Millennium Development Goals

Baroness Verma Excerpts

Thursday 7th October 2010 Lords Chamber

[Lord Brett]

My Lords, I join others in expressing appreciation for the endeavours of the noble Lord, Lord Chidgey, in getting this debate. I share the frustration of other noble Lords at the time limit: four minutes is not sufficient to develop the argument. I agree with the noble Baroness, Lady Flather, on that, but I do not agree that the previous Administration did not put women at the centre. I say that not as a former spokesperson for that Government in this Chamber but as someone who worked for a half a decade when the millennium development goals were set as vice-chairman and then chairman of a specialised United Nations agency—the International Labour Organisation—where time and again I saw the British Government in the vanguard of pressing the issue of women.

I also join the appreciation of others that the Government—the Conservatives, with their Liberal Democrat allies—have enshrined a commitment to the 0.7 per cent. We should not lose that as an important fact, but I must admit to asking when we will see that enshrined in legislation. I can think of no reason why the draft legislation prepared by the previous Administration, which had all-party support, could not have been put swiftly into legislative form. That would have been a powerful signal at the special summit which we had last month.

There have been MDG successes. We may not shout about them about too much, but the noble Lord, Lord Chidgey, mentioned malaria. HIV/AIDS is down by 25 per cent in sub-Saharan Africa. Child survival rates are up and 42 million more children are in education. The poorest part of the world—that is, living on $1.25 a day—is down from 58 per cent to 51 per cent. Yet that does not beg the question, which a number of noble Lords have raised, that many of the MDGs are seriously off-track.

Clearly, the world economic crisis has exacerbated that situation, with over 50 million of the poorest now being denied their escape from poverty by that very financial crisis—that was a point which I think the noble Lord, Lord Hannay, made. Another reason is that our colleagues in the developed world have not met the commitments that they made in the 10 years of millennium development generation that we have gone through, and if they do not meet those then the task will of course be very difficult. Add to that the whole question about areas of conflict, which was eloquently put by the noble Lord, Lord Bates, and others, and MDG achievements remain quite formidable.

Much hope was placed on the special summit where, despite the pledging of $40 billion to a global strategy for women’s and children’s health—as the noble Lord, Lord Chidgey, reported—and for agriculture, in the eyes of many the summit remained a failure. It brought no serious commitment to put the MDGs back on track. Turning to our own Government, despite my appreciation of their endeavours to maintain the 0.7 per cent in very difficult times, many fear that the temptation to raid the DfID funding for other commitments will be irresistible. That view was confirmed rather than confounded by the leaks from DfID about many key international commitments being dropped—a point made by the right reverend Prelate the Bishop of London—and that the budget is to be put under the control of the national security council.

Time certainly does not allow for the development of those arguments, so I restrict myself to asking the Minister a number of questions. I recognise that he may not be able to answer them in the 10 minutes available, so perhaps he could answer them in writing. They are as follows: do the pledges that the Government made at the millennium development goals summit on maternal health represent new funding from the UK Government? How do the Government intend to meet the commitment to spend £500 million per year on malaria? Does DfID intend to reduce funding on any other health-related expenditure from the department’s budget in order that the pledge to spend £500 million per year is met—in other words, is that new money? Do the Government intend to launch the “My Aid” fund, and when? Will the Government fund the BBC World Service from the DfID budget?

[Baroness Verma]

My Lords—

[Lord Brett]

I have three other questions. I will happily put them in writing to the Minister; that guarantees that I will get a reply.

Equality Act 2010 (Consequential Amendments, Saving and Supplementary Provisions) Order 2010

Baroness Verma Excerpts

Wednesday 28th July 2010 Lords Chamber

Moved By

[Baroness Verma]

That the draft order laid before the House on 14 July be approved.

Relevant Document: 2nd Report from the Joint Committee on Statutory Instruments, considered in Grand Committee on 26 July.

Motion agreed.

Afghanistan

Baroness Verma Excerpts

Wednesday 28th July 2010 Lords Chamber

[The Earl of Sandwich]

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to use the aid budget for Ministry of Defence purposes in Afghanistan.

[Baroness Verma]

My Lords, all UK aid spending is official development assistance as defined by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. This means that its main objective is to promote welfare and economic development. The Department for International Development and the Ministry of Defence work closely together to promote peace and stability in Afghanistan, including through the Helmand provincial reconstruction team.

[The Earl of Sandwich]

My Lords, I understand that there is a need for security and stability in provinces such as Helmand and Kandahar, but is not the department responsible to the taxpayer for what it does, and has not the pendulum swung a little too far towards the Ministry of Defence in those provinces? In a country with such high infant and maternal mortality, surely the department’s priorities must be poverty reduction and the millennium development goals. That is why the aid budget was ring-fenced in the first place by all political parties. Why is it now being militarised?

[Baroness Verma]

My Lords, it is not. Afghanistan is the second-lowest country on the Human Development Index, and, as noble Lords know, everything that DfID does focuses on the elimination of poverty. That remains our core objective. Progress is being made, but this is a trilateral effort between the MoD, the FCO and DfID. I know that the noble Earl, Lord Sandwich, has much expertise in this region, and I share with him the desire to see the elimination of poverty. However, we also need the country’s capacity to be built in order to do that.

[Lord Chidgey]

Can my noble friend the Minister please elaborate on where the proposed 40 per cent increase in DfID aid to Afghanistan is to be utilised? Does she agree that without a strategic plan across all the government departments involved, the extra funding could well be wasted, not assisting our troops or the people of Afghanistan? How will development progress be monitored? How will outcomes be measured? Most of all, who will be mutually accountable for the results?

[Baroness Verma]

My Lords, using the UK aid budget to secure progress in Afghanistan is the number one priority for the Secretary of State. The additional £200 million will be focused on creating jobs, providing vocational training, improving policing and strengthening the capacity of the Afghan Government. As with all funds to Afghanistan, these extra funds will go through the World Bank, where we reimburse after we have received receipts.

[Lord Brett]

My Lords, the noble Baroness referred to £200 million. Which of the items listed for additional funding by the Secretary of State were budgeted for previously by other departments, and to which departmental budgets was that money previously allocated? The fear is that rather than putting the money solely into aid and development, the budgets are being transferred.

[Baroness Verma]

My Lords, I refer back to my original Answer. The aid money used will go through the stringent, rigorous regulations of the OECD, and it is there to be used for the development of Afghanistan and the elimination of poverty.

[Baroness Seccombe]

My Lords, following our debate last week, can my noble friend tell us what the Government are doing to ensure that women and girls are benefiting from the education aid to Afghanistan?

[Baroness Verma]

My noble friend raises some very important issues. As I am also a lead spokesman for women and equalities in this House, I should like to say that 20 per cent of DfID support for vocational training is set aside for women. We also support a gender adviser in the Afghan independent electoral commission to strengthen the participation of women in elections as candidates and as voters. Some 28 per cent of teachers in Afghanistan to date are women; 26 per cent of all Afghan civil servants are women.

[Lord Hughes of Woodside]

My Lords, the noble Baroness is not being precisely clear. Although the overseas aid budget is ring-fenced, will the money going to Afghanistan be over and above that, or is there to be redistribution within the ring-fencing? Given the very hard choices the coalition has made so far in cutting grants, how can that be justified?

[Baroness Verma]

My Lords, I return to my original Answer. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development puts down very strict regulations on how aid is spent. We will ensure that all the aid money spent is for development and the elimination of poverty.

[Lord King of Bridgwater]

Does my noble friend agree that if we are to get some benefit for the people of Afghanistan from the considerable sums put into trying to help them in various ways, we ought to concentrate on a few key issues which were suggested in this House very recently—the provision of electricity, clean water and safe transport between different cities on the main roads? Is not the tragic news today confirmation that ensuring secure transport, so that people can get their goods to market and travel freely without risk, is one of the most important things that we can do?

[Baroness Verma]

I agree with everything that my noble friend has said, and of course part of our programme is designed to ensure that Afghanistan has this road-building capacity. We are also determined to ensure that the MDGs are reached. We have therefore increased the extension for Afghanistan to 2020, because it has started from an incredibly low base.

