English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill

Baroness Stedman-Scott Excerpts

Committee stage
Monday 2nd February 2026 Grand Committee

[Lord Shipley (LD)]

My Lords, I very strongly support the noble Lord, Lord Ravensdale, and the cosignatories of this group of amendments. The points I will make will be very similar to those for the next group, which we will reach in a moment. The issue is important. I had not thought that immediately after Covid, the rate of those not in education, employment or training would rise. It has risen since Covid. There is something right at the heart of the way in which youth unemployment is addressed that is causing us not to solve that problem and give young people aged 16 to 24 the opportunities that they ought to have.

Looking at the areas of competence in the Bill that mayors will be engaged in, this one seems to be an acid test of whether devolution works. It is one thing to transfer powers from one person or body to another person or body, but it is a different matter when an objective is set, which is, simply stated, to reduce the level of youth unemployment and get more young people into education and long-term employment. The aim of the Government in driving devolution to the mayoral strategic authority system is, I think, to drive growth. From growth, you will have more jobs, and from more jobs you will have a lower level of those who are not in education, employment or training.

The clear ambition of the noble Lord, Lord Ravensdale, and, when we get to the next group, of the noble Baroness, Lady Stedman-Scott, is to drive social mobility through the enabling parts of the Bill. It is not just a question of moving transport powers from one body to another; it has to relate to helping young people get themselves from one place to another with the right transport systems and support for travelling to enable them to engage with education, training and employment.

There are several amendments in this group and the next one. We ought to take a step aside to look at how we can deliver the ambition that the noble Lord, Lord Ravensdale, has set because if this fails and the level of those not in education, employment or training stay stable or gets worse, that would be a failure of devolution. If you were to ask me which is the most important test in the several days in Committee so far, I would say that it is driving a reduction in the number of those who are in not in education, employment or training. This is something that would make a material difference to the lives of many people.

I hope that the Minister will not reply by saying that the Government have everything under control because I fear they do not. If they had everything under control, the number of NEETs would have gone down, not up. I hope that the Government will listen very carefully to the noble Lord, Lord Ravensdale, and, when we get to the next group, to the noble Baroness, Lady Stedman-Scott. These amendments are central and material to the aim and ambition of devolution.

[Baroness Stedman-Scott (Con)]

My Lords, I thank the Benches opposite for allowing me to speak. I was trying to sort out my timing on the Statement, and I messed up there, so I thank noble Lords for their understanding.

The amendments in this group are all in the name of the noble Lord, Lord Ravensdale. I agree 100% with the noble Lord, Lord Shipley, that this is one of the most serious issues that we face. I thank the noble Lord, Lord Ravensdale, for the time, care and seriousness with which he has addressed social mobility within the Bill. Place-based solutions to social mobility are essential, and devolution gives this Government a genuine opportunity to act in a way that national policy alone never can. It allows local authorities to design policies that are properly matched to their local labour market, their economic strengths and the needs of their communities. In doing so, it offers the prospect of moving beyond one-size-fits-all interventions towards approaches that genuinely expand opportunity and improve outcomes on the ground.

If the noble Lord will forgive me, and for the sake of brevity, I will focus on just a small number of these amendments. Noble Lords in the Committee will know that this area is close to my heart. I spent more than 32 years working with young people, helping them into employment and, more importantly, helping them to stay in employment. I promise noble Lords that I have seen what works and what does not.

I remember getting a young girl who never had any opportunities into the Unipart business in Oxford. We worked with her, and she got the job of booking travel for all the executives. She was so excited it was not true, and she turned up on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, but on Friday she did not show up. We went round to her house. She came down in her PJs and I said, “What on earth are you up to?” She told us that she never went to school on Friday and that nobody ever talked to her about it, so she thought she would not come to work. We sent her upstairs to get dressed and took her to work. The next week, the same thing happened. Again, we went round to her house and sent her upstairs. On the third week, she turned up, and again on the fourth week and the fifth week. Sometimes it is not anything deeply interventional that works; it is just a matter of knocking on the door and saying, “Come on now, get yourself together”. There is no one size fits all; it is all about individuals. I have seen what can work, and I hope that, with this devolution Bill, we can make more things happen for people like that.

