Baroness Twycross
Labour - Life peer
Became Member: 7th November 2022
Opposition Whip (Lords)
(since February 2023)Shadow Spokesperson (Education)
(since February 2023)1 Former APPG membership
NorwayDivision Voting information
Debates during the 2019 Parliament
Speeches made during Parliamentary debates are recorded in Hansard. For ease of browsing we have grouped debates into individual, departmental and legislative categories.
Sparring Partners
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
(46 debate interactions)
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
(2 debate interactions)
Department Debates
(67 debate contributions)
(5 debate contributions)
(5 debate contributions)
(4 debate contributions)
Legislation Debates
(2,351 words contributed)
(2,191 words contributed)
(1,735 words contributed)
(1,317 words contributed)
Lords initiatives
These initiatives were driven by Baroness Twycross, and are more likely to reflect personal policy preferences.
1 Bill introduced by Baroness Twycross
A Bill to amend the Housing Act 1988 so that long leases of residential dwellings are not deemed to be assured tenancies for the purposes of that Act; and for connected purposes.
Tuesday 21st November 2023
Baroness Twycross has not co-sponsored any Bills in the current parliamentary sitting
Latest 13 Written Questions
(View all written questions)Last month’s UK-wide Emergency Alert was the largest simultaneous public message in British history. 88% of the public knew the test was coming and we reached 93% of eligible phones in the country within 3 minutes of the test alert being sent. The system is now fully operable in the event of a real emergency, and is a vital tool in our toolkit to keep people safe.
We are aware that some people did not receive the test alert. There are several reasons why this may have been the case, which we are working with the Mobile Network Operators to resolve.
However, we would like to reassure those who did not receive an alert that Emergency Alerts are just one of many tools the Government has to communicate with the public about emergency situations. Existing procedures for warning and informing the public remain in place, including the use of local emergency services and local/national news.
Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
Following the test on 23 April, the system is now fully operable. During the initial pilot phase, which started on 23 April and will last 3 months, alerts will be limited to severe weather events and flooding. However, future messages are also expected to include fires, public health emergencies and other life-threatening or major incidents.
Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
I refer the Noble Baroness to the previous answer HL7733 on 24th May.
Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
The department provides annual estimates of the take-up rate of the existing three and four-year-old 30 hours entitlement, after subtracting reception children from the population estimates. This information is available at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/education-provision-children-under-5.
The department recently released a costings information note, with information on estimated take-up rates amongst younger children eligible for the new entitlements announced at Spring Budget. This can be found at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/methodology/education-provision-children-under-5-years-of-age-methodology. The take-up is estimated to be between around 30% and 90%, with variation substantially driven by parents’ likelihood of using formal childcare depending on the age of their child. This file also contains data on population projections by age of child for the 2024/25 financial year and beyond.
The attached document shows information on eligibility for entitlements including the department’s eligibility estimate for the existing three- and four-year-old extended hours for working parents entitlement.
The census data and Spring Budget forecasting use numbers of children. The department does not hold data to easily convert these estimates to the numbers of families.
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department recently released a costings information note, with information on estimated take-up rates for funded childcare hours. The costings information note can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/early-education-entitlements-and-funding. The department estimates that take-up would be between around 30% and 90%, with variation substantially driven by parents’ likelihood of using formal childcare depending on the age of their child. This file also contains data on population projections by age of child.
For the purposes of calculating costs, the department has estimated a take-up rate for each age group of eligible children:
- Take-up by two-year-olds would be at the higher end of the range, based on take up of existing entitlements offers for three- and four-year-olds (around 75%)
- Take-up by one-year-olds would be in the middle of this range (around 60%)
- Take-up by children aged 9-12 months would be at lower end of the range, based on low use of formal childcare (around 35%)
The department separately publishes information on eligibility for entitlements through the ‘Education provision: children under 5 years of age’ (section five on Data Quality) document, which can be found here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/methodology/education-provision-children-under-5-years-of-age-methodology. This document includes the department’s eligibility estimate for the existing three- and four-year-old extended hours for working parents’ entitlement. Take-up rates and numbers for existing entitlements are also detailed at this link annually from the department’s spring censuses.
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department recently released a costings information note, with information on estimated take-up rates for funded childcare hours. The costings information note can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/early-education-entitlements-and-funding. The department estimates that take-up would be between around 30% and 90%, with variation substantially driven by parents’ likelihood of using formal childcare depending on the age of their child. This file also contains data on population projections by age of child.
For the purposes of calculating costs, the department has estimated a take-up rate for each age group of eligible children:
- Take-up by two-year-olds would be at the higher end of the range, based on take up of existing entitlements offers for three- and four-year-olds (around 75%)
- Take-up by one-year-olds would be in the middle of this range (around 60%)
- Take-up by children aged 9-12 months would be at lower end of the range, based on low use of formal childcare (around 35%)
The department separately publishes information on eligibility for entitlements through the ‘Education provision: children under 5 years of age’ (section five on Data Quality) document, which can be found here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/methodology/education-provision-children-under-5-years-of-age-methodology. This document includes the department’s eligibility estimate for the existing three- and four-year-old extended hours for working parents’ entitlement. Take-up rates and numbers for existing entitlements are also detailed at this link annually from the department’s spring censuses.