[Lord Richard]

The noble Baroness has not answered the question put by my noble friend Lord Hughes, and she does not answer it merely by reiterating the first Answer that she gave—which, again, does not answer it. Is the £200 million fresh money? Is it new money or is it a reallocation of existing funds? It is a simple question.

[Baroness Verma]

My Lords, the £200 million is being allocated to Afghanistan alongside the budget. We are determined to ensure that we are there to eliminate poverty.

[Lord Phillips of Sudbury]

My Lords, I declare an interest as I have a son-in-law who is about to go to Afghanistan as a manager of aid for DfID. This is an intractable situation; the history of Afghanistan is uniquely difficult. Is it not about time—to get anywhere on hearts and minds, which is at the heart of aid—that one had dialogue with the Taliban?

[Baroness Verma]

My Lords, first of all, I wish my noble friend’s son-in-law well. We are trying our level best to support the Afghan Government to increase their capacity to be able to engage with all people in Afghanistan.

Equality Act 2010 (Consequential Amendments, Saving and Supplementary Provisions) Order 2010

Baroness Verma Excerpts

Monday 26th July 2010 Grand Committee

Moved By

[Baroness Verma]

That the Grand Committee do report to the House that it has considered the Equality Act 2010 (Consequential Amendments, Saving and Supplementary Provisions) Order 2010.

Relevant Document: Second Report from the Joint Committee on Statutory Instruments.

[Baroness Verma]

My Lords, the underlying theme of the order is to make effective the provisions of the Act in line with its main intention of simplification and consistency. The changes that the order makes fall into three broad categories.

First, some of the changes involve corrections or updates to the Equality Act 2010 itself. Article 3 makes amendments to Section 87 of the Act. Section 87 enables the Secretary of State to give directions using powers under the Education Act 1996 to require a school to comply with its duties not to discriminate against pupils under Section 85. The reason for the amendment is to refer to the corresponding Scottish legislation to ensure that the procedure works for Scotland as well as for England and Wales.

Article 4 makes changes to Section 94, which explains what is meant by various terms used in Chapter 2—on further and higher education—of Part 6. The amendment is needed to reflect concerns from interested parties that there needs to be a definition of “conferment” in the context of awarding qualifications.

Article 5 makes changes to Section 108. Section 108 prohibits discrimination after relationships have ended, and the amendment to subsection (4) is intended to replicate existing law. That is to say that even if a person becomes disabled after the relationship has ended, the duty to make a reasonable adjustment still applies. The current Act could be interpreted as meaning that the duty arose only if the person already had a disability at the time the relationship ended. The amendment puts that right.

Articles 6 and 7 make changes to Sections 132, 134 and 135. Those provisions cover, among other things, the period for calculating arrears where successful claims are made about equal pay or pensions cases in Scotland, in the case of a person with an incapacity or one involving a fraud or error. The effect of the amendment is that the five-year limit for calculating arrears may be extended if it includes time during which the claimant suffered incapacity or was induced by the fraud or error not to raise the claim, subject to a maximum reckonable period of 20 years. The amendments enable the provisions to work correctly in Scotland and reflect the existing position under the Equal Pay Act 1970.

Article 9 amends Part 9 of Schedule 3 to the Equality Act to reproduce an amendment made to Section 19 of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 by the Rail Passengers’ Rights and Obligations Regulations 2010, after the Equality Act received Royal Assent. Those provisions of the Equality Act restate provisions of the DDA that provide for exceptions to the duty not to discriminate in relation to the provision of transport services for disabled people. The amendment needs to be made to ensure that, when they come into force, the Equality Act provisions are exactly the same as the existing DDA provisions which will be repealed.

To reassure noble Lords, I can state that the amendment does not in any way reduce the rights of disabled persons, but simply ensures that there is no overlap between domestic equality legislation and European transport legislation protecting the rights of disabled people in air and rail transport.

Article 10 amends Schedule 11 to the Equality Act to remove a reference to the Learning and Skills Council, which was abolished just before the Equality Act was enacted. Articles 8 and 11 update certain provisions to refer to EU law rather than Community law, as a result of the coming into force of the Lisbon treaty.

The second category of amendments is to reflect adjustments needed to the existing equality duties to reflect the introduction of new key concepts by the Equality Act. The existing gender duty, race duty and disability duty will be replaced by the new public sector equality duty in Sections 149 to 157 of the Equality Act, but not until some time after October. Therefore, the existing provisions in the Sex Discrimination Act, Race Relations Act and Disability Discrimination Act need to be kept in force for the time being. However, the existing definitions of sex, race and disability discrimination, victimisation and harassment in those Acts are slightly different to those in the Equality Act.

Articles 14 to 16 therefore update the relevant provisions of the Sex Discrimination Act, Race Relations Act and Disability Discrimination Act to reflect the new terminology. This will make it easier for public authorities to operate, as they will not need to use one set of definitions for public sector equality duties and another for all their other equality-related functions.

--- Later in debate ---

[Lord Addington]

My Lords, this is one of those times when there is not much to say, and I shall be quick about saying what little there is to say.

Basically, there is nothing to disagree with here. As the noble Baroness, Lady Gale, said, it carries on the previous Government’s good work in many fields. It brings everything together in one Act, or tries to. The law here, good and well intentioned though it was, was a bit like a cat’s cradle and thus occasionally became a dog’s dinner, if I am allowed to double my metaphors; there was so much legislation that crossed over. Everyone who is involved in any part of this area of the law should welcome this approach. Not only is there nothing to disagree with here, but hopefully we shall carry on in this way.

[Baroness Verma]

I thank the Committee for this short but quality debate. I am grateful to the noble Baroness, Lady Gale for her kind welcoming remarks. I also pay tribute to the wonderful work that she has done in this area. I assure her that there will be several pieces of guidance. Five summary guides were published on 5 July, and a further set of quick-start guides will be released over the summer.

I welcome my noble friend’s comments. We all want to ensure that we can make society as equal as possible. Wherever we find discrimination against any group that we are able to eradicate, we will do so. This piece of legislation is a tool to help us achieve that.

On that note, I hope that we shall have no problems in passing the order. The Equality Act 2010, which went through this House just a few months ago, has momentum, and I hope that with your Lordships’ approval, we will see the benefits of it soon.

Motion agreed.

Women in Society

Baroness Verma Excerpts

Wednesday 21st July 2010 Lords Chamber

Moved By

[Baroness Verma]

That this House takes note of the position of women in society in the United Kingdom and overseas and the advancements that can be made for the development of women’s potential.

[Baroness Verma]

My Lords, it is a great privilege to introduce this debate, the expansive theme of which will ensure that women remain in the headlines and will continue to challenge the systems that still actively work against them.

I pay tribute to those present for their tireless work in ensuring that the cause of equality for women is enhanced at every opportunity. I am also honoured that we are to hear seven maiden speeches in today’s debate from such eminent Members of the House. Your Lordships’ House will be enormously enhanced by their contributions and I feel privileged that they have chosen to make their maiden speeches in this debate today.

We have made great strides in this country towards gender equality at many levels in society, thanks mostly to the struggles women have fought over the generations. Many of the myths surrounding women have been removed—whether women should vote, work and govern. Our daughters and granddaughters certainly have more choices than many of us would have had in the past. Today in the UK women make up nearly half the workforce. Girls are outperforming their male counterparts at school and graduating with better degrees. Women now contribute throughout the economy and in almost every sphere of life. Women have explored the infinity of space, pioneered cancer-beating therapies, discovered the first radio pulsars and won Olympic gold medals. They have led countries, run their own businesses and served as High Court judges. The list can go on. And often at the same time as managing this, they are managing households and caring for children and sick or elderly relatives. These are achievements we should all be proud of and celebrate. They show that, given opportunities, access, an even playing field, support and the right environment, all things are possible.

But the reason for calling this debate is that, for all the progress that has been made, too many women in this country and around the world are still not being given the chance to fulfil their potential. Too many women still have too few or no rights. Too many women are still refused choices. It is a real tribute to your Lordships’ House that so many noble Lords are taking part today because it shows the importance attached to this area. Noble Lords will share my sentiment, and that of the new coalition Government, that not only is tackling the many challenges women still face fundamental to women and to their rights, but the empowerment of women is linked to economic growth and the development, prosperity, stability and strengths of countries across the world. Women make up half the people available to any country. If they are not channelled into the economy and used as part of the decision-making process, that country will fail to maximise the real potential, value and economic strength that women bring.

