Residential Social Care: Staff

Debate between Lord Bethell and Baroness Blower

Monday 6th September 2021 Lords Chamber

[Lord Bethell (Con)]

My Lords, I acknowledge the pressure that local authorities are under. We do indeed keep in very close contact with local authorities that have financial pressure; I assure the noble Baroness that we will not be in a position where we breach the Care Act and that we keep very close tabs on the financial support that social care needs.

[Baroness Blower (Lab)]

My Lords, there is a recruitment and retention problem in social care and a problem of youth unemployment. Does the Minister believe that his responses provide a basis for any young person to consider a career in social care, particularly his response to my noble friend Lord Hendy?

Covid-19: Variant B.1.617.2

Debate between Lord Bethell and Baroness Blower

Wednesday 26th May 2021 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Blower (Lab)]

My Lords, Deepti Gurdasani, of Queen Mary University, is quoted as saying:

“We know from media reports there are many outbreaks of the so-called ‘India variant’ in schools but there’s no systematic data. In Bolton … it looks like schools are contributing to the rapid spread of the virus”.


She concludes that, in a public health emergency, it is crucial that Public Health England has the public’s trust. Can the Minister say how appearing to censor scientific reports and removing mitigations, such as the wearing of masks in schools, can create and sustain that trust?

[Lord Bethell (Con)]

My Lords, I do not quite recognise the world the noble Baroness describes. In fact, I would say that the work between Public Health England, schools, local authorities and local infection teams has never been stronger, and it has proved to be extremely effective. The noble Baroness is right that schools are often a source of infection, and we remember well what happened in September. In areas such as Bolton, we are very careful to ensure that infection measures are put in place. I do not accept that there is an issue of trust.

Covid-19 Update

Debate between Lord Bethell and Baroness Blower

Thursday 10th September 2020 Lords Chamber

[Lord Bethell (Con)]

I completely understand the point that my noble friend is making. The issue of scans is compounded by the problem that many scanning machines are in small, airless rooms, where the risk of contagion is high. None the less, I completely recognise the point she makes about the pastoral and psychological effect of splitting people up at this incredibly sensitive time in their lives. We are reviewing it and we very much hope to make some progress.

[Baroness Blower (Lab) [V]]

My Lords, can the Minister say whether the Government will publish the science behind the decision not to test teachers and education staff—I congratulate them on being back at work—routinely and regularly, bearing in mind that there have already been school closures due to outbreaks? Is it a matter of science or of testing capacity?

[Lord Bethell (Con)]

My Lords, the regulations are not in place at the moment to test the millions of teachers and other important workers who are returning to the workplace on a regular basis. We have neither the science nor the capacity to do so, but we are reviewing this and looking at ways of using testing to restore confidence and enable a return to workplaces or other situations where social distancing is more challenging.

Food: Fruit and Vegetables

Debate between Lord Bethell and Baroness Blower

Monday 6th July 2020 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Blower (Lab) [V]]

My Lords, the School Fruit and Vegetable Scheme is a good scheme. My limited research suggests that children in year groups not currently eligible for the scheme miss their fruit and vegetables. Will the Government therefore consider extending it to all primary-age classes on reinstatement? Will the Minister undertake to work with teachers and the Royal Horticultural Society to promote gardening to grow vegetables, on school sites, for consumption by children?

[Lord Bethell]

I also pay tribute to the School Fruit and Vegetable Scheme. However, it falls outside the remit of the Department of Health, so I do not have details about the scheme to hand, but I would be glad to track them down and throw my weight behind it.