Post-16 Education and Skills Strategy

Earl of Clancarty Excerpts

Wednesday 22nd October 2025 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Smith of Malvern (Lab)]

To reiterate, what we have said is that where there is a T-level in place, we will, as we said we would in the qualifications review that we did last year, defund a large qualification that sits alongside it because all the evidence is that students get through T-levels—and the placements, for example, that go alongside T-levels—a better chance of progression. But, yes, in all other areas we will maintain existing qualifications up to the point that a V-level is in place to replace them. We will want V-levels to build on what is good about current vocational qualifications, including BTECs, and that is why we will engage, through our advisory group, with college principals, the awarding organisations and others. Of course, we have issued a consultation document on the development of V-levels and the other important reforms in post-16 qualifications, which I encourage not just noble Lords but anybody else who is interested in this to contribute to.

[The Earl of Clancarty (CB)]

My Lords, this is certainly an important document. The first thing I noticed about it, though, was that it is being fronted by DSIT but not DCMS, which does not seem to be involved at all—when the creative industries are such an important aspect of the industrial strategy, and in particular the many skill sets that will be needed to drive these industries. Those skills will have their own pathways. So I ask the Minister: what thought has been given to vocational pathways for those who wish to work in the creative industries?

[Baroness Smith of Malvern (Lab)]

There will be opportunities through V-levels for those interested in vocational routes into the creative industries. There will be opportunities through some of the sector skills packages—not least, for example, in the area of digital—to support the creative industries. There is, of course, a sector skills plan as part of the creative industries element of the Government’s industrial strategy.

Youth Unemployment

Earl of Clancarty Excerpts

Thursday 16th October 2025 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Smith of Malvern (Lab)]

I thank my noble friend for that. I do not have at my fingertips the numbers of apprentices employed in each of the government departments. He makes an important point about the role of the public sector, procurement and ensuring that we are linking government spending with the development of skills. That is certainly something that we are doing across government. The Prime Minister could not have been clearer about the significance of enabling young people to gain higher-level skills alongside the excellent opportunities provided by our universities, in setting, as he has done, a clear ambition for the Government to deliver for two-thirds of young people the opportunity of higher-level apprenticeships or higher technical qualifications or degrees. The Government will now get behind that ambition.

[The Earl of Clancarty (CB)]

My Lords, the curriculum review has been mentioned. Would not the Minister agree that it is really important that the curriculum is reset to reflect a well-rounded education? The arts have been diminished in schools in recent years, and the creative industries will be hugely important for our young people in terms of employment in the future.

[Baroness Smith of Malvern (Lab)]

The noble Earl is right that, as part of the curriculum and assessment review, Becky Francis is considering the large amount of evidence that has been provided, and she has been clear in the challenge that the Government have set her, and that she has set herself, that maintaining a strong knowledge base within our curriculum is fundamentally important but so is providing the space for teachers and others to enable young people to develop their creativity in the very widest sense. I am sure we will hear more about that when the curriculum and assessment review is published.

Jobs Market

Earl of Clancarty Excerpts

Monday 13th October 2025 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Sherlock (Lab)]

My Lords, I thank my noble friend for an excellent question. I assume that she refers to the Government’s recent announcement that we are moving away from a target for university entrance to an ambition for two-thirds of young people to reach level 4 by age 25 and 10% to reach levels 4 and 5. In this country, we have traditionally done well on university degrees, but too few young people have level 4 and 5 qualifications—a missing middle that holds back our productivity and stops people getting those higher technical jobs. My noble friend’s point about horizon scanning is crucial. We know that by 2030 we will need 900,000 more skilled workers in priority sectors, two-thirds of whom will need qualifications at levels 4 and 5, so the DWP is working closely with business and, at a local level, local skills improvement plans are led by employers working with jobcentres and local partners. The detail is coming—the Government have a strategy for post-16 education and skills in the long term, which will come out in a White Paper on education and skills that I am assured is imminent.

[The Earl of Clancarty (CB)]

My Lords, more than 84,000 jobs have been lost in the hospitality industry since the last Budget. This is an industry that should be growing, not contracting, as I hope the Minister would agree. What is the Government’s assessment of why this is occurring and how will they address it?