As we face these economically turbulent times, we must work to ensure that the worst affected are not women. We must utilise this difficult period to maximise all our capabilities in helping the economy recover. Our first challenge is to ensure that the progress women have made does not take a step backwards during these difficult economic times. The recession affects both men and women, but the nature of women’s work means that it affects them in different ways, not least because the obvious restrictions placed on women with childcare or other care commitments make them more vulnerable in an environment where employers are making redundancies. In an era where women are now key contributors to the family income, particularly in relation to the 90 per cent of single-parent households which women head, this has serious implications for the families involved. That is why the Government have been clear that fairness must be at the heart of all our decisions, to ensure that those most in need are protected during the economic crisis. The Home Secretary and Minister for Women and Equalities is working with colleagues across government departments to ensure that they consider the equality impact of spending reductions in line with their legal obligations under the gender duty.

For those out of work we are providing support through a voluntary employment programme that is encouraging lone parents to improve their employment opportunities, and we are stepping up our support for disadvantaged families—for example, by increasing Sure Start’s focus on the neediest of families by putting in place 4,200 new health visitors to help ensure that families have access to information and advice from the onset. We recognise the importance of early intervention and assisting families to prevent problems rather than intervening after difficulties have set in. These centres also show our plans for a big society at work. Empowering voluntary, community and neighbourhood groups can help initiate change and provide support to women and their families. It is not just about breaking down the barriers preventing women from fulfilling their potential; it is about ensuring they have greater support in all the roles they play, from parenting to employment and from caring to civic involvement.

Some of this requires debate and a legislative programme, but we must ensure that, where possible, legislation does not impose overly bureaucratic and costly processes, particularly on employers and businesses. It is vital that we work with them and not against them to develop policies which are proportionate and effective, so that we can see real changes being delivered on the ground. I am pleased that the main provisions of the Equality Act, legislation which has important simplification benefits, are to be implemented in October. We will work with all partners to ensure that it is implemented effectively.

We are also clear that Parliament cannot on its own get to the root causes of persisting gender inequality. We must find measures that ensure that all are shareholders and willing partners in this ambition. That is why our policy is to include intelligent and targeted solutions. A concerted effort must be made at changing mindsets and culture across the population, from employers to communities. As someone who has supported women who have suffered terrible abuse at the hands of men, often in cases of violence that have been justified under the pretext of tradition and culture within communities right here in the UK, I know how hard it is to change mindsets, but that has to be our ultimate goal if we are to make a real and long-lasting change to our society.

I turn to women in the workplace. It is only right that we look at what competitive global markets demand, knowing that the workplace has changed as flexible working becomes more available. We know that work patterns have greatly changed in response to the 24-hour global clock, but we cannot afford to lose sight of the other demands put predominantly on women. Even after the historic equal pay legislation of 40 years ago, a working woman can still expect to earn an average of 12.2 per cent less than a man. The situation is even worse among some ethnic-minority groups.

I shall highlight three factors which contribute to the slowness of progress towards equal pay. The first is occupational segregation. The second is the fact that women are underrepresented in senior positions; for example, of the directors of FTSE 100 companies, just 12 per cent are women. The third is the effect of women’s caring responsibilities on their working patterns. The Government’s commitment to providing affordable childcare for all parents will help, but this alone is not enough. Workplaces have to become more family friendly.

While there are many examples of excellent practice, there remain large gaps in the form of employers who do not realise the benefits of flexible working opportunities at different levels. This often leads to women working in lower-paid or part-time jobs where they may not reap the full benefits of their training or qualifications.

The current economic crisis, although difficult, may also create an opportunity for change, to rethink the way we do things, and to ensure that we draw on the widest pool of talent and meet the demands of an ever changing environment. The Government face huge economic problems. We have become indebted on an unprecedented scale. Difficult decisions will have to be made. While we have to make cuts in some sectors, we want to open up opportunities in others where there is need and demand. This will involve promoting women in key sectors. In science, for example, one in three graduates is a woman, but only 18.5 per cent of them work in the industry. This is despite the fact that the European Commission has predicted that Europe will suffer a shortfall of 20 million skilled workers in science and technology by 2030. We will work with education providers to ensure that women are able to make broader career choices, and with businesses to support them in recruitment and retention of female employees.

To help to address work-life balance, we are committed to introducing an historic extension to all employees of the right to request flexible working. To make sure that we get more women in decision-making positions, we have pledged to look at the ways in which we can promote gender equality on the boards of listed companies. Alongside all these commitments, we will be working with employers to communicate the enormous benefits that gender equality practices can bring to their organisations.

The issue of the underrepresentation of women in Parliament and senior political positions continues to pose a big challenge. The presence of women in Parliament and their contribution to debate have introduced a whole new set of perspectives to those debates. Issues such as childcare, tackling domestic violence, human trafficking, maternity and paternity leave and after-school clubs have moved up the political agenda as a result. However, Parliament and local government still lack the balance that we need to ensure fairer representation. Thankfully, all three major political parties see the need to broaden the appeal of politics and to encourage more women into the political processes.

Women still account for only 22 per cent of Members of Parliament. In looking to see how we can make further progress, we will be considering the report of the cross-party Speaker’s Conference on Parliamentary Representation as we agree our priorities. We have already followed up on one of the recommendations of the Speaker’s Conference by committing to introduce extra support for disabled people who want to become Members of Parliament, councillors or other elected officials.

One of the more serious challenges that the new Government and our society face is the persistence in various forms of violence against women. More than 1 million women experience violence each year in the UK, through domestic violence, rape, trafficking, honour-based violence and other less obvious forms. We want to increase the level of support offered to victims of violence. That is why we will look to putting funding for existing rape crisis centres on a more stable and longer-term footing. We will establish new rape crisis centres where there are gaps in provision. I look forward to hearing the contribution of the noble Baroness, Lady Stern, today. I pay tribute to the excellent work that she has done in this area through her review. The Home Secretary recently announced that we will be responding to it shortly.

Another unacceptable form of violence against women is that of forced marriage. That is not something that just happens in far-off lands; it happens here. In 2009, the Government’s Forced Marriage Unit dealt with nearly 1,700 calls for help from women who feared for their freedom. I would like to read a short extract from one woman’s testimony. Her name is Farzana. She said:

“I was told that I had to go back to Bangladesh to learn how we behave properly. My Mum came with me and we stayed with my uncle. After a couple of weeks, I started to hear things about a marriage and soon worked out it was my own. I was terrified and one evening grabbed my Mum’s mobile and locked myself in the bathroom. I rang Sam, my best friend, in the UK and begged her to get help. My uncle broke the lock and hit me across the face. From then on, I was watched even more closely and didn’t leave the house at all”.

In the end, Farzana was saved by the Government’s Forced Marriage Unit, but many girls do not escape.

Prevention is as important as protection. During the school holidays, there is often an increase of incidents of young people being taken out of the country. It is important that teachers, police and members of the community are able to identify situations and know what signs to look out for in order to intervene confidently. Guidance issued to schools, colleges and other public bodies must be followed actively and we must not shy away from intervention because of community sensitivities. It is important that the Forced Marriage Unit, through its extensive awareness-raising and outreach programmes, will be speaking at over 80 events a year and working with schools and other organisations to tackle this issue.

Not least of the challenges that we face is that of addressing the poverty and injustice that women face around the world. Some argue that, in the current economic climate, aid should be a casualty as we look for savings in public spending. The Government do not take that view. We are committed to increasing our aid budget to 0.7 per cent by 2013 and enshrining that commitment in law. Surely it cannot be acceptable to see a world where 70 per cent of the world’s poorest are women. We must maintain our commitment to help women around the world, not only because it is right but because women hold the key to development in the world’s poorest countries. In a world where our economies are so dependent on one another, that is something that we must nurture.

However, the privilege of a ring-fenced budget does not mean that we do not have to watch where our money is going. We need to make sure that every penny reaches those who need it most. What matters are tangible results. The Muskoka initiative is a good example. Today, in the UK, the chance of dying in pregnancy and childbirth is one in 8,200. In parts of Africa, it is as high as one in seven. This is something that we can change. That is why the UK Government have made a significant contribution to this initiative, which will help to save the lives of an extra 1.4 million mothers and children over the next five years.