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The table below sets out total spend for advertising campaigns for careers in teaching in schools and Further Education for the past five financial years.
Financial Year | Get Into Teaching Advertising: Financial Year Spend | FE teacher recruitment Advertising: Financial Year Spend |
2022/23 | £13,157,484.38 | £4,079,923 |
2021/22 | £12,255,612.85 | £2,000,000 |
2020/21 | £11,848,725.34 | 0 |
2019/20 | £12,776,070.54 | 0 |
2018/19 | £12,773,706.55 | 0 |
The objectives of the Get Into Teaching advertising campaign are to raise the status of teaching and contribute to overall Initial Teacher Training (ITT) numbers. Due to the often lengthy candidate journey from initial consideration through to applying for, and starting ITT, several methods are used to assess campaign impact. They include regular brand tracking studies and other market research, and econometric modelling to identify and quantify the factors affecting sign ups to the Get Into Teaching service. They also include analysis of the flow of candidates between Get Into Teaching and the new Find and Apply services, and tracking of site traffic to the Get Into Teaching website.
The objectives of the Further Education advertising campaign are to raise awareness of a career in Further Education teaching and contribute to a long term increase in overall recruitment numbers. Several methods are used to assess campaign impact. They include regular brand tracking studies and other market research, analysis of the flow of candidates between the Further Education teacher recruitment campaign website and third party Further Education job sites, and tracking number of users to the Further Education teacher recruitment campaign website.
The Get Into Teaching and Further Education recruitment campaigns track a number of behavioural and attitudinal metrics to give a rounded picture of each campaign’s impact.
Key Performance Indicators for Get Into Teaching are a consideration of teaching as a career amongst our target audience and the number of new, unique sign-ups to the Get Into Teaching service. The campaign also measures the proportion of sign-ups attributed to the advertising campaign, through econometric modelling and the proportion of ITT applicants who have interacted with the Get Into Teaching service.
Key Performance Indicators for the Further Education recruitment campaign are a consideration of teaching in Further Education amongst target audiences and the number of users to the Further Education teacher recruitment website. The campaign also measures the number who go on to take action on the site, such as signing up for further information or visiting a jobs board.
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The table below sets out total spend for advertising campaigns for careers in teaching in schools and Further Education for the past five financial years.
Financial Year | Get Into Teaching Advertising: Financial Year Spend | FE teacher recruitment Advertising: Financial Year Spend |
2022/23 | £13,157,484.38 | £4,079,923 |
2021/22 | £12,255,612.85 | £2,000,000 |
2020/21 | £11,848,725.34 | 0 |
2019/20 | £12,776,070.54 | 0 |
2018/19 | £12,773,706.55 | 0 |
The objectives of the Get Into Teaching advertising campaign are to raise the status of teaching and contribute to overall Initial Teacher Training (ITT) numbers. Due to the often lengthy candidate journey from initial consideration through to applying for, and starting ITT, several methods are used to assess campaign impact. They include regular brand tracking studies and other market research, and econometric modelling to identify and quantify the factors affecting sign ups to the Get Into Teaching service. They also include analysis of the flow of candidates between Get Into Teaching and the new Find and Apply services, and tracking of site traffic to the Get Into Teaching website.
The objectives of the Further Education advertising campaign are to raise awareness of a career in Further Education teaching and contribute to a long term increase in overall recruitment numbers. Several methods are used to assess campaign impact. They include regular brand tracking studies and other market research, analysis of the flow of candidates between the Further Education teacher recruitment campaign website and third party Further Education job sites, and tracking number of users to the Further Education teacher recruitment campaign website.
The Get Into Teaching and Further Education recruitment campaigns track a number of behavioural and attitudinal metrics to give a rounded picture of each campaign’s impact.
Key Performance Indicators for Get Into Teaching are a consideration of teaching as a career amongst our target audience and the number of new, unique sign-ups to the Get Into Teaching service. The campaign also measures the proportion of sign-ups attributed to the advertising campaign, through econometric modelling and the proportion of ITT applicants who have interacted with the Get Into Teaching service.
Key Performance Indicators for the Further Education recruitment campaign are a consideration of teaching in Further Education amongst target audiences and the number of users to the Further Education teacher recruitment website. The campaign also measures the number who go on to take action on the site, such as signing up for further information or visiting a jobs board.
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The table below sets out total spend for advertising campaigns for careers in teaching in schools and Further Education for the past five financial years.
Financial Year | Get Into Teaching Advertising: Financial Year Spend | FE teacher recruitment Advertising: Financial Year Spend |
2022/23 | £13,157,484.38 | £4,079,923 |
2021/22 | £12,255,612.85 | £2,000,000 |
2020/21 | £11,848,725.34 | 0 |
2019/20 | £12,776,070.54 | 0 |
2018/19 | £12,773,706.55 | 0 |
The objectives of the Get Into Teaching advertising campaign are to raise the status of teaching and contribute to overall Initial Teacher Training (ITT) numbers. Due to the often lengthy candidate journey from initial consideration through to applying for, and starting ITT, several methods are used to assess campaign impact. They include regular brand tracking studies and other market research, and econometric modelling to identify and quantify the factors affecting sign ups to the Get Into Teaching service. They also include analysis of the flow of candidates between Get Into Teaching and the new Find and Apply services, and tracking of site traffic to the Get Into Teaching website.
