Education (Assemblies) Bill [HL]

Baroness Meacher Excerpts

2nd reading
Friday 7th February 2025 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Meacher (CB)]

My Lords, I will speak extremely briefly, but I endorse everything that the noble Baroness, Lady Burt, said. It seems to me that morality is incredibly important in our society; we are losing a huge opportunity by having Christian assemblies in schools, which of course exclude the majority of children. Children need to be taught early the importance of generosity, kindness, neighbourliness, community support and so on. All of these values are hugely important; it is vital that children get hold of and endorse them early on in their lives, then put them into practice through their school careers.

I regard it as very important that we replace religious Christian assemblies with morality-based assemblies that are completely inclusive. Every child must understand why they are there and the importance of what is being said. This is a hugely important issue, as far as I am concerned. I endorse very much what the noble Baroness, Lady Burt, said.

Schools: Citizenship Education

Baroness Meacher Excerpts

Wednesday 5th February 2025 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Smith of Malvern (Lab)]

The issues around citizenship, promoting engagement in our democracy and ensuring that young people feel it is worth their while are not served by using the Chamber in that way.

[Baroness Meacher (CB)]

My Lords, does the Minister agree that people need maturity as well as education to vote responsibly and that, at 16, people might have a very good education but are unlikely to be mature? Does she agree, therefore, that the voting age should not be reduced to 16?

[Baroness Smith of Malvern (Lab)]

It was a manifesto commitment of this Government to consider that. The evidence demonstrates that young people take on quite a lot of responsibilities at 16. Following on from the point made by the noble Lord, Lord Wallace, starting voting earlier seems to ensure that people will be more engaged in democracy throughout their lives.