As well as giving our support to important projects, we must clearly be vocal about where we stand on women’s rights. If we are to improve the outcomes for those women who depend on us to be their voice, whether we witness cruelty and abuse here or know of its practice in other countries, we need to challenge those countries to respond. We must do this in partnership with our European partners, members of the Commonwealth and the UN. I am encouraged by the recent agreement to form a powerful UN agency to advocate women’s rights. Until now, there has been a fragmentation of women’s issues in the UN, with no fewer than four separate organisations. We will work closely with the new agency to ensure that it has a strong focus on achieving results and delivering value for money from the outset.

These are just some of the commitments to women that we have announced as part of the new coalition programme for change. In the forthcoming months, we will build on these commitments and outline in more detail how we will carry them forward. I, along with the Government, recognise the great depth and breadth of knowledge and experience in your Lordships’ House. We are keen to listen carefully to noble Lords’ views and advice and I look forward to their valuable contributions. I beg to move.

--- Later in debate ---

[Baroness Verma]

My Lords, I have to respond to so many speakers and so many maiden speeches that I will ask for forgiveness in the beginning if I do not answer all the questions but write to noble Lords.

As I said in my opening remarks, the new coalition Government recognise the importance of tackling gender inequality, not only for women and their rights but for the long-term economic growth, development, stability and strength of countries across the world. We are committed to taking action to improve the lives of women and to creating an environment that works with women and not against them. We want to support women in all their roles, in whatever paths they choose or take, whether it is help for vulnerable women, supporting working women, ensuring choice for families or raising the aspirations of women, here in the UK or abroad. We will use legislation where necessary to encourage and bring about change. Above all, it is about providing choice and creating a cultural change, the kind of environment which lends itself to change organically.

On behalf of your Lordships’ House, I congratulate those noble Lords who made their maiden speeches today. I will respond to them first. The noble Baroness, Lady Liddell, treated this House to an excellent speech. It was no less than I expected of her, and her skills from the House of Commons have transferred over here. I am sure her contribution will ensure that the important work the House of Lords carries out reaches all the corners of our great nation, because noble Lords in this House are often missed when we are responding to important legislation from the other place.

The noble Lord, Lord Kennedy of Southwark, in his excellent and eloquent speech raised many facts that no one could disagree with and I look forward to many more thoughtful contributions from him. He has made me seriously rethink the fears women feel on public transport. Perhaps I am inclined not to be fearful since travelling on the Tube late at night has not worried me, but I can imagine that it must worry some. The noble Lord also raised flexible working. We are mindful that we need to ensure that flexible working becomes a commonality among businesses and we are working with employers to ensure that all businesses incorporate flexibility in their working practices.

My noble friend Lady Parminter raised some important issues in her maiden contribution about representation. I agree that it is important that we have better representation across all bodies. How we do that is through debate and persuasion. We cannot enforce these changes but we can constantly bring up the subjects and make sure that we have strong women to take on the roles and that we support them in doing so.

My noble friend Lord Deben, I am sure the whole House will agree, made an excellent contribution. He highlighted the important role of women and how they need to be able to choose whether to go out and be part of the workforce or to do the important job of parenting at home. He also raised the question of girls in science. We are committed to increasing the proportion of women in SET sectors and to do this we must look at the subjects girls take at school. It is vital to the economy that girls are part and parcel of the science sectors.

The noble Baroness, Lady Smith, made an illuminating speech. I agree with her that we need to encourage and ensure that educational opportunities are available to everyone. As someone who was refused the opportunity to go to university, I have battled within my own community to ensure that those opportunities have been available to many more young girls from the sub-Asian continent. There is still a big battle to fight but it is the way forward. We must ensure not only that we get girls to go to university but that the quality of education they receive is excellent.

The noble Baroness, Lady Drake, spoke extensively in her excellent speech about the challenges and obstacles facing women in the workplace. As someone who has been a long-standing campaigner in this area, her contribution was poignant and highlighted how much needs to be done. I hope I conveyed to her in my opening speech the Government’s commitment to tearing down the barriers that working women face and to providing them with more flexibility and choice.

I would like to use this opportunity to raise an additional point about female entrepreneurship. It is a key example of where we must do more to tap and release the potential we have among so many women here in the UK. The Minister for Women and Equalities and the Secretary of State for Business are committed to this area, starting with a coherent and comprehensive strategy led by my noble friend Lady Wilcox, which will consider the best approach to addressing the issues and challenges facing women entrepreneurs.

My noble friend Lord Black raised in his most eloquent maiden speech the role of older women. While I shall touch on the pensions issues raised in the debate, the matters raised by him are a whole debate for another day. However, we must recognise the value of the role that older women continue to play within our communities and society. I am grateful for having been given the opportunity to underline that.

I hope that changes that we are making to the pension system, to deliver improved outcomes for women, will make a difference. I assure my noble friend that we are looking into how we can address the persistent inequalities faced by older women as we take forward a simpler system of financial support. We want to start by providing a more secure foundation from the state from which people can save for their retirement.

It is not only pensions that we have to reform when it comes to older women. Today, changes in the demographics of our society mean that older women’s caring responsibilities are stretched even further. For example, a woman in her 50s could be looking after one generation—sometimes two—above her and two below her. That is a caring role which was unthinkable in the not-too-distant past. The need to be better supported in these demanding roles is paramount. Public policy needs to reflect the changed expectations particularly of older women. Our commitment to extend the right to request flexible working to all will enable those grandparents who support their families more flexibility in the workplace. In the forthcoming months, we will look more closely at what more we can do to support them.

Families of course come in all shapes and sizes. It is vital that we take action to support families who have got into difficulties. It is important to enable parents to get back on track, help children and protect families in the neighbourhood.

The noble Baroness, Lady Gould, spoke about the various challenges surrounding women offenders. I hope that I am able to give her some comfort. Before doing so, I commend the noble Baroness, Lady Stern, on her far-ranging and thoughtful review of rape reporting. I hope that she was encouraged by the comments that I made earlier. The work done by many voluntary sector organisations to tackle sexual violence is fabulous. However, we work in constrained times, and I am sure that she accepts that we will have to make some difficult choices.

Around 66 per cent of women in prison have dependent children under 18. We know that children whose parents offend are three times more likely to have mental health problems or engage in anti-social behaviour than their peers. We must ensure, for the sake of their children as well as themselves, that women who offend are successfully rehabilitated, whether they serve sentences in custody or in the community, tackling issues such as drug and alcohol addiction, education, poor self-esteem and long histories of abuse. Our approach is to ensure a network of effective community provision, offering robust community options to the courts for women who do not pose a risk of harm to the community. The aim is to meet the distinct and complex needs of women, recognising that women offenders are often victims themselves. We hope that such an approach will reduce the need for custody and the numbers of mothers separated from their children as a result of their offending.

I should like briefly to respond to the comments of my noble friend Lady Walmsley on sex and relationship education. I agree with her that, in an age when opportunities for young women are greater than ever before and the methods of preventing pregnancy are safe, effective and socially accepted, it is wholly unacceptable that we have one of the highest rates of teenage pregnancy in Europe. The Secretary of State has made it clear that he believes that it is vital that all children have high-quality sex and relationship education in order that they are confident to make the right decisions at all stages in their lives. However, I believe that this is not just an area for schools, but one that must be approached in partnership with the family unit. Of course, careers advice and choices are key to raising aspirations.

Many noble Lords today spoke about the persistence of various forms of violence against women. The noble Baroness, Lady Rendell, as always, made a most moving contribution on the practice of female genital mutilation. The noble Baroness, Lady Massey, explained vividly how young girls are disappearing from our schools—whisked abroad and forced into marriages against their will. She also addressed the horrors of human trafficking—an issue of particular concern as we approach the Olympics, which will be a magnet for people traffickers.

The Home Secretary made it clear in a speech to Women’s Aid last week that the Government’s ambition is nothing less than ending all forms of violence against women and girls. We will be producing a new strategy on violence against women, which will focus not only on the criminal justice system’s response to these crimes, but will deal with those two vital elements— prevention and service provision for victims. We will also ensure that our work is joined up across government and all our key partners by working with teachers, the police and healthcare professionals, and of course the voluntary sector.

