Early Years Provision: Bell Review

Lord Kirkhope of Harrogate Excerpts

Monday 21st October 2024 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Boycott (CB)]

My Lords—

[Lord Kirkhope of Harrogate (Con)]

My Lords, what is so encouraging is the way fathers are now involved in looking after children, and it is very important—

[Lord Kennedy of Southwark (Lab Co-op)]

My Lords, we will turn to the Cross Benches next, and then we will hear from the noble Lord.

--- Later in debate ---

[Baroness Smith of Malvern (Lab)]

I am sure that my colleagues in the Department of Health and Social Care will look closely at that, given their concern to ensure that babies and children have the healthiest start in life.

[Lord Kirkhope of Harrogate (Con)]

My Lords, I was saying that it is quite inspirational how fathers, particularly young fathers, are now much more involved in bringing up young children. We should recognise that sharing of responsibilities in many families. What do the Government say about that? What more can be done to encourage fathers to get more involved in bringing up their young children?

[Baroness Smith of Malvern (Lab)]

The noble Lord makes a very important point. I know from personal experience that, where fathers can give that care, it has an enormously important impact on children and their development. Obviously, over recent years we are more able, through parental leave provisions, to share that leave at the early stages of children’s lives. I assure the noble Lord that, across government, we will continue to think about ways we can support parents, including fathers, in doing that very important role.

Independent Schools: VAT Exemption

Lord Kirkhope of Harrogate Excerpts

Thursday 5th September 2024 Lords Chamber

[Lord Kirkhope of Harrogate (Con)]

My Lords, I declare my interests in this subject, first as a former pupil, then a parent and then a governor of the independent Royal Grammar School in Newcastle upon Tyne. I will concentrate some of my remarks on giving a few facts about my old school. Established in 1525, it is coming up to its 500 years. The school has always promoted a rich social diversity. When I attended, a little later than that, we had the benefit of the assisted places scheme, with many students attending based on their potential, not their financial circumstances. The school has had one of the most distinguished academic records of any school in the United Kingdom, particularly in its region, the north of England.

When the assisted places scheme was withdrawn, the school found ways of keeping its diversity by offering support and finding some or all of the fees for many deserving students and later, to this day, seeking bursary advances from institutions, former pupils and others to maintain that broad offer. Nearly 100 students at the school are currently supported by bursaries. Since going co-ed the pupil roll has gone to more than 1,300, and the mix has added to the comprehensive nature of the education provided. But the school has never considered itself as a privileged island, remote from the community. I am sorry that the noble Lord, Lord Griffiths, is no longer in this place because his reference to this is important. The Minister can get confirmation of that from north-east representatives at all levels.

There is a genuine pride of that establishment in the region. The Labour-controlled Newcastle City Council is constantly in touch with the school and using its assistance in various ways. The governing body has local authority representatives from the neighbouring areas, and its contribution to the community includes the sharing of its assets. More than 100 state schools in the north-east of England benefit from Royal Grammar School specialist staff, who assist with subjects including maths, physics, robotics and computer science. In its charitable status declaration, it includes reference particularly to providing facilities of social welfare to the public at large, with a view to improving the conditions of life in Newcastle upon Tyne and the north-east of England. This is really important.

Alumni have included many who have gone on to be leaders in their fields, in academia, medicine, the arts, the law, sport, religion and public service. I was interested to hear the reference by the noble Lord, Lord Alton, to the ECHR; I think I will have to advise my honourable friends standing for the leadership of my party of that point, in case they develop that theme too much, but it is very important. Can the Government please examine carefully whether legality exists in this case? If they persist in their plan, may they please at the very least look at ways in which they can give concessions to reflect the community output of a school based on its belief in encouraging good education everywhere?

Although bursaries are a means of benefiting those from poorer situations—from an RGS education, for instance—they do not benefit those parents who narrowly fail to meet the criteria for such awards or where the limit of grants has been reached. Many struggle to give their children the opportunity to receive this form of education best suited to their needs. Levying VAT on fees will have a big impact on those families and force compromises, including on services offered by the school both internally and externally. Regardless of the commitment of the Government to this policy, I therefore hope that they will find ways to recognise schools such as the Royal Grammar School in Newcastle, with its strong involvement for good education and community concern.

Schools: “Ghost Children”

Lord Kirkhope of Harrogate Excerpts

Tuesday 2nd May 2023 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Barran (Con)]

As I said, we would need primary legislation to bring in statutory registers; until a legislative opportunity is available, we will work very hard to make the voluntary registers work. There are very high rates of return from local authorities—over 90% of them are returning their data on a voluntary basis.

[Lord Kirkhope of Harrogate (Con)]

My Lords, I want to pursue the question asked by the noble Lord, Lord Storey. Home education has been growing dramatically in this country and following on from the Ofsted processes in schools there is a growing concern that many children are not obtaining the level of education that they should have. Children who are home educated are under very few regulations, and it is necessary for something to be done, rather than leaving this in a nebulous state with local authorities.