I will begin with Amendment 123, which would require strategic authorities in the delivery of their functions under the Act to work in partnership with local businesses and education providers, including further education providers, to prevent and reduce local youth unemployment. Youth unemployment is rising, and the figures are deeply concerning. In the most recent data available, 729,000 young people aged 16 to 24 were unemployed, which was an increase of 103,000 on the previous year. The youth unemployment rate stood at 15.9%, up from 14.4% the year before.

These figures are frankly scandalous. We could have a big debate about whose fault it is, but I would rather we did not do that. It is important that we agree how we are going to solve the problem and stop it happening in future. This trend cannot be reversed through centralised schemes designed in Whitehall with the political choices this Government have made. It requires local solutions and place-based approaches shaped by the realities of local labour markets. Strategic authorities are uniquely placed to bring together employers, colleges and training providers to intervene early, which is critical, align provision with demand and need and prevent young people falling into long-term worklessness. This amendment would give them both the responsibility and the impetus to do so. I completely support it.

Amendment 124 would require strategic authorities to consult further education colleges when identifying where skills challenges are most acute within key sectors. I know I speak often about skills shortages, but I do so because the evidence is overwhelming. Official figures from the Office for National Statistics show that there are almost 1 million young people in the United Kingdom who are not in education, employment or training, and this is the highest figure for more than a decade. At the same time, employers across the country are struggling to recruit and, due to some of the changes that have been made by the Government, vacancies are dropping. It is a right car crash, however you look at it.

We face shortages in some vital occupations, including biological scientists, bricklayers, care workers, carpenters, graphic designers, laboratory and pharmaceutical technicians, and roofers—what a mixture. This mismatch is economically damaging and can be socially corrosive. Further education colleges sit at the heart of any solution. They understand local demand, local learners and local barriers. Failing to involve them systemically in skills planning is a structural weakness. This amendment would help ensure that skills policy is grounded in the reality of local communities.

--- Later in debate ---

Tabled by

[Baroness Stedman-Scott]

122A: After Clause 31, insert the following new Clause—
“Use of adult skills and employment funding(1) Any allocation of funding made to a strategic authority under this Act for the purposes of adult skills, education, or employment support may be used only for activities which—(a) support adult education or skills development, or(b) improve access to employment, progression in work, or participation in the labour market for persons aged 19 and over.(2) Allocations of funding under this section must be made on a non-ringfenced basis, and strategic authorities must retain discretion as to the design, commissioning, and delivery of programmes funded under this section.(3) Expenditure under subsection (1) may include, but is not limited to—(a) adult education and training provision;(b) skills development, retraining, and upskilling programmes;(c) employment support, careers guidance, and work-readiness initiatives;(d) engagement with employers to support workforce development;(e) outreach activities to increase participation among under-represented groups.(4) Funding under this section may not be used for purposes unrelated to adult education or adult employment outcomes, including but not limited to—(a) highways, transport infrastructure, or road maintenance;(b) general capital projects not directly connected to adult skills or employment provision;(c) activities whose primary purpose is economic development unrelated to workforce participation.(5) Each strategic authority must publish, at such intervals as the Secretary of State may specify, a statement setting out—(a) how funding under this section has been used, and(b) how such expenditure supports adult education or adult employment opportunities in its area.”

Bus Services (No. 2) Bill [HL]

Baroness Stedman-Scott Excerpts

Report stage
Wednesday 2nd April 2025 Lords Chamber

I close with this point. The Minister will know that, for some disabled people, the Government are not exactly flavour of the month right now. Accepting my noble friend’s Amendments 36 and 38 would represent an easy win for the Government, as well as for disabled people. But, if the Minister does not accept my noble friend’s amendments, I, like the noble Baroness, Lady Jones of Moulsecoomb, do hope that my noble friend will test the opinion of the House.

[Baroness Stedman-Scott (Con)]

My Lords, I support these amendments. I believe them to be reasonable and to show responsibility for those we have heard about today. In the same way that the noble Baroness, Lady Jones of Moulsecoomb, has seen the light, I hope that the Minister will join her and agree to these amendments.

