Education: Advanced British Standard

Debate between Lord Mackenzie of Framwellgate and Baroness Barran

Tuesday 17th October 2023 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Barran (Con)]

Clearly, we will not do the latter. It is incredibly important that we design this in such a way that we have the right offer for children with special educational needs and disabilities, those who have been in local authority care and those who have come from particularly disadvantaged homes. That is a clear commitment from the Government.

[Lord Mackenzie of Framwellgate (Non-Afl)]

Perhaps the noble Baroness can help me. My wife is Polish, and she read in the newspapers recently that Polish is being offered at secondary school level, alongside Latin, as a second language. She was very surprised, and said, having been taught Latin as well as Polish at school, that Polish is more difficult to learn than Latin and just about as useful, which surprised me. Could the noble Baroness advise me on how I should respond?

[Baroness Barran (Con)]

Maybe it would make sense to talk to the school in question to understand its decision to offer Polish.

Racism in Sport

Debate between Lord Mackenzie of Framwellgate and Baroness Barran

Tuesday 13th July 2021 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Barran (Con)]

The noble Baroness is right; it is outwith my brief. What I will say is that the Government take incredibly seriously the racist behaviour we have seen in this case but also, sadly, in others. I agree that thinking about how children grow up and their expectations is really important.

[Lord Mackenzie of Framwellgate (Non-Afl) [V]]

My Lords, it is intolerable that the slightest excuse or whim, such as the missing of a penalty, can result in the raining down of racial abuse on social media against young sportsmen representing their country at the highest level. Does the Minister agree that this clearly illustrates the importance of removing anonymity for those who peddle racial and other hate speech on such platforms?

[Baroness Barran (Con)]

The noble Lord will be aware of some of the issues around anonymity. It is important that platforms—and this will be required in the Bill—have a functionality that does not allow anonymous users, or those using pseudonyms or multiple different names, to perpetrate their hateful abuse online.

Gambling Reform

Debate between Lord Mackenzie of Framwellgate and Baroness Barran

Tuesday 29th June 2021 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Barran (Con)]

My noble friend puts it very well. We are trying to balance the harm that gambling can cause in certain instances, while looking also at the economic impact—including in market towns.

[Lord Mackenzie of Framwellgate (Non-Afl) [V]]

My Lords, the problems of juvenile gambling are changing. Seaside arcades are being overtaken by online gambling, and there is a threat it can soon become an addiction that destroys lives. The Government have a duty to protect young people from destroying their future, particularly during lockdown. Does the Minister agree with me that targeted advertising to vulnerable people is one of the main drivers? Will the Government make this one of the priorities for reform?

Digital Identification Protocol

Debate between Lord Mackenzie of Framwellgate and Baroness Barran

Thursday 20th May 2021 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Barran (Con)]

I cannot comment on the delay to which the noble Lord refers. What I can say is that we are working at pace and have made considerable progress since our response to the call for evidence in September. As he is aware—the clue is in the name—a fundamental of the “trust framework” is that citizens can trust how their digital ID will be used.

[Lord Mackenzie of Framwellgate (Non-Afl) [V]]

My Lords, identity theft is a major, growing crime in this country and many people, particularly the elderly, are commonly relieved of their life savings. In the digital, financial and communications world, we all use fingerprint, facial and iris recognition applications to access our personal and financial information. They also safeguard travellers at airports. Unique DNA data has revolutionised crime investigation, resulting in serious historical crimes being detected. Does the noble Baroness agree that proof of identity brings welcome security to most people living in the modern world? However, for it to be trusted, we need to capture this biometric data, verify its authenticity and digitise it securely.

[Baroness Barran (Con)]

I absolutely agree that a secure and trusted digital ID framework can help reduce data breaches, identity fraud and some of the problems to which the noble Lord referred.

Covid-19: Cultural and Creative Industries

Debate between Lord Mackenzie of Framwellgate and Baroness Barran

Monday 26th October 2020 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Barran (Con)]

I thank my noble friend for his recognition of the scale and breadth of the Cultural Recovery Fund. He is right to ask how we can think of innovative ways to support the sector to reopen. There have been great examples of that during the summer. We have formed a venues working group with key sector leaders to look at how we can maximise the safety of fuller opening, including in the area of ventilation. We are happy to continue to commit to consulting the sector on this.

[Lord Mackenzie of Framwellgate (Non-Afl) [V]]

My Lords, Arts Council England has supported freelancers with £2 million, compared to £5 million has been allocated in Scotland, £7 million in Wales and £4 million in Northern Ireland. What assessment have the Government made of the impact of such a disparity in arts funding across the UK?

[Baroness Barran (Con)]

I do not wholly recognise the numbers that the noble Lord cites. We are very clear that we stand by our freelancers across the creative industries, both directly through the Self-employment Income Support Scheme, as well as through major packages such as the £500 million Film and TV Production Restart Scheme. We estimate that this will directly support between 40,000 and 50,000 new jobs in the sector, many of which will be taken by freelancers and the self-employed.

English Football: Project Big Picture

Debate between Lord Mackenzie of Framwellgate and Baroness Barran

Wednesday 14th October 2020 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Barran (Con)]

The noble Lord is right about the lack of inclusion of supporters’ groups in the proposal that has been discussed widely in the media. On timing, we do not have a firm date, but we are committed to consulting all stakeholders as we prepare that review and, clearly, fans are an important part of that.

[Lord Mackenzie of Framwellgate (Non-Afl) [V]]

My Lords, the Minister rightly described football clubs as being akin to a large family. The Premier League is awash with cash, and the wages of the top players are eye-watering, while those at the bottom are often living hand to mouth and relying on the turnstile each week to keep the club afloat. Any family worth its salt lends a helping hand to those family members falling on hard times. Does the Minister accept that, if no equitable agreement is reached, the Government have a duty on behalf of the fans to intervene to protect the seed corn of the beautiful game as we go forward?

[Baroness Barran (Con)]

Well, the noble Lord is right. So many football clubs do a huge amount within their communities beyond the game itself, but the Government’s role is to bring the two sides together. My right honourable friend the Secretary of State and the Minister for Sport have met both sides and are clear that this needs to happen—and happen quickly. On the support we are providing, I have already said that the Government have provided reassurance for the national league clubs.