The objectives of the Further Education advertising campaign are to raise awareness of a career in Further Education teaching and contribute to a long term increase in overall recruitment numbers. Several methods are used to assess campaign impact. They include regular brand tracking studies and other market research, analysis of the flow of candidates between the Further Education teacher recruitment campaign website and third party Further Education job sites, and tracking number of users to the Further Education teacher recruitment campaign website.
The Get Into Teaching and Further Education recruitment campaigns track a number of behavioural and attitudinal metrics to give a rounded picture of each campaign’s impact.
Key Performance Indicators for Get Into Teaching are a consideration of teaching as a career amongst our target audience and the number of new, unique sign-ups to the Get Into Teaching service. The campaign also measures the proportion of sign-ups attributed to the advertising campaign, through econometric modelling and the proportion of ITT applicants who have interacted with the Get Into Teaching service.
Key Performance Indicators for the Further Education recruitment campaign are a consideration of teaching in Further Education amongst target audiences and the number of users to the Further Education teacher recruitment website. The campaign also measures the number who go on to take action on the site, such as signing up for further information or visiting a jobs board.
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The government remains committed to introducing statutory local authority registers for children not in school, as well as a duty for local authorities to provide support to home-educating families. We will legislate for these at the next suitable opportunity, to support local authorities to undertake their existing duties to ensure that all children receive a suitable education and are safe, regardless of where they are educated.
There are existing processes in place for schools to manage cases where children are persistently absent from school. As set out in our ‘Children Not in School’ consultation response, the proposed local authority registers would only have in scope children of compulsory school age that are either not on a school roll, flexi-schooled, or receiving some or all of their education in a non-school setting. The proposed registers would not include children on a school roll who are simply absent from school, as these children will already be visible through existing school registers.
The department has recently begun collecting data on electively home educated children from local authorities on a voluntary basis. Following publication of data from the autumn and spring terms of the 2022/2023 academic year on 18 May 2023, it is the department’s intention that local authority data on elective home education will be published annually thereafter.
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Government guidance sets out that schools of all types, Local Authorities and other local partners should work jointly and share data on individual cases where it is of benefit to the pupil.
Under Regulation 12 of The Education (Pupil Registration) (England) Regulations 2006, all schools are required to share pupil absence data with Local Authorities for pupils who fail to attend school regularly or have been absent from school for a continuous period of ten or more school days. Local Authorities also have access to state funded schools’ attendance data under The Education (Information About Individual Pupils) (England) Regulations 2013, which underpin the school census data collection.
Local Authorities can also access near real time attendance data from state funded schools that are voluntarily sharing daily attendance data. Approximately 80% of these schools have opted to share daily data. This data is automatically extracted and returned in the form of interactive reports to the school and relevant multi academy trust and Local Authority.
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The mental health of children is a government priority and we know schools can play a vital role in supporting this. The department is committed to helping all schools provide calm, safe and supportive environments that promote and support mental wellbeing, which can also support attendance, attainment and behaviour. It is up to schools to decide what pastoral support to put in place to support pupils.
The government’s vision for improving school attendance is for pupils, parents, all schools, local authorities, and other partners to work together to prevent patterns of absence from developing. The department has issued guidance for schools, which highlights the importance of a ‘support first’ approach. The ‘Working together to improve school attendance’ guidance makes clear that schools are expected to work with each identified pupil and their parents to understand and address the reasons for absence, including any in-school barriers to attendance. Where absence persists, schools are expected to take an active part in the multi-agency effort with the local authority and other partners. This guidance is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/working-together-to-improve-school-attendance.
As set out in associated guidance specifically related to mental health and attendance, schools are not expected to diagnose or provide specialist mental health support, but they can play an important role in identifying and responding to emerging or existing mental health issues. This may include providing targeted pastoral support, or ensuring referrals are made to external specialist support.
To help schools make informed decisions on what support to provide, the department is offering funding to all schools and colleges in England to train senior mental health leads who can put in place effective whole-school approaches to mental health and wellbeing. More than 13,800 schools and colleges have now received a senior mental health lead training grant, including more than 7 in 10 state-funded secondary schools, backed by a £10 million investment in the 2022/23 financial year. The department is also providing over £1 billion recovery premium funding for schools for the 2022/23 and 2023/24 academic years which, on top of pupil premium, can be used to support pupil mental wellbeing and attendance.
To expand access to early mental health support, the department is working with NHS England to increase the number of Mental Health Support Teams (MHSTs) working with schools and colleges. MHSTs offer support to children experiencing common mental health problems and liaise with external specialist services to help pupils get the right support and stay in education. As of April 2023, MHSTs covered 35% of pupils in schools and learners in further education in England. A further 100 teams are expected to be operational by April 2024, to cover an estimated 44% of pupils and learners.
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)