In many ways, women’s voluntary organisations are models of the big society that we wish to build. They are able to deliver services to sections of the population that government always find hard to reach. A particularly exciting development is the Prime Minister’s announcement on Monday of the creation of a Big Society Bank. This will be financed by using dormant bank and building society money. It will make available hundreds of millions of pounds of new finance to some very dynamic and knowledgeable social organisations, including those in the women’s sector. It will take us away from a situation where the previous Government were pouring money into wasteful, top-down government schemes to programmes where we make a practical difference—where we can change the lives of women who need it most.

I thank my noble friends who spoke about the plight of women in developing countries. Their contributions highlighted the pervasiveness of gender inequality in some parts of the world—where the life of a girl from the womb to adulthood can be burdened with neglect, disadvantage and exploitation. My noble friend Lady Seccombe made important points about ensuring that girls have access to education in Africa and south Asia. Let us not forget those who have been left widowed—millions of mothers, old and young, some still children themselves, who are usually among the poorest, most oppressed, violated and invisible individuals in the world. Often this group of women and young girls does not feature in any programme or plan.

Without really pursuing gender equality, the millennium development goals will not be achieved. In my opening speech, I said that while the Government have ring-fenced the aid budget, we must ensure that they fund projects that produce both value for money and visible outcomes—projects which produce meaningful results. The evidence tells us that investing in women and girls makes good economic sense and can contribute significantly to economic growth and to strengthening accountable governance. We as a Government are determined to put women at the centre of our approach to development.

As I outlined in my opening speech, the Government have just made significant contributions to the Muskoka maternal and child health initiative which will help to save an extra 1.4 million lives of mothers and children over the next five years. The cold hard facts remind us just how important this particular issue is. When a jumbo jet crashes anywhere in the world it makes the headlines. If it were to crash week in week out in the same place, not a person alive would not be talking about it. The international community would set up an inquiry and no money would be spared in making sure that it never happened again. Yet, in Nigeria, the equivalent number of women die each and every week from pregnancy-related causes, and the world stands silent. Research by DfID tells us that if a mother dies in childbirth, there is a high chance that her child will die within a few months too. In the 21st century, where we have the means and the technology to prevent maternal mortality, that is unacceptable.

The noble Baroness, Lady Gould, asked about the future of the Women’s National Commission. We value the work of the commission. The Government’s review of all public bodies is an opportunity to reflect on the long history of the Women’s National Commission since its inception 40 years ago and how we can build on that success. She also asked what plans we have to retain women’s centres and funding for them. Over £10 million has been provided by the Ministry of Justice until 2011 to establish voluntary sector providers to develop effective community-based alternatives to custody.

The noble Baroness, Lady D’Souza, asked about our plans on United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325. The UK tri-departmental—the FCO, DfID and MoD—action plan on Resolution 1325 provides the framework for our activity in diplomatic, defence and developmental spheres. It is currently being updated in consultation with civil society. She also asked what we will do to promote the eradication of corruption in Afghanistan. I thank her for highlighting the importance of supporting education for girls in Afghanistan and the need to work with the local community in delivering those benefits. Unless we work with local communities, we will find it very difficult for them to respond positively.

The noble Baroness, Lady Massey of Darwin, asked whether I would be happy to meet with the organisations of which she speaks. I would be very happy to meet with them. The noble Lord, Lord Desai, said that the key priority was to ensure that women were at the centre of our aid activity. I reassure him that they are. I am very pleased to be in departments where I am able to ensure that that agenda is followed positively. He also asked how we encourage more women into employment. It is about being able to raise the expectation, aspiration and ambition of women. That comes from a very early age, whether in this country or across the world. It is also about being able to change mindsets positively.

My noble friend Lady Oppenheim-Barnes has the experience and the wisdom of both Houses. I will look to talk to her about widening my knowledge of how we ensure that women who stay at home and women who go out to work are dealt equal respect in society. It is crucial that we do not undervalue or undermine the important role that mothers at home play.

I agree very much with what the noble Baronesses, Lady Hayter and Lady Scott, said about better representation. We have a long way to go. There is a lot of work to be done. I am sure that, with the presence of both noble Baronesses, we will be able to take that agenda forward. I continue to work in battling with the discriminations that we face within minority communities.

The noble Baroness, Lady O’Loan, raised the plight of women suffering violence. It is at the centre of our priorities. We will ensure that, whatever we do, the outcomes for women will be the focus and centre of all that we try to achieve. The noble Baroness, Lady Uddin, who is not in her place, raised similar issues.

I am desperately running out of time. The noble Lord, Lord Brooke, raised the important issue of people wanting to rehabilitate and to come away from what they have done in the past. It is important that we support them in whatever way we can. The big society is part and parcel of that agenda. We want to empower organisations locally to bring forward that agenda.

My noble friend Lord Bridgeman talked about the importance of maternal health in African countries, as did the noble Baroness, Lady Greengross, whose reputation for raising these issues is paramount. I know that she knows that I fully support much of the work that she does. However, we are in difficult times. We will have to reassess and review and then go forward with deciding where we can support the organisations of which she speaks so highly, which will need support even more in these difficult times.

My noble friend Lord Parekh will, I am sure, be pleased to know that we are probably in agreement on at least six of the points that he raised, but there is plenty of work to be done and I look forward to his contribution in future debates.

In response to the point made by the noble Lord, Lord Giddens, within the coalition we agree that there is a commitment to crack down on irresponsible marketing and advertising, especially among children’s magazines, about body image. It is a crucial debate, but one for another day—one completely dedicated to body image.

I hope that my noble friend Lord Smith will feel reassured that we will look at evidence at how to make public and private bodies better represented.

I hope that the noble Baroness, Lady Royall, will forgive me but I have run out of time. I shall write to her because she raised many questions and it will take me a long time to respond to them.

Motion agreed.

Women: Public Bodies and Listed Companies

Baroness Verma Excerpts

Thursday 15th July 2010 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Gould of Potternewton]

My Lords, I beg leave to ask the Question standing in my name on the Order Paper. In doing so, I declare an interest as chair of the Women’s National Commission.

[Baroness Verma]

My Lords, I pay tribute to the noble Baroness’s contribution in raising this important issue and to her continued work in the field of equalities. The Government share her concerns on these issues and that is why we have pledged to take action to promote gender equality on the boards of listed companies. However, we have more to do on the detail and in due course will be making an announcement setting out our future direction.

[Baroness Gould of Potternewton]

I thank the Minister for her nice comments and for her very helpful reply. However, what action do the Government intend to take to challenge recruiters and encourage them to ensure diversity in the membership of boards? Allied to that, how are the Government going to respond to the growing demand for specific places to be designated for women on boards and in public bodies?

[Baroness Verma]

My Lords, it is all about engaging with business and business organisations. We will engage with all relevant partners in developing our programme to fulfil the commitment in the coalition agreement. Head-hunters and recruitment companies will be aware of the stronger provision in the revised UK Corporate Governance Code, published on 28 May this year, on the importance of boardroom diversity. On the noble Baroness’s second question, we are working very hard to encourage people to work with us, rather than enforce an extra regulatory burden.

[Baroness Gardner of Parkes]

My Lords, is the Minister aware that almost 30 years ago, when I first came into this House, there was an all-party group whose aim was to get more women onto public bodies? This has been quite successful, although the situation relating to major companies is rather different. Is there not a bit of a parallel with the Equal Pay Act 1970 here, in that it takes years to change cultural attitudes, even though the law has changed?

[Baroness Verma]

I thank my noble friend for that question and agree with her completely. Unfortunately, this issue requires a lead by all contributors, and I just hope that the Act that commences in October will be the start of that process.

[Baroness Howe of Idlicote]

My Lords, as well as making every effort, as I suspect she will, to get more women on to the committees and boards of public bodies, will the Minister also consider publishing a yearly report on the public bodies for which each government department is responsible, listing the number of women on the boards of each of them and, in particular, the number of women who are chairmen and chief executives?

[Baroness Verma]

The noble Baroness raises an issue that we are looking at very seriously. As I said in previous responses, we are considering how to encourage all departments to take on board the importance of ensuring proper representation not just from women but from other under-represented groups.

