Covid-19: Economic Package

Debate between Lord Bishop of Durham and Lord Agnew of Oulton

Wednesday 13th May 2020 Lords Chamber

[Lord Agnew of Oulton]

I assure the noble Lord that we are aware of the regional differences that will emerge in the aftermath of this crisis. It is worth reminding the House that the furlough scheme, for example, applies across all devolved regions.

On his comments on health sector and social care workers, I add my congratulations on, and respect for, the huge amount that they have done. We cannot at this stage commit to any future payments, because, as I mentioned, we will have an enormous financial hill to climb at the end of this crisis. However, I recognise the great work that they have done.

[The Lord Bishop of Durham]

The extension of the JRS is extremely welcome. Here in the north-east, we have a worryingly high infection rate and among the highest average death rates per capita. Will Her Majesty’s Government consider taking a regional approach to phasing out the JRS, ensuring that the economic and social needs of each region are reflected adequately in the Government’s ongoing support?

[Lord Agnew of Oulton]

To answer the right reverend Prelate’s question, what we have always done through this crisis over the past few months is take a flexible approach and respond as events confront us. If we see that different regions are suffering more than others, we will, of course, look on that as sympathetically as we can.

Education Funding

Debate between Lord Bishop of Durham and Lord Agnew of Oulton

Tuesday 3rd September 2019 Lords Chamber

[Lord Agnew of Oulton]

My noble friend asks important questions, too. The ambassador schools are a new initiative which we are working on at the moment, so I will be happy to write to him when we have developed the information a little more. There is a school—I believe it is in Tunbridge Wells—where 38 of its 100 teaching staff are part time, yet it achieves outstanding educational results. This is a process of education for the teaching profession to show that job sharing and part-time teaching are viable in a school setting. We will develop that, and I will write to my noble friend as we push that forward.

Likewise, the national behaviour hubs have rolled out very recently. The extra money will enhance the number of hubs. My noble friend is not here, but, if he were, I could give a number and he could nod at me, but I think that we are starting with around eight hubs. I might be wrong and will write if that is so, but the idea is to take best practice from those schools that are good at it to show those which are struggling. That is how we plan to roll it out.

On the NFF, as the noble Lord, Lord Watson, pointed out, the funding that we are proposing will be fed in over the next three years, but the idea is that, by 2022-23, all schools will be on or above that funding. For those that are well below it, particularly primaries, we are not pushing up the amount straightaway from £3,500 to £4,000 per pupil, because we want them to have time to absorb the extra resource, so the allocation will go up by £250 next year and reach £4,000 the following year.

[The Lord Bishop of Durham]

I thank the Minister for repeating the Statement. Much of it is extremely welcome. We know that rural schools in particular have been under enormous pressure, so the fact that the new formula should assist them is really to be welcomed. However, is the Minister confident that it will offer the real protection that some of those schools need? They are at the heart of their communities, and the loss of them will have a massive impact on those small rural communities. I would like a reassurance on that. I remain slightly unconvinced that schools in the poorest areas will not lose out. I accept that pupil premium is clearly there, but I remain concerned that the evidence that the Sunday Times has produced so far means that the poorest may suffer.

The noble Lord, Lord Watson, asked a question about early years; we know that the earliest years matter most. I hope the Minister will forgive me if I missed something in his earlier response about what further commitment to sustaining early years education might be.

If I may add my voice to that of the noble Baroness, Lady Garden, I think that further work needs to be done on alternative ways for literacy and maths, not just keeping on pushing GCSEs. Yes, it is great that some further students passed, and the Minister gave us the numbers, but that alone will not solve the issue. We must find some alternatives.

[Lord Agnew of Oulton]

I am perhaps more optimistic on rural schools than the right reverend Prelate. Coming from a rural background myself, I know the importance of these schools in communities beyond the simple provision of education. As he quite rightly said, some of the greatest increases in funding will go to these schools over the next two to three years. I am therefore very confident that it will be a huge boost to them.

Early years was not the subject of this announcement. It may be addressed as part of the spending review tomorrow, but it is not in the remit of this announcement.

I hear the right reverend Prelate’s concern on these retakes, but I am afraid I respectfully disagree with him; I think it is incredibly important that they get these base qualifications so that they can progress to their career, but I accept that we need to find better ways of educating. I am particularly interested in edtech, which might bring in ways of teaching that have previously eluded those pupils.

Universal Credit: Free School Meals

Debate between Lord Bishop of Durham and Lord Agnew of Oulton

Thursday 21st February 2019 Lords Chamber

[Lord Agnew of Oulton]

My Lords, as I said in response to an earlier question, the number of children in receipt of free school meals has increased over the past eight years. I agree with the noble Lord that a nutritious diet is essential for young people; that is why, as he will be aware, we encourage breakfast clubs and introduced the sugar tax, both of which aim to create a healthier nutritional outlook.

[The Lord Bishop of Durham]

My Lords, the two-child limit means that welfare reforms weigh particularly heavily on families with three or more children. What assessment have the Government made of the consequence of changes to free school meals that are set to impact on children with more than one sibling? Does the Minister agree that this policy will effectively harm children from large families through no fault of their own?

[Lord Agnew of Oulton]

My Lords, the Secretary of State for the DWP announced some changes in the past few weeks. We included the two-child limit in those changes but I am happy to write to the right reverend Prelate if he needs more information.