Schools: Access to Defibrillators

Debate between Lord McColl of Dulwich and Lord Nash

Monday 30th January 2017 Lords Chamber

[Lord Nash]

Under our deal, schools can now purchase the machines for £435, compared to £1,000 to £2,000 if they did so independently.

[Lord McColl of Dulwich (Con)]

Is the Minister aware that these machines are now so sophisticated that if any operator is about to use one inappropriately, it has been programmed to tell the operator to “push off”?

[Lord Nash]

I do not know if they quite put it in those terms, but I am aware that they are apparently very easy to use and the instructions are very clear.

School Milk

Debate between Lord McColl of Dulwich and Lord Nash

Wednesday 25th January 2017 Lords Chamber

[Lord Nash]

I agree entirely with my noble friend that milk is excellent for children’s growth and development. It is a good source of energy and protein and contains a wide range of vitamins and minerals. It is also rich in calcium, which growing children and young people need to build healthy bones and teeth. That is why the school food standards require low-fat milk or lactose-reduced milk to be available during school hours and why we are encouraging further consumption of dairy or dairy alternatives through our Eatwell Guide. Of course, we are focused on healthy eating through our child obesity plan.

[Lord McColl of Dulwich (Con)]

My Lords, is the Minister aware that children who are given whole milk—as opposed to semi-skimmed milk—for the first six years of their life are much healthier and less obese than those who are not? This is because fat in whole milk enters the duodenum and delays the emptying of the stomach, giving the feeling of fullness and therefore reducing the chances of obesity.

[Lord Nash]

My noble friend raises a very interesting point. I shall ensure that officials are aware of it and of all the implications to which he referred. The Government recommend that children should be given whole milk and dairy products until they are two years old because they may not get the calories or essential vitamins they need from lower-fat milks. After the age of two, children should gradually move to semi-skimmed milk, as long as they have a varied, balanced diet and are growing well. In England, whole milk can be provided up to the end of the school year in which children reach five, but after that, as I have said, school milk must be low-fat or lactose reduced.

Schools: Classics

Debate between Lord McColl of Dulwich and Lord Nash

Thursday 27th November 2014 Lords Chamber

[Lord Nash]

I entirely agree with the direction of travel in relation to the statements made recently by the Shadow Secretary of State for Education. It would be nice to see the independent and state sectors collaborating more. However, many private schools are very small—we all think about the very large, substantial private schools—and such arrangements would be extremely difficult. We are trying to encourage them as much as possible, particularly in subject-specific teaching, which is why we have just had this round of independent/state school partnerships.

[Lord McColl of Dulwich (Con)]

Is the Minister aware that there are several Members of your Lordships’ House who studied in a grammar school in the Gorbals of Glasgow, where the emphasis was very much on classics? Furthermore, it has now been discovered by studying the choruses in Aristophanes that the pronunciation that we were taught in Glasgow was much more akin to what the ancient Greeks spoke than the pronunciation taught in England?

[Lord Nash]

I was not aware of that, but I very much look forward to hearing more about it.

National Curriculum: Violence against Women

Debate between Lord McColl of Dulwich and Lord Nash

Monday 28th October 2013 Lords Chamber

[Lord Nash]

I did not intend to give that impression. If I did, I apologise. I just think that the method of getting the message to all girls needs to be carefully thought out.

[Lord McColl of Dulwich (Con)]

My Lords, as millions of men are brutalising millions of women and that means that millions of other people know about it and do nothing, can we encourage the public to take some responsibility? For instance, a few weeks ago, two 14 year-old boys heard a woman being beaten up, went and bashed on the door and then informed the police. Can we not encourage the public to become more involved?

[Lord Nash]

The noble Lord makes a good point. We can try to do this but I feel that it is really a job for the police authorities.