[Lord Faulkner of Worcester]

My Lords, does the Government’s commitment to gender equality extend to great national institutions such as the Church of England? Furthermore, does the Prime Minister intend to have a word with right reverend Prelates and most reverend Primates in order that we may have some female Bishops in this House before the end of this decade?

[Baroness Verma]

The noble Lord takes me into very dangerous territory. I shall reflect and get back to him.

[The Lord Bishop of Ripon and Leeds]

My Lords, will the Minister welcome the decision of the Church of England General Synod over the weekend to move towards the ordination of women as bishops, which will be the first step towards their appearance in this House?

[Baroness Verma]

Yes, my Lords.

[Lord Smith of Clifton]

My Lords, does the Minister agree that despite aspirations with regard to greater gender equality, the appointment last week of the first all-male Monetary Policy Committee is not the right signal to send out? Why were no women economists deemed worthy of joining that body?

[Baroness Verma]

My Lords, my noble friend raises a really important issue. The point of this debate is to ensure that, on organisations such as the Monetary Policy Committee and other major organisations, there is better representation. The view will have to be taken that all stakeholders involved are willing to sign up to this.

[Lord Lea of Crondall]

My Lords, does the Minister agree that the distance, both in salaries and status, between those at the top of large companies and at the bottom has grown alarmingly? Richard Lambert, director-general of the CBI, has said that people are living in a different galaxy. Would women representatives include women workers’ representatives, including on remuneration committees?

[Baroness Verma]

My Lords, I think the noble Lord’s question is slightly outside my briefing. The gender pay gap has fallen over the past 30 years but it still persists. There is lots of work to be done, but we are taking a range of measures to end discrimination in the workplace.

[Lord Crickhowell]

My Lords, my noble friend may recall that some of the shortcomings of the report of the Senior Salaries Review Body on the work of this House might have been avoided if some women had been members of that review body. Can the Minister tell me whether anything has been done to put right that rather shameful state of affairs?

[Baroness Verma]

My Lords, I thank my noble friend for that very important question. I shall reflect on it.

[Lord Davies of Coity]

My Lords, does the Minister feel that perhaps the coalition Government could set a very good example in this regard by having more women members in the Cabinet?

--- Later in debate ---

[Baroness Verma]

My Lords, I thank the noble Lord for his question. It is a fair question. We have seen an increase in women MPs and we shall ensure that we support those MPs to become Ministers and Cabinet Ministers, but there is a lot of work to be done and, of course, it is up to the Prime Minister to do it.

[Viscount Goschen]

My Lords, I declare an interest as a head hunter. Does the Minister accept that the recruitment industry takes this issue extremely seriously and that it is standing by to partner government and industry in seeking to ensure the proper representation of women on boards?

[Baroness Verma]

My Lords, I thank my noble friend for his question. Yes, of course, but that does not mean there is not much more to be done.

UNESCO: Equatorial Guinea

Baroness Verma Excerpts

Wednesday 7th July 2010 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Falkner of Margravine]

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will make representations to the regional electoral group representing the United Kingdom’s interests on the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) executive board regarding the withdrawal of the UNESCO-Obiang Nguema Mbasogo International Prize for Research in the Life Sciences in the light of the human rights record of the Government of Equatorial Guinea.

[Baroness Verma]

My Lords, we have made representations at ambassadorial and ministerial level to the EU, Regional Electoral Group 1, the Commonwealth group and the director-general of UNESCO, calling for this prize to be withdrawn. We shall continue to press this point until a final decision is reached. We welcome the executive board’s decision on 15 June to work on a new set of rules for prizes and, in particular, to examine this prize more carefully.

[Baroness Falkner of Margravine]

I thank my noble friend for that reply. She will know that in the scientific and human rights communities, a UNESCO-Obiang Nguema Mbasogo prize for scientific achievement is roughly the equivalent of a Robert Mugabe-UN prize for democracy and freedom. How can we, the United Kingdom, UNESCO’s fourth largest donor, convince its executive board by its next meeting in October that it should try to salvage UNESCO’s credibility by not voting for this award?

Will the Minister assure the House that media reports suggesting that the US, France and other western countries are not taking this issue up with other UNESCO members for fear of upsetting the Africans are incorrect, and that we in the UK will do all that we have to to prevent this from happening?

--- Later in debate ---

[Baroness Verma]

My Lords, our ambassador to UNESCO has urged each group of which the Government are a member to adopt strong positions condemning this prize and seeking a solution. The Minister of State for International Development raised the subject of the prize with the UNESCO director-general in his meeting on 4 June and wrote to the director-general and the chairman of the executive board before the meeting on 15 June urging the executive board to withdraw the prize. Our delegation continues to push for strong statements against the prize and for firm and transparent rules for prizes that would prevent this problem from recurring in the future.

[Baroness Morris of Bolton]

My Lords, in assisting Equatorial Guinea and wider Africa to reach the minimum standards of human rights that the world rightly expects, what is DfID doing to help to build the essentials of a civil society there, especially access to clean drinking water and programmes to end violence towards women?

[Baroness Verma]

My Lords, my noble friend raises some important issues. A large proportion of DfID’s funding goes on programmes and initiatives to fight violence against women and on challenging it through civil society and women’s organisations. As my noble friend will realise, we support the MDGs; indeed, we are one of the countries that will meet the commitment on 0.7 per cent of GNI by 2013. Clean water is one of our major priorities in this respect.

[Lord Brett]

On the MDGs, there is an important conference in South Africa next week on Education for All. Who will represent the United Kingdom Government? Will that representative continue to support strong and free public education systems in poor countries, as opposed to the ill advised voucher schemes and private subsidies proposed in the Conservative Party’s recent Green Paper? I ask because Oxfam has condemned that approach as one that is unlikely to build success, while the director of UNESCO has called it “an absurdity” that would set back progress. He said:

“The idea that you can trot around slums and dish out vouchers is so far-fetched that it shouldn’t be taken seriously”.

Will the Minister comment on that?

[Baroness Verma]

My Lords, the noble Lord raises a number of issues. We are keen to ensure that the MDGs for education are reached. We are not ideological about the way in which education is delivered and we want to ensure that what works for individual countries is fully supported. British aid pays for 5 million children in developing countries to go to primary school every day. That is roughly the same as the number of children going to primary school in Great Britain, yet at only 2.5 per cent of the cost.

We have offered President Zuma of South Africa assistance if he requires it for the South African summit on 11 July, but so far we have had no representations. However, DfID has given the Education for All 1GOAL campaign £804,800 and will give another £195,000 this financial year.

[Lord Tomlinson]

My Lords, on the specific subject of the Question—Equatorial Guinea—where in the pecking order of issues for which we give assistance from our development funds do democracy, human rights and good governance figure? Are they near the top, near the bottom or somewhere in the middle of the list?

[Baroness Verma]

My Lords, on the specific point about Equatorial Guinea, I should say that we have no presence there, although the high commissioner to Nigeria, Bob Dewar, visits twice a year. However, we completely agree that there needs to be transparency in what Equatorial Guinea is doing on human rights. That is what we will urge through all the multilateral agencies through which we supply our funds.

[Baroness Garden of Frognal]

What consultation process has the UNESCO director-general set up to find a solution to this prize?

[Baroness Verma]

My Lords, my noble friend asks a serious question. We have asked UNESCO to ensure that all the principles and criteria in setting these prizes are open and transparent and that the board undertakes, with other agencies that are involved in setting these prizes, to look seriously at ensuring that prizes set in one sector comply with prizes set in others.

[Lord Foulkes of Cumnock]

Does the Minister recall that when Margaret Thatcher was Prime Minister, she followed the lead of Ronald Reagan and withdrew the United Kingdom from UNESCO, causing us great diplomatic difficulties around the world and upsetting the scientific and educational communities here in the United Kingdom? Can the Minister give us an absolute assurance on behalf of the coalition that any problems with this prize or any cuts in public expenditure will not be used as an excuse for again taking us out of membership of UNESCO?

[Baroness Verma]

My Lords, the decision at that time was right. The Government will look at our membership of and investment in all agencies to ensure that the greatest possible impact is being achieved with our aid. This is part of our multilateral aid review announced by the Secretary of State for International Development. The aid review will look at all agencies funded by the aid budget and will report back in the autumn.