[Baroness Barran (Con)]

I am sorry that my noble friend feels that it is in a nebulous state; I do not think the local authorities who are working on this would necessarily agree with him. I point him to my earlier answers in relation to the legislative timetable, and we are also keen to make sure that home-educating parents who are struggling receive support so that they can give their children a good education if that is the right thing for them.

Children: Rights and Well-being

Lord Kirkhope of Harrogate Excerpts

Thursday 9th January 2020 Lords Chamber

[Lord Agnew of Oulton]

My Lords, we are committed to social care; it is one of our top priorities. In the settlement for 2020-21, we see the largest rise in core spending since 2015; a real-terms increase of 4.3%. On top of that, we are investing £84 million in targeted, evidence-based interventions to improve the support provided to vulnerable children and their families and to enable more children to stay at home, thriving with those families.

[Lord Kirkhope of Harrogate (Con)]

My Lords, in 1996, I had the privilege of representing this country at the congress that took place on the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child in Stockholm. We in this country were proud of our presentation on that occasion, and we should continue to be proud of the efforts we have made in relation to the rights of the child, both domestically and elsewhere. Is it not a good idea that we should perhaps have a more comprehensive review, to make sure that we bring together in a more co-ordinated fashion all the elements throughout our departments which protect children?

[Lord Agnew of Oulton]

I agree with my noble friend that this is a continuous effort that needs to go across government. We know that government can be weak across departmental initiatives, and I completely agree that we should do everything we can to strengthen that.

National School Breakfast Programme

Lord Kirkhope of Harrogate Excerpts

Thursday 5th September 2019 Lords Chamber

[Lord Agnew of Oulton]

The noble Baroness makes important points. There is both a macro and a micro issue here. For example, today I looked at the LIFFE futures price for wheat: it is £130 a tonne. When I last worked on my father’s farm in 1978 it was about £100 a tonne. Food has never been cheaper. We have had a revolution in the provision of food in this country and, indeed, in the western world. We need to understand why these families are struggling to produce meals at home. A great deal of that centres around education. I appeared before a Select Committee yesterday on holiday hunger and we need to learn a lot more about this. We have introduced the infant free school meals in the past couple of years. That programme is feeding 1.5 million children and has an 85% take-up.

[Lord Kirkhope of Harrogate (Con)]

Does my noble friend agree that much of the funding for these schemes comes from the soft drinks industry? Can he confirm that it is difficult to avoid a conflict of interest when those that might be providing sustenance which is not always as healthy as it should be are involved in schemes such as these?

[Lord Agnew of Oulton]

The noble Lord is quite right. I should perhaps declare my own interest as someone who grows 3,500 tonnes of sugar beet every year. Of course, a lot of that sugar does not go to the right places. The levy is designed as a pump-primer for the system. We want to see this money encouraging schools to start breakfast clubs that are sustainable in the long term. Noble Lords will be aware that we have just announced a tremendous funding settlement for schools over the next three years. I am confident that there are now resources coming into schools that will enable them to sustain them.

Schools: Modern Languages

Lord Kirkhope of Harrogate Excerpts

Tuesday 9th April 2019 Lords Chamber

[Lord Kirkhope of Harrogate (Con)]

My Lords, I am not a fuddy-duddy, but, while I appreciate and support more modern foreign languages being taught, does my noble friend not agree that the standard of English, particularly its grammar, in our schools and universities is now at its lowest level for a long time? Would he not agree therefore that we perhaps also ought to encourage the study of the classical languages, such as Latin, which helps all students understand English grammar better?

[Lord Agnew of Oulton]

My noble friend is right; I do not think he is being a fuddy-duddy at all. We have seen a degradation in grammar; I am a martinet in the department when I receive poorly written subs—I send them straight back. I commend to the House the small charity Classics for All, which is doing as my noble friend suggested—taking Latin into areas of deprivation. I have a few references to it here which might hearten him:

“What I hadn’t expected when I started teaching Latin classes here was the students’ sheer joy of learning Latin for its intrinsic beauty and the excitement of etymology! Students actually love declining and conjugating. They see a beauty in the language of ancient poets and warriors”.


Even a child, Mohammed, said:

“I just love it. It’s just fun”.


I did not have the same experience when I was learning Latin.

Home Education (Duty of Local Authorities) Bill [HL]

Lord Kirkhope of Harrogate Excerpts

Committee: 1st sitting (Hansard): House of Lords
Friday 27th April 2018 Lords Chamber

[Lord Kirkhope of Harrogate (Con)]

My Lords, on the noble Lord’s reference to philosophical preferences, my recollection, as a Member of Parliament some years ago, was that in a number of cases one wanted to support home education, but there were deep concerns about the motivation of the parents in seeking such an arrangement. Does he not think that a wider approach that allows for preferences is harmful to many children who are deprived of the association with others that they need? Are we not moving towards a form of designer education, which would be utterly undesirable?