[Baroness Sherlock (Lab)]

My Lords, within hospitality, there are still 78,000 vacancies in accommodation and food service activities. That is unchanged on the quarter and is only 7,000 below the pre-pandemic level. Of course, there are global headwinds across the economy, but retail and hospitality are sectors where there has always been a lot of churn. We need to make sure that there are the appropriate workers at the appropriate level.

Therefore, we have announced the rollout of the hospitality SWAP pilots—sector-based work academy programmes—launched in partnership with UKHospitality. We are spreading them to 26 new areas which are in need of jobs and opportunities, including 13 coastal towns like Scarborough and Blackpool. We are also working with other key sectors. One challenge we have is to make sure we match the skills of workers with the jobs that are available. A SWAP can get someone job-ready and able to move into one of those jobs when they become available. There will always be vacancies and part of our job is to ensure that everyone has a chance of getting one. That is what we are focused on.

Employment, Education and Training: Young People

Earl of Clancarty Excerpts

Tuesday 29th October 2024 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Sherlock (Lab)]

I am grateful to the noble Baroness for raising such an incredibly important point. I have the pleasure of having responsibility in my department for disadvantaged groups including care leavers, and I would be delighted to meet her and talk about this further. For a brief outline, here are some of the things the DWP does to support care leavers in different ways: they get priority access to universal credit and budgeting support and help; care leavers in staying-put arrangements can claim benefits under their own steam until 21 in many cases; and, crucially, we have a second-chance learning scheme, which means that if you are 18 to 21 and a care leaver, you can claim benefits and still study full-time to catch up on education you may have missed earlier. There is a lot more, which I cannot wait to tell her about. I look forward to meeting her.

[The Earl of Clancarty (CB)]

My Lords, we are aware of the numbers, and the Minister is suggesting some action, but can she say how much research is being carried out to find out why NEETs are NEETs? What encouragement are the Government giving to such research?

[Baroness Sherlock (Lab)]

What a great question. It is really interesting. Some people are NEET for short periods, but we know that vulnerable and disadvantaged young people can be NEET for much longer periods and may have complex needs. Some young people are overrepresented in the long-term NEET group, including people with low educational attainment; children who are looked after, as I was discussing just now; children who are permanently excluded, or in PRUs or alternative provision; those with health conditions; and those with special educational needs and/or disabilities. We are trying to attach each of these things separately, as well as looking at this as a category.

Universal Credit

Earl of Clancarty Excerpts

Thursday 12th November 2020 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Stedman-Scott (Con)]

The Government recently increased the national living wage to £8.72 per hour, which means the annual earnings of a full-time worker on the national living wage have increased by nearly £3,700 since 2016. The Spring Budget confirmed a tax cut for 31 million working people, and other tax changes make basic rate taxpayers over £1,200 better off. We have been able to extend the holiday activities and food programme with £220 million, and the Covid winter grant scheme has £170 million, so be in no doubt: the Government do care and do take action.

[The Earl of Clancarty (CB)]

My Lords, every citizen, whether in paid work or not, deserves an income that allows a decent standard of living. We should not be permitting a system where discomfort and, indeed, poverty are built in. You cannot live on the standard allowance—no one can—and that is apart from delays in payment. How can the Minister possibly defend universal credit, even as a viable safety net, when demand for food banks is at a record high and homelessness is rapidly rising, even with the extra £20 a week?

[Baroness Stedman-Scott (Con)]

I understand the noble Earl’s point, but as I said, we have put out a raft of additional support. I could read it out, but it would take the whole 10 minutes, if not longer. I understand his point, but the Government are taking action to make life better for people.

Covid-19: People Living in Poverty

Earl of Clancarty Excerpts

Thursday 30th April 2020 Lords Chamber

[The Earl of Clancarty (CB)]

My Lords, in normal times it is the duty of a Government to provide an adequate safety net for the poorest in society. There is no clearer indication of the Government’s failure to do so since the financial crash than the rise in the demand for food banks, the use of which last year was the highest ever recorded. Behind the help currently being given to some, we are nevertheless still “austerity Britain” with a level of welfare provision that is wholly inadequate for those being left with little or no income.