International Development: Universal Primary Education

Baroness Verma Excerpts

Tuesday 22nd June 2010 Lords Chamber

Moved by

[Baroness Verma]

That this House takes note of progress towards meeting the millennium development goal on universal primary education.

[Baroness Verma]

My Lords, I am delighted to address the House on such an important issue that affects the lives of millions of young people across the world. At the dawn of the 21st century, in September 2000, world leaders came together at the United Nations headquarters in New York to adopt the United Nations Millennium Declaration. In doing so, they committed their countries to a new global partnership to reduce extreme poverty, and they set out a series of goals that have become known as the millennium development goals. The stated aim of the second of those goals was to:

“Ensure that, by 2015, children everywhere, boys and girls alike, will be able to complete a full course of primary schooling”.

That goal forms the focus of today’s debate.

We who have benefited from education know of its crucial importance, not purely in our personal development but in helping us to realise our full potential. Education is not only a basic human right; it is an investment in people and in future generations. For the millions of girls living in the world’s poorest countries, that investment is particularly important.

Education provides the skills and knowledge that allow people to help themselves. It stimulates growth within communities and contributes to a better future for all. It helps create more stable and prosperous nations, which are then better able to respond to global threats such as climate change. Education encourages peace, democracy, good government and international security, as well as providing the key to unlocking the potential within each and every child.

It is therefore clear that we and others must work together towards the attainment of the critical goal of universal primary education. In doing so, we will help to achieve the other millennium development goals. The multiplier effect of education is that it leads to better health and nutrition, social stability and lower rates of fertility.

To achieve universal primary education by 2015 was always going to be a challenge. Good progress has been made globally over the past decade, with some 47 million more children enrolled in primary schools. During this period, the number of primary-aged children out of school has fallen from 103 million to 72 million, and within these figures the proportion of girls out of school has fallen from 58 per cent to 54 per cent.

However, of those out of school, seven out of 10 live in sub-Saharan Africa or in south and west Asia. In addition, the global trend shows that we are currently not on track to get every child into school by 2015. As reported by the Education for All global monitoring report earlier this year, if we continue with business as usual there will still be an estimated 56 million primary-aged children out of education by 2015.

On current predictions, it is also estimated that 105 million 15 to 24 year-olds will lack basic literacy in 2015 and that, if we are to achieve universal primary education, 10 million more teachers globally are needed by 2015. Many of the 72 million children who remain excluded from school are, by definition, some of the hardest to reach. They include children living in rural areas, children with disabilities, children from minority- ethnic groups, children who live in fragile and conflict-affected states, and, of course, girls from all walks of life. The persistence of conflict continues to keep children out of school. About 40 million out-of-school children live in fragile and conflict-affected countries. Educating children in these states can help reduce tension, promote peace and rebuild lives and communities.

To get the hardest to reach children into school, we need a renewed effort by national Governments and donors, international organisations, the private sector, civil society and faith groups. Later this year, the international community will have the chance to reinvigorate action on this goal. In September, the United Nations will host a summit on the millennium development goals in New York. The coalition Government are committed to playing their part in the international effort to achieve the MDGs and will call for an action plan to re-energise efforts towards meeting those goals. We expect the summit to include a side event on education.

Some, both in developing and developed countries, might argue that we cannot afford to invest in universal education at a time of financial constraints at home. This Government disagree. We believe an investment in education for all will help to assure our common prosperity and security. A global economy such as ours needs the knowledge and skills that can come only from a solid base of education. Evidence from past recessions clearly demonstrates that maintaining investment in education helps to ensure rapid recovery. The amount of aid that we put into education in developing countries supports roughly the same number of children going to primary school as those who go to school in Britain, yet the cost is only 2.5 per cent of what we spend here.

DfID funds have supported some 5 million children in school, trained 100,000 teachers and built 12,000 classrooms. These are strong results, but we also want to ensure that they represent the best value for money. We are determined to spend British taxpayers’ money wisely, so we will focus rigorously on results and outcomes. We are also clear that we want demonstrable evidence of the impact that DfID’s work is having on education in poor countries: clear, hard evidence of real improvements being made on the ground to help get children into school. For this purpose, we want the new independent aid watchdog, which my right honourable friend the Secretary of State for International Development announced on 3 June, to lead to greater value for money and to ensure more transparency. Similarly, the UKaid Transparency Guarantee will ensure that information on all DfID’s spending is published on the DfID website, allowing British taxpayers the opportunity to see where our support for education is going.

The goal of universal primary education applies to girls and boys alike. Additionally, the third millennium development goal is specifically focused on gender equality and includes the target of eliminating gender disparity at all levels of education by 2015. For girls in particular, education beyond the primary level is extremely important in improving their life chances, in delaying early motherhood, in avoiding HIV/AIDS and in ensuring that in motherhood their own children are healthier and better nourished.

In discussing universal primary education, we must recognise that its achievement is supported by investment in the whole education sector. While our main focus is on supporting Governments in their efforts to provide all children with a good-quality basic education, we are also supporting and working with them and other partners to support the whole education sector. However, we want to be ambitious. Primary education itself is not enough. We need to raise our aspirations and to work towards the delivery of basic education, including junior secondary education for young adolescents. This is where the real benefits, such as to reproductive health, accrue. Just as the MDGs cannot be reached without adequate investment in higher-level knowledge and skills, neither can universal primary education be achieved without well trained teachers. Higher education is vital to train skilled professionals such as public sector managers, business leaders and health and education workers.

I am keen to hear noble Lords’ learned views on this subject. The coalition Government recognise the great depth and breadth of knowledge and experience of those in this House and want to listen carefully to noble Lords who can offer advice on this subject. Ultimately, it is the quality of learning, more so than the number of years a child spends in school, that matters. Good-quality learning will reduce drop-out rates and enable more children to complete their education—an important aspect of the education goal.

While we seek to ensure that the disadvantaged are given the opportunity to go to school, we must not lose sight of the need to see them receive an education that provides them with the skills to take them through to secondary level and beyond. Currently, many children who attend are failing to master basic literacy and numeracy skills, even when they complete a full cycle of primary education. That is not good enough. We are working with development partners to raise the quality of teaching and learning, particularly for basic literacy and basic numeracy. We will look to the UN summit in September not only to re-energise international efforts towards ensuring that all children complete their primary education but to ensure that schools and teachers improve the quality of learning.

This debate is timely and relevant and I look forward to noble Lords’ valuable contributions.

--- Later in debate ---

[Baroness Verma]

I thank noble Lords for all their thoughtful and helpful contributions to the debate, and for their warm welcome and kind words. As I set out in my opening remarks, the new coalition Government recognise their responsibility to ensure that every aspect of our UK aid budget both delivers and demonstrates value for money. Programmes supporting access to education, among other key services in developing countries, will be prioritised in aid spending. We will do so in ways that are appropriate to the country context and in ways that will deliver results, whether it is through state or non-state providers, or, indeed, through a combination of both. Our approach to supporting education will be based on what is best for the children in developing countries and one which ensures that the British taxpayers’ money is well spent.

Before responding to points raised in the debate, I want to make some additional points about access and quality. A good school is one that is accessible to every child in the locality; distance and cost should not prevent children from attending regularly year on year. Classrooms should be well equipped places, safe and free from harassment or discrimination.

Girls and boys should have equal rights. The same goes for those children living with disability or HIV/AIDS. Each classroom should have a well trained and committed teacher. Learning materials should be made available. The school should be well led, managed and governed, supported by an efficient education system that strives for education excellence at all levels, assures standards and is responsive and accountable to the public. Children should be supported to reach their full potential. We expect this for our children here in the UK. We should expect no less for children everywhere.

The National Audit Office’s report on DfID’s bilateral support to primary education, published on 18 June 2010, showed that in DfID’s 22 priority countries for education, there has been significant progress on enrolment, improving the balance between boys and girls. The same report also acknowledged that DfID policy advice and financial support has been instrumental in helping partner Governments to boost enrolment. The report states that 14 of those 22 priority countries are on track to achieve the enrolment goal by 2015. It also records that progress on gender parity has been good, with eight of the 22 having already achieved the goal.

