Afghanistan: Quarterly Statement

Debate between Lord Laming and Baroness Northover

Wednesday 14th May 2014 Lords Chamber

[Lord Laming (CB)]

I associate myself with the very sincere and warm tributes that the Minister paid to the troops who have recently given their lives in Afghanistan. I feel sure that across the House we would like our troops to know that they have our complete support and we will never underestimate their bravery and what they do on behalf of our society.

It is difficult to single out the achievements in Afghanistan, but will the Minister convey to the Ministry of Defence how pleased we are to hear of the huge increase in the education opportunities for girls in Afghanistan? If anything is a fitting tribute to what our troops have achieved, that is it.

[Baroness Northover]

I thank the noble Lord for what he has just said. Of course, one of the names I read out was Oliver Thomas, whom many of us knew as he was a parliamentary researcher. That brings it home to those who would otherwise not feel the impact of the contribution that they have had to make. The noble Lord is right about the education of girls. The transformation from 2001, when virtually no girls were in school, is astonishing. Of the 6.3 million children in school in Afghanistan, about 2 million are girls. We have not got to equality, but we have made a lot of progress and will make sure it continues.

DfID: Tied Aid

Debate between Lord Laming and Baroness Northover

Monday 11th March 2013 Lords Chamber

[Lord Laming]

My Lords, I, too, am grateful for the Statement repeated by the noble Baroness. Could the noble Baroness reassure the House that actions are always in place to ensure that when these decisions are made the beneficiaries receive the benefit—I am expressing this badly but noble Lords know what I mean—that the money goes to the right place for the right purposes, that it is properly monitored and that we are reassured that it is not being diverted into other means?

[Baroness Northover]

I thank the noble Lord for that question. I assure both noble Lords that DfID supports responsible business standards, which are very relevant here, through various schemes such as the Ethical Trading Initiative, the UN global compact, OECD guidelines for multinational enterprises and so on. One striking thing about the United Kingdom’s potential help for developing countries is what we can offer by way of our law and justice system. I was struck in meeting the Minister responsible for mines from Afghanistan the other day to learn how initially they found that in dealing with Chinese companies the benefit was probably not for Afghanistan so much as for the Chinese companies, but that now they are rooting it very much in British law guided by British companies. That is an instance where it is of mutual benefit. Of course, it is of benefit in business to the British companies working in this area, but you can see immediately the effect in terms of the poorest in Afghanistan. That is where the greatest benefit is. Therefore, these things can be looked at as of not exclusive but mutual benefit.

General Social Care Council

Debate between Lord Laming and Baroness Northover

Wednesday 11th May 2011 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Northover]

The noble Lord—who I believe was the Minister responsible for setting up the General Social Care Council—is, not surprisingly, challenging us on this. As he will know, in 2009 there was a review of the council which concluded that it lacked focus. In essence, there was a muddling together of the regulatory function and the professionalisation of this area. One of the things that the review strongly recommended was that the profession of social workers should be regulated in the same way as the independent Health Professions Council has done. This change introduces that. The noble Lord expresses concern about whether it will reduce the effectiveness of that regulation. I do not think that it will; I think that it will make it clearer. It is very important that other bodies which, as he knows, currently exist, take forward the separate professionalisation and strengthening of the profession of social work.

[Lord Laming]

The noble Baroness will recall that some years ago a former distinguished Member of the Benches opposite chaired a royal commission on social work. One of its aims was to create a separate identity for social work. I am sure the noble Baroness will agree that since then a great deal of time and effort have been devoted to helping social workers become both more competent and more confident. Is she aware that if this arrangement proceeds, all of that good work will be placed in jeopardy?

[Baroness Northover]

I thank the noble Lord for those comments. Although he is right about his first point, he is not right about the second. It is by separating these areas that we will better promote the professionalisation of social work. In medicine, for example, the GMC regulates the medical profession while the royal colleges and the BMA make sure that they promote the profession as such. The noble Lord himself has contributed so much to the development of the social work profession. It is extremely important that those two elements are kept separate so that professionalisation can be concentrated on more effectively.