The effect of Covid on top of continuing austerity is a double whammy. The Government need to recognise this, otherwise why would 1.5 million UK citizens not be eating for a whole day, and why would already struggling councils be handing out emergency grants? The welfare system should cover those needs, even in a crisis, although better still would be a basic income. Welfare needs to be reformed to speed up payments, remove the restrictive conditionality and, significantly, raise the level of payments far beyond the current modest increases. When food banks are a thing of the past, we can start to stop talking about poverty.

Architecture and the Built Environment

Earl of Clancarty Excerpts

Monday 28th July 2014 Lords Chamber

[The Earl of Clancarty (CB)]

My Lords, I thank the noble Baroness, Lady Whitaker, for the opportunity to participate in this debate. The report in question, as one led by an architecture practice, emphasises the immediate built environment, which to me feels refreshing. The report rightly stresses the significance of school education, a central aspect of which should be an awareness of the importance of, to cite the review,

“‘your home, your street, your neighbourhood, your town’ where the smallest part, your home and your street, collectively make an enormous contribution to the future of our planet”.

There are many contexts for the study of architecture. The distinction between public and private space is one crucial context not addressed in the report. The first place where the child experiences architecture in a meaningful way must be their home; a good topic, surely, for a child’s first learning about architecture

The reality is that architectural and planning decisions are being made every day around us. My young daughter was aghast when she went to our local playground only to find that many things, including her favourite climbing frame, had disappeared and been replaced by other equipment. She got used to the changes, but she did feel left out of the decision-making process—as, in the wider sense, do many adults about the planning process, and increasingly so, despite the coalition’s long-standing localism agenda. The right as a citizen to have a say in one’s architectural environment should be taught in schools. That should include at least one visit to the local council.

Architecture is clearly not only about history or about famous buildings, important though they are, although the national curriculum would have us learn first at key stage 2 who the so-called great architects are. If this report is to be taken seriously, then we should be looking carefully at the tone and content of the national curriculum.

The report stresses the importance of teaching. It states:

“Architecture, the built environment and an understanding of ‘place’ ... through many different subjects including art and design, geography, history and STEM subjects … rather than as a subject in its own right”.

That multifaceted approach fits with what architecture schools want.

A problem, however, with this approach is that art and design are under increasing threat, particularly in state schools, and less so in independent schools—as is teacher training in these subjects. This is well demonstrated in a new survey by the National Society for Education in Art and Design, which also makes clear that these are things which the Government have in their power to rectify. If these trends continue, success will be made more difficult for some of the good ideas that this report contains, such as the local “urban rooms” that could be used for school outreach work.

I was taken with the idea that councillors should have training in design literacy. At a time when the public have less and less faith that the right planning decisions are being made, this can only be a good thing, although it would mean public money being spent on this, as well as in other areas—despite the plea for volunteering—if this report’s recommendations are to be followed through.

Culture: Cinema

Earl of Clancarty Excerpts

Wednesday 2nd April 2014 Lords Chamber

[The Earl of Clancarty (CB)]

My Lords, I thank the noble Lord, Lord Stevenson, for the opportunity to talk in this debate. If there were to be two little tweaks I would have made to the terms of the debate, they would have been to put “diverse” in front of “cinema culture”, and “access to a” in front of “diverse”, although the basic premise of having a debate where the accent is on cinema culture rather than on the film industry is an important one.

The way I understand the term “cinema culture” is that it is part of film culture more generally in this country, of which the film industry is then also a part. I think it is important to place it in this context because the cinema should not be regarded as merely an adjunct to, or only for the consumption of, contemporary British and American commercial cinema, important as that function is.