Although such progress is not exclusively due to DfID, the report recognised the importance of the role that the Government have played in facilitating change. It has done that by giving prominent advisory support to Governments, by linking its budget support to those aims and by soliciting further support from other donors, typically leveraging funding at levels of two to three times that of the department’s investment.

Governments have also responded with increased national funding. It is this partnership with developing country Governments, together with other donors, civil society, faith groups, the private sector and foundations, that will meet the challenge of delivering universal primary education. The NAO report shows that progress is being made, but it also shows why the Government are right to focus on results: concentrating on outputs and outcomes, not just inputs.

The high cost of education is the biggest deterrent to poor families educating their children, particularly girls. Support to poor and marginalised children to have access to basic services needs to be part of a comprehensive programme, combining system reform and quality improvement. However, we must recognise that in some countries, managing and sustaining increased enrolment can be difficult. That is particularly true where schools have been ill prepared for sudden class size rises and have found themselves without enough teachers, infrastructure or learning materials. There is also an issue of affordability of expanding access to secondary education. The response may involve partnerships with the private sector and targeted subsidies for girls and poor families.

Poor health and nutrition can also seriously undermine school attendance and achievement. Evidence from India and Vietnam indicates that children who are stunted at the age of one will have a lower cognitive ability at the age of five than that of their peers, regardless of their socio-economic background or their parents’ levels of education. While education outcomes support other development outcomes, investments in nutrition and health likewise improve education outcomes. The work that DfID is doing in Bangladesh, Ethiopia, India, Nepal, Nigeria and Zimbabwe to improve the nutrition of at least 12 million children over the next five years amounts to 10 per cent of all undernourished children around the world. That is vital. It will help to ensure that when they start their primary education, their cognitive ability is not already impaired.

The millennium development goals cannot be reached without adequate investment in higher education and skills. Good quality universities and further education colleges are needed to train skilled professionals, the public sector managers, business leaders, and health and education workers of tomorrow. Investment in higher education also drives the science and innovation necessary for economic growth. In sub-Saharan Africa, a student who spends one extra year in higher education has been found on average to increase average annual growth by 0.39 per cent. Through the Development Partnerships in Higher Education programme, we are working with the British Council to support up to 200 partnerships between higher education institutions, and we are supporting education research through three consortia looking at education access, quality and outcomes.

The new Government are reviewing the aid programme to ensure that we target UK aid where it is needed most and where it will make the most significant impact on poverty reduction. We are determined to ensure that the aid budget is used effectively and delivers value for money for the world’s poorest people.

I now turn to questions raised by noble Lords. I will endeavour to answer as many of them as I can, and where I cannot I will provide a written answer. My noble friend Lady Falkner talked about gender inequality. While we all agree with her desire to see the disparity in access to education between boys and girls removed, it is crucial that we work in ways that encourage states to engage with achieving the MDGs. That is why we are carrying out these reviews to see what works and what does not. We owe it to the poorest and to those who give funds that we can guarantee the best value and best outcomes for all those whom we try to reach. The noble Baroness asked about the impact of food prices on education. DfID has provision for contingency funds to meet unexpected needs and has specific provision for humanitarian support.

I agreed with almost everything that the right reverend Prelate the Bishop of Liverpool said. The empowerment of women is key. That is why maternal and child health will be one of our key priorities and why we want to ensure that we look not just at the outcomes for those who are enrolled in the programmes for education but at the quality of the education. I completely agree that the big society should not be constrained to these shores and that we should see ourselves as part of a global big society. My right honourable friend the Secretary of State spoke eloquently in a speech to Oxfam on 3 June when he said that we are part of a much bigger picture. That is why I agree that our duty is not just to young children here but to all children across the globe.

The noble Baroness, Lady Goudie, raised a number of important points about China. In developing global partnerships with China, we can make progress in achieving positive outcomes. Noble Lords all agree that we need to have better audit trails, so that is why we are carrying out reviews of all programmes funded or supported by DfID. We will bring the China aid programme to a conclusion as soon as practicable, but in the mean time we will look at other ways in which we can work more closely with China in the work that China is doing in Africa.

I thank my noble friend Lord Freeman for his kind, warm words. The coalition programme states that we will use the aid budget to support the development of local democratic institutions, civil society groups, the media and enterprise. We must support efforts to tackle corruption. My noble friend highlighted the document to which the noble Lord, Lord Brett, referred. I agree with my noble friend—I do not think that it is a political document. It highlights some of the excellent work being done, and some of the work that needs to be looked at again and, perhaps, be done better. Where there have been problems, we sometimes need to be big enough to say that mistakes were made so that we can reconcile that with improvements and better outcomes.

I thank the noble Lord, Lord Brett, for his kind welcoming words. However, I was waiting for the but, and I got it. I know he agrees that this debate unites the House. I do not agree with him that the narrowness of the debate is the reason why there are so few speakers today. As he will be fully aware, the reason for the number speaking in this debate is the short notice for it rather than the narrowness of its focus.

[Lord Brett]

I recognise the short notice of the debate. One of my sub-questions was whether we will have an opportunity for that wider debate at a later stage.

[Baroness Verma]

My Lords, as the noble Lord is aware, I do not schedule debates. That will be for the usual channels and I am sure that the noble Lord will have his influences there.

As regards the questions raised by the noble Lord, Lord Brett, we routinely meet EU partner Governments in a variety of fora to discuss development issues and we use these discussions to raise the multilateral aid review. We are committed to being open and transparent about how British taxpayers’ money is spent in the developing world. DfID is considering how best to most effectively engage the public in this process.

On interacting with the UN and other agencies, we have already informed our counterparts in other government departments of the purpose of the review. When we make our assessments of the relevant agencies we will do so in close co-operation with those departments with which we are working on funding and policy. We will of course consult widely with other government departments as we take the bilateral aid review forward.

The Government want to engage and involve the whole country in the difficult decisions ahead. The spending review framework published by the Treasury sets out how we will do this across government. This includes a series of events over the summer where a range of groups will discuss various aspects of public spending. DfID is considering how to most effectively engage the public in this process.

The Government are committed to honouring the 0.7 per cent commitment on overseas aid from 2013. We will enshrine this commitment in law. We are committed to keeping both Houses informed and to consulting fully with both Houses. The views of your Lordships’ House are of great interest to the consultation and it is crucial that noble Lords take the opportunity to be part of the consultation process.

The UK’s £1.5 billion commitment to fast-start funding for climate change between 2010 and 2012 is drawn from the UK’s aid budget. We have reaffirmed the UK’s commitment to giving 0.7 per cent of GNI as ODA and are on track to get to 0.7 per cent by 2013. I will have to write to the noble Lord on a number of his questions because I do not have the answers at hand.

I should like to return to what children learn. Improving the quality of education is complex and multidimensional, but we have a good idea of what works. Key strategies associated with success include more and better trained teachers; increasing time on tasks for teachers and children in school; effective leadership in schools; establishing and measuring standards; having structures that empower people and hold them to account; challenging inequity in access; and rigorously monitoring outcomes.

To achieve the goal of universal primary education, the international community needs to address equity, put teaching and learning at the heart of policy and practice, invest in good quality education, and inspire collective action. The United Nations millennium development goals summit in September is the moment for the international community to show that universal primary education by 2015 is a challenge that it will not abandon and to make clear that to achieve that goal we need even greater collective action.

I can assure the House that this Government will give their support to more concentrated action by developed and developing countries, so that those children who are missing out on education—both today’s generation and tomorrow’s—finally get the education that is their right.

I conclude by repeating the five key points made in a speech at the Royal Society on 3 June by my right honourable friend the Secretary of State for International Development: first, that global poverty both affronts our moral conscience and is a direct threat to Britain’s vital national interests; secondly, that well spent UK aid is among the most effective of the instruments we can use, but that radical steps must be taken to ensure that our aid achieves all it can; thirdly, that transparency, accountability, responsibility, fairness and empowerment will be our watchwords; fourthly, that two new concrete steps have been announced to achieve this—the creation of the independent aid watchdog and our commitment to a UK aid transparency guarantee; and, fifthly and finally, although aid is important for development, we must use the whole of the British Government’s policy spectrum to tackle global poverty.

Motion agreed.