Education: Skills
Debate between Baroness Wilcox and Lord Martin of Springburn
Baroness Wilcox
The noble Lord is an expert on this subject and I think carefully about the answers that I give him. Yes, he had already given me sight of the Question he was going to ask. There is no evidence to suggest that the Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Act is not compliant with the Equality Act. The Equality and Human Rights Commission is a critical friend in order for us to be assured of continued compliance, and it stays alongside us. On tackling the colleges and providers, where a college or provider is not using appropriate access arrangements they may lose their right to deliver these qualifications as an approved centre. We will be watching that situation very carefully. Both English and mathematics, of course, are ongoing problems for people with dyslexia but, where barriers to access remain, as a last resort individuals can be exempted from up to two or three of the assessed components within the functions skills—I have checked this and found it to be right—speaking, listening, communication, reading and writing. In the last event, two or three of those components can be removed to make it as accessible as possible.
Perhaps I might add that the employers are very keen that everyone should have basic English and mathematics, and we know how difficult this is for many people with dyslexia. However, it is important, if we can, to keep people with disabilities and dyslexia inside the system and to help them to be as much a part of our community as everyone else. So, wherever it is possible to keep people inside the community, we will. I am sorry that my answer was long but the issue is important.
Lord Martin of Springburn
My Lords, does the Minister agree that many of our excellent tradesmen and tradeswomen would readily acknowledge that when they were young they were not too good at passing exams? We must be very careful when encouraging young people to come into apprenticeships that we do not make exams a barrier.
Small Businesses: Finance
Debate between Baroness Wilcox and Lord Martin of Springburn(12 years, 10 months ago)
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Baroness Wilcox
Of course, I agree with my noble friend. It is a great asset to allow families to support new businesses. I have no doubt that in the next few weeks when the Budget comes to us, we will hear the Chancellor emphasise again the points that my noble friend made so well.
Lord Martin of Springburn
My Lords, it is deeply worrying when stories come from self-employed businesspeople running small companies—sometimes one-man companies—that the banks give verbal assurances that they will give them finance, but several weeks later when they come to sign up the banks withdraw the assurances. That is cruel and hard, and I hope that the Government will be able to do something about it.
Baroness Wilcox
We are of course very aware that very often it is difficult for small businesses to make their case. They do not have the mechanisms that large companies have and are not sure how to go and speak to the banks. The banks assure us that they are working very hard to help people, particularly self-employed people, who come to make a business case. Of course, they have to make a business case because it is other people's money that they are borrowing.
Employment Law: Unfair Dismissal
Debate between Baroness Wilcox and Lord Martin of Springburn
Baroness Wilcox
My noble friend of course has long experience in this House and I am delighted to hear him ask a question. It is worrying that small companies tell us that they are nervous about employing people. That should not be the case. We need jobs for our young people and for people who have been long-term unemployed. We need our new, coming companies to be confident to employ people. I have been an employer at a small company and a large company, and extending this period means that you have time to get used to each other and to learn the job. Very often people take more time than others to get used to that. We do not think a year is long enough and therefore we will be extending it to two.
Lord Martin of Springburn
Drawing on my own industrial background, I put it to the noble Baroness that two years is far too long. We have come a long way from the days when a worker who had a complaint was told, “If you don’t like it, there’s the door”. We are in danger of going back to those days.
Baroness Wilcox
Other rights, including “day one rights” such as the right not to be discriminated against, are unaffected and will continue to be so. We are trying to see whether this particular piece of work will get more people into employment and will work for smaller companies, which are nervous and which do not very often have big HR departments to help them. We need to get the trust back between the employer and the employee and I think that this will be a good way to do it.
Apprenticeships: Dyslexia
Debate between Baroness Wilcox and Lord Martin of Springburn
Baroness Wilcox
My noble friend rightly repeats a worry and a question that he has over the fact that using the key skills system for the apprenticeships is extremely difficult. We are looking, as he knows, at how we can improve access. There is no doubt that to encourage employers to take as many apprentices as possible is good for our country and we want to use all the talents that we have. That means harnessing able and disabled students wherever possible.
Lord Martin of Springburn
My Lords, would the noble Baroness consider the fact that when I was an apprentice those who were most helpful to the apprentices in the factory were normally the journeymen over the age of 50 who had more patience and tended to mentor the young people, not only in their trade but in their behaviour and other matters? A large number of men and women are unemployed and retired and could be used for mentoring apprentices. Could this be considered by the Government? By the way, I welcome the Government’s action in encouraging apprenticeships.
Baroness Wilcox
I agree with the noble Lord. My father was an apprentice and he, too, became a journeyman, which is a wonderful thing. Perhaps we can find a use in that way. I will take this back and discuss it, and will come back to the noble Lord.
Loan Companies: Interest Rates
Debate between Baroness Wilcox and Lord Martin of Springburn
Baroness Wilcox
My Lords, I thank the noble Lord for that question and for actually giving part of the answer. The line to take on this is that advertisements for high-cost credit, such as those for instant loans, should carry a wealth warning. We are looking at that interesting idea. The Office of Fair Trading has just made a report which we will be looking at to find a way forward on all of this. This issue affects all of us and it does not matter which side of this House we are on. We all understand the idea that people have to have access to some form of lending and credit, but I can quite understand that seeing these advertisements on the television has upset an awful lot of people, who think that it sounds far too easy. We are and will be looking at ways to see if we can make clearer the information that the general public get, in a language that they can understand.
Lord Martin of Springburn
My Lords, can I receive an assurance that every help and assistance will given to community-based credit unions which do excellent jobs and give people in the poorest areas an opportunity to have a say in the running of their own financial affairs?
Baroness Wilcox
I am delighted to hear someone mention credit unions. They are a wonderful idea. When I chaired the National Consumer Council, we did our very best to get people interested in credit unions. They work extremely well in Germany and Canada, but for some reason they have never taken off as well in this country as we would like. It is a very simple form of people coming together, putting the money together and getting a loan when they need it. We will try again to see if we can market this idea better. It is a wonderful way and we do so hope that we can manage to bring this forward. I know that the previous Government tried as well.