From the film industry’s point of view, it needs to be said that the film industry in the UK has not developed and does not develop in a cultural vacuum. The noble Baroness, Lady McIntosh, made the point at Question Time on Monday about the interdependence of theatre and film, which has been a long-standing characteristic of British cinema and continues to be productive. One can add to that the influence of the visual arts, from Derek Jarman to Steve McQueen. As an artist, I am aware that the influences go the other way as well. One can see that in the work of Richard Hamilton, for example, whose retrospective is currently at Tate Modern. The arts world as a whole, which sometimes seems ghettoised, is a place where many influences pervade. This is certainly growing not just in the UK but in other countries in Europe and America, as many individual artists in the widest sense work more and more in different mediums of which film-making is one. With this wider cultural context in mind, the Government have to be careful that they do not simply narrowly support a film industry for purely commercial reasons while stripping away support for film culture and for the other less commercial arts that feed into that culture.

Cinema culture must include enabling access to global cinema and the history of film. The funding cuts to the BFI of 10% in the next year, in this context as well as others, as the noble Lord, Lord Stevenson, pointed out, are worrying. I wonder, too, whether more can be done for our art-house cinemas generally, as I think that the appetite for world cinema is much greater than is commonly believed.

I want to take the opportunity of expanding further on an issue that we discussed in this Chamber late last year. I refer to the Competition Commission’s ruling on Cineworld regarding its arts Picturehouses, to which the noble Baroness, Lady Kidron, referred. There are two things I want to say about this. First, the Competition Commission must in such cases take into consideration cultural value, which perhaps ought to be a precept for the whole of this debate. There is a resonance here within the wider arts world about what all arts and cultural enterprises have to offer that is distinct from commercial interest. I think it is impossible for a body placed in this situation to make a meaningful decision without bearing in mind this concern. For example, one can cite the Cambridge Film Festival held at the Cambridge Arts Picturehouse as having a distinct cultural value. The second, and related, thing is the Competition Commission’s insistence on there having to be two entirely separate markets, and the accent being on so-called value for money and the behaviour of the cinema-goer. I can see how the problem has occurred because of the development in recent years of what might be termed combination cinemas, where new commercial releases are played side by side with foreign language films or older classics. The reality is that individual cinema-goers will often go to many different kinds of films. I do not know of an avid cinema-goer who would not, for example, go to see a new subtitled release from Iran one day but the next go to see—perhaps with their family, perhaps not—the latest Muppets film. It is pure snobbery to suggest that such a separation has to exist in cinema-goers but that is not so say that art houses do not nevertheless offer a distinct and uniquely valuable product over and above the commercial screens which an exclusive commercial cinema does not. The proposal of the noble Baroness, Lady Kidron, of an art screen designation as a standard needs to be taken very seriously.

Commercial cinema is thriving in the UK, although it is also changing and may not always in future be completely about film in the traditional sense, as the noble Baroness, Lady Bakewell, pointed out. The rise of event cinema is testament to a burning desire that continues to exist for being part of an audience in front of a big screen. Such an event last year involving film, funded by the BFI Distribution Fund new models scheme, was Ben Wheatley’s film “A Field in England”, which premiered simultaneously at the cinema, on Film4 and on DVD and Blu-ray. Public funding should still have a hugely important part to play in promoting diversity and encouraging access and innovation in our cinema culture.

Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill

Earl of Clancarty Excerpts

Tuesday 4th June 2013 Lords Chamber

[The Earl of Clancarty]

My Lords, the great majority of young people are baffled by the fuss over same-sex marriage. In terms of change happening, they do not see a huge gulf between civil partnerships and marriage, even as we need to acknowledge that the distinction is important for gays and lesbians who wish to be married. The latest YouGov poll for the Sunday Times last month had under-40s in favour of same-sex marriage by more than three to one. Indeed, some young people that I have talked to believe that same-sex marriage already exists in this country, and are surprised that this is not yet the case. Young people’s opinion is well in advance of the legislation itself.

There are some in favour of the Bill who have argued that, with the conditions attached, it takes a modest and reasonable step. I do not entirely agree with that assessment because real progress in human rights, which is what the Bill is about—a point made yesterday by the noble Baroness, Lady Lister of Burtersett—always enters new territory and is always difficult for some, if not, in this case, for the majority of young people. The Bill will redefine marriage but, I believe, for the better.

