Dyslexia

Debate between Baroness Garden of Frognal and Lord Martin of Springburn

Wednesday 10th July 2013 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Garden of Frognal]

Yes, indeed, my Lords. There is a range of disabilities which can provide hurdles to young people embarking on apprenticeships. The National Apprenticeship Service looks at different ways of supporting diversity within apprenticeships and we recently commissioned a study from Peter Little to look at accessibility. We are implementing an action plan as a result of his report and he himself will help us to implement that.

[Lord Martin of Springburn]

My Lords, many schools throughout the United Kingdom encourage young boys and girls to take up apprenticeships while they are still at school. In other words, they are given day release and special training, which would help people with special needs. Will Her Majesty’s Government consider expanding this facility to as many schools as possible?

[Baroness Garden of Frognal]

We already encourage schools to promote apprenticeships as a career path for people while they are at school, so that they will consider setting themselves up with the right sort of programmes of learning before they leave. Businesses increasingly go into schools to talk about possibilities, so there are ongoing programmes all the way through, which should help with what the noble Lord seeks to achieve.

Dyslexia: Apprenticeships

Debate between Baroness Garden of Frognal and Lord Martin of Springburn

Thursday 28th February 2013 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Garden of Frognal]

I pay tribute to my noble friend for his tireless championing of those who suffer from dyslexia. I stress that the process for any complaint is to exhaust the centre’s procedures first—and that would be a face-to-face meeting, not necessarily a written procedure—and then go to the awarding organisation. If that does not work, complaints can be raised with Ofqual. However, Ofqual has been proactive in this respect and is in active discussion with the British Dyslexia Association to try to get a sense of the scale of the problems. So far it has come up with the problem in software compatibility to which my noble friend referred, and it is working with awarding organisations to try to address that.

[Lord Martin of Springburn]

May I put it to the Minister that it is often the case that young men and women who have difficulty in passing written exams can go on with encouragement to become excellent journeymen and journeywomen? I hope that the Government’s apprenticeship scheme recognises the fact that not everyone can be academic and so clever in terms of reading and writing.

[Baroness Garden of Frognal]

The noble Lord makes a very important point. It is absolutely right that people who are practically very skilled often find that making an assessment in a written paper poses much more of a problem for them. On apprenticeships, there has been a change to functional skills that focus on applying knowledge rather than having to pass written tests, and these are widely available as part of the apprenticeship programme. The noble Lord makes a very valid point about the value of people whose skills do not lie in writing.

Leveson Inquiry

Debate between Baroness Garden of Frognal and Lord Martin of Springburn

Wednesday 25th April 2012 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Garden of Frognal]

My right honourable friend in the other place this morning pointed out that he had a number of people in the department working for him to whom he gave responsibility for particular tasks, and he did not then monitor them in precise detail—but I hear what the noble Lord says.

[Lord Martin of Springburn]

I put it to the noble Lady that the impression I got when I listened to the Secretary of State and the Prime Minister was that they were far keener to allow this matter to go to Leveson than to speak to the House. Perhaps she could convey to the Prime Minister that in my experience, if a Prime Minister or a Minister of the Crown in some way feels that they can hedge the situation over to Leveson, it is highly likely that my successor, the Speaker, will allow an Urgent Question and even, in a very serious case, put aside the business of the House. Only two or three years ago, when Mr David Cameron and the Cabinet were in opposition, they put the case that Ministers must come to the House and be accountable. They cannot have it both ways.

I will ask another question on the point that has already been raised about special advisers. I am deeply concerned at their behaviour. Is it the case that special advisers have a code of conduct? If they do, then the young man, Mr Smith, would have known that he was in breach of that code by breaking a confidence and giving information before it was conveyed to the House. Today the name of Damian McBride was shouted out. It is alleged that Mr McBride, as a special adviser, was keen to blacken the name of the Prime Minister and the Chancellor when they were in opposition, and of the honourable Nadine Dorries. It is sad situation when the taxpayer has to pay for people who are not only incompetent but prepared to blacken the name of decent men and women.

[Baroness Garden of Frognal]

The noble Lord asked a number of questions. I was in the Chamber during Prime Minister’s Questions and while the Secretary of State was making his Statement. On his point about the Secretary of State being accountable to the House, I say that my right honourable friend was doing just that in coming to the House to take questions in great detail for well over an hour from Members of the House. I hope that he proved himself accountable to the House on that front.

The noble Lord asked about the role of spads and whether they have a code of conduct. My understanding is that they do. They perform an incredibly useful function, as successive Governments have discovered—but obviously, if something has gone wrong, that needs to be looked into on an individual basis. He also mentioned some of the evidence that we saw in the media today. We need to be somewhat cautious about taking at face value all the reports that appear in the media. This is the very aspect that we are discussing today, and it might be wiser in some respects to wait until the evidence has been fully investigated so that we know which parts of the reports of the media are true and which are somewhat creative.

Media: Ownership

Debate between Baroness Garden of Frognal and Lord Martin of Springburn

Wednesday 15th February 2012 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Garden of Frognal]

I know that the department is grateful to the noble and learned Baroness for the discussions that it has had with her on these points. The point she makes about the fit and proper person test is that it would require primary legislation and we are not currently minded to make changes to the regime. However, as with the other matters, it will be part of the communications review, and of course we will have to take into account the recommendations of the Leveson report.

[Lord Martin of Springburn]

My Lords, in recent days, leading members of the media have said that in certain circumstances it is all right to give money to police officers for information. Can the Minister confirm that it is a criminal act for anyone, including journalists, to give money to any serving police officer for private information?

[Baroness Garden of Frognal]

Indeed, my Lords, I can confirm that.