Government Record on Education, Employment and Welfare

Baroness Nargund Excerpts

Thursday 16th July 2026 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Nargund (Lab)]

My Lords, I thank the noble Baroness, Lady Evans, for securing this debate. I declare my interest as pro-chancellor of the University of Portsmouth and honorary professor of women’s health at City St George’s University of London.

Education, employment and welfare are interconnected. When education fails, employment suffers. When secure work is out of reach, welfare dependency rises. If we are serious about breaking that cycle, the ambition must be a country where opportunity is decided not by your social status but on your potential. This is exactly the future that this Government are working towards.

I will focus on the education aspect of this debate. Education is where opportunity begins. Research shows that over a third of children start reception not ready for school, and one in four arrive without basic language skills. I welcome the expansion of Best Start family hubs, free breakfast clubs and 30 hours of childcare for eligible families put in place by this Government. These are investments in our children and our country’s future.

Education must prepare young people not simply for examinations but to live healthy, happy, productive and informed lives. I have long argued that more health modules, such as reproductive health and women’s health modules, should form part of secondary and post-16 education for all pupils. Too many girls grow up believing that pain is normal. Too many women spend years fighting to have their symptoms believed. Knowledge changes attitudes, breaks stigma, helps tackle the gender health gap and prevents medical misogyny.

The need for change must continue in medical education itself. Our healthcare workforce should reflect the communities it serves and understand the inequalities people face, particularly in access, experiences and outcomes. That means embedding cultural competency throughout healthcare education and ensuring future clinicians understand the wider determinants of health, which account for 80% to 90% of health outcomes. I know that our Government are introducing cultural competency education, and I hope it is there throughout the healthcare profession.

As pro-chancellor of the University of Portsmouth, I have seen how medical education can drive regional renewal. Portsmouth’s new medical school is training future doctors entirely within the local health system, with a grow-your-own approach to reduce inequalities and strengthen local communities over time. The aim is also to encourage students to stay locally rather than moving to bigger cities such as London, demonstrating a novel model to connect higher education with local employment and long-term local economic growth. Will the upcoming workforce plan consider a recruit locally, train locally, retain talent locally approach to create local growth? Will cultural competency be embedded throughout to tackle health inequalities?

Good growth needs good education. Good education needs good health. Together, they build a healthier, happier, fairer and more prosperous Britain.