences of anti-Semitism. I am sure that the right reverend Prelate is taking his experience back to the many schools that the Church of England runs in our country.