[Lord Wigley (PC)]

My Lords, it is Lord Wigley, for the benefit for those who cannot follow the monitors in the House. This is the first time I too have intervened on this Bill. It is sometimes difficult for those of us in small parties to cover all the legislation, but the issues contained in this Bill have been very close to my heart for a long time. I thank the noble Lord, Lord Shinkwin, for his contribution to this, because he has certainly brought a dimension to our understanding.

I am intervening now rather than earlier because, at a meeting held within these premises a week or two ago, we were shown films of the disastrous results when those trying to get on buses, or indeed those who are cycling, have to cope with the layout at bus stops in certain areas. They were really disturbing films; it was frightening just looking at them. We have to make sure that this sort of situation cannot persist.

A moment ago, someone asked, “What if these issues had been going on for 40 years?” They have been going on for longer than 40 years. In 1981, I introduced my own Disabled Persons Bill in the House of Commons, which became the Disabled Persons Act. Part of the Act was to do with the safety of the visually impaired on pavements, with regard to potholes, works on the pavement being undertaken by local authorities, et cetera. The question of disabled people’s safety arose and, even then, it was seen in the context of the social definition of “handicap”, which is the relationship between a disabled person and his or her environment. We may or may not be able to do very much about the basic disability, but we can certainly do something about the environment. Therefore, the responsibility for ensuring that a disability does not become a handicap rests in the hands of those who control the environment. This is classic example of just that.

I am very pleased that amendments have been tabled by the noble Lords, Lord Blunkett and Lord Holmes. I only wish that they could all be amalgamated into one; that may be a challenge for the Government. I hope that we can make progress today in that direction. However, if we cannot, or if only the amendments from the noble Lord, Lord Blunkett, find their way forward, I very much hope that the Government will commit to keeping this under review—and in terms of months, not years—to ensure that the arguments put forward so forcefully by the noble Lord, Lord Holmes, are not lost and that we make progress on this issue, to make sure that those who have been suffering do not have to suffer in future.

Rail Ticket Offices

Baroness Stedman-Scott Excerpts

Wednesday 12th July 2023 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Vere of Norbiton (Con)]

I will certainly write to the noble Lord about this, but there will be various functionality within the new system, which will be more mobile than it is now and will allow people using cash, for example, to buy a ticket or a ticket to ride, which is one of the options available. On vouchers, I will write to him but I am fairly sure that will have been taken into account by the train operating companies when they put forward their proposals.

[Baroness Stedman-Scott (Con)]

My Lords, I use the ticket office at Staplehurst station and its staff are outstanding. The care that they show the customers and the way in which they help them plan their journey and buy the correct tickets is a credit to them. I truly hope that their skills will be kept, because the business will be the poorer without them. I am afraid that the ticket machines do not quite match up to the staff. Can my noble friend tell me if the new ticket machines will be able to replicate this service and whether AI will be used to enhance them?

[Baroness Vere of Norbiton (Con)]

I am grateful to my noble friend for her exposition of the greatness of the staff. We absolutely value the staff, which is why we want to get them out there to enable them to help more people. Ticket vending machines are being continually upgraded and there are all sorts of ways we can upgrade them: for example, we are adding video calling to enable people to ask the absolute experts if they wish to take a particularly complicated route. If AI is appropriate, I am sure that the train operating companies are looking at it.

Drug Driving (Specified Limits) (England and Wales) (Amendment) Regulations 2015

Baroness Stedman-Scott Excerpts

Wednesday 11th March 2015 Grand Committee

[Lord Rosser]

My point was that if the conclusion was reached in September 2014 or shortly afterwards that there was no need for a third formal consultation, why have we waited until now to have this order? The second consultation was apparently conducted between 17 December 2013 and 3 January 2014, in something like six weeks over the Christmas and New Year period, so a further consultation could presumably have been completed in something like a month if it was not being held over Christmas and New Year. That is the bit that I cannot quite follow. It seems to have taken a very long time to conclude that a third consultation was not necessary, yet presumably all the information was available.

[The Deputy Chairman of Committees (Baroness Stedman-Scott) (Con)]

My Lords, there is a Division in the Chamber so the Committee will stand adjourned for 10 minutes.