The institution of marriage as it stands is the last redoubt of discrimination against gays and lesbians. It reminds me of the latter-day struggles that women have had, long after they won the right to vote, to gain access to the pubs and clubs, among other places, from which, in many communities, they continued to be excluded—excluding them from defining aspects of the culture. Whatever people think of marriage, and, as we have heard in this debate, there are those who are critical of marriage as a formal institution, the reality is that marriage is a defining aspect of our culture. However, just as we are in the process of restructuring our social and work meeting places, so we also need to redefine marriage to make it a more inclusive institution.

The letter from the right reverend prelate the Bishop of Bristol and others published in the Daily Telegraph on Saturday says that:

“Marriage between a man and a woman is the fundamental building block of human society”.

Apart from the highly questionable assertion that marriage in any form is the fundamental building block, I would argue that it is not the constituent sexes that make it a building block but the public act of commitment by two individuals to each other, as some brilliant, heartfelt speeches have already made clear. We should recall Elizabeth I’s dictum not to be making “windows into men’s souls”, a politic plea for religious tolerance in her own time that, in ours, should become an acceptance that there are many valid reasons why two people wish to get married. No church, whatever its policy, should have a monopoly over this institution, and Quakers and other churches that wish to perform same-sex marriages should be allowed to do so. This will be the meaning of equality.

As the mayor of New York, Michael Bloomberg, said in the Guardian:

“Religious tolerance is a vital part of a democratic society. But religious rules should never dictate society’s laws”.

Furthermore, those who see marriage in a traditional sense are missing the much wider picture that unusual or even themed weddings that do not have religious content in any formal manner are already taking place. Heterosexual couples are introducing their own personal or spiritual stamps on their marriages. Therefore, it seems doubly ironic that a gay or lesbian who is a practising Christian and has been going to church on a weekly basis over a long period of time may have no claim over having a church marriage, whereas a non-believer has. That is a matter for the church, though, and the speeches that we have heard over the past two days from Christians give me hope that things will change. As someone who is married and therefore part of the institution of marriage, I would be embarrassed if, at the very least, the opportunity presented by this Bill was not taken to allow others who have been excluded to now be able to participate.

On civil partnerships, I agree with what Peter Tatchell has said about equality. The important thing is to get the Bill on the statute book. I suspect that it will become clear quite quickly that heterosexual couples will be at a disadvantage over the choice of form of union that they can opt for and that further legislation will be needed to correct this if the correction is not included in the Bill, which would be more efficient. It is perhaps most immediately important to ensure that heterosexual and gay couples have the same, equal rights in terms of survivor benefits.

Looking around the House, I think it would be fair to say that most of our marital choices have already been made, whether that means having married once, twice or more, or not—yet. But the young people of this country who are still to make these choices are very clear about how they feel about same-sex marriage and what they want us to do. If this House were to vote the Bill down—I say “were” because I do not believe that that will happen—it would show itself to be seriously out of touch with the youth of the country. I support the Bill and will vote against the amendment of the noble Lord, Lord Dear.

Media and Creative Industries: Equality

Earl of Clancarty Excerpts

Monday 25th February 2013 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Stowell of Beeston]

I share the point that the noble Baroness has raised. I am aware that the BBC, which is the main public service broadcaster, has the largest responsibility to ensure that it is reaching out to new people in terms of its workforce. There are a couple of schemes that the noble Baroness may or may not be aware of. A BBC apprenticeship scheme has recruited over 50 apprentices in the past 18 to 20 months, 30% of whom were from the black and minority ethnic communities. The BBC’s work experience scheme has ensured since January 2011 that 60% are from BME backgrounds, and of those 21% have secured paid work at the BBC. The latter scheme has been recommended for an award for extending diversity in the workplace.

[The Earl of Clancarty]

My Lords, do the Government accept that cultural diversity in the creative industries will have significant roots in school education? If so, will the Minister say what they are doing to encourage every child, whatever their background, to have the best possible education in art and design subjects?

[Baroness Stowell of Beeston]

The noble Earl raises an important point about how we can ensure that people’s aspirations at school are broadened and increased to include areas which might not be most obvious to them. I certainly support that. I do not have a specific response to the noble Earl on his question, but I will see whether I can follow up in writing.