Economic Update

Debate between Lord Singh of Wimbledon and Lord Agnew of Oulton

Tuesday 12th January 2021 Lords Chamber

[Lord Agnew of Oulton (Con) [V]]

It is right that we should always aim to get the help to the most vulnerable areas, but there is a trade-off between speed of policy announcement and execution and the complexity of creating the sort of flexibility my noble friend refers to. I take on board his comments on the return of the rate rebate by supermarkets. I think a continued public programme to call out any of the larger supermarkets that have not done that will put pressure on them, as most of us are their customers.

[Lord Singh of Wimbledon (CB) [V]]

My Lords, the Government are to be commended for their furlough schemes and economic packages to mitigate the devastating effects of the Covid pandemic. The Statement rightly acknowledges that things will probably get worse before they get better. Does the Minister agree that, in light of difficulties being experienced by our supermarkets, this applies also to possible benefits from our new economic independence—benefits taken for granted in the Statement?

Covid-19: Economic Package

Debate between Lord Singh of Wimbledon and Lord Agnew of Oulton

Wednesday 13th May 2020 Lords Chamber

[Lord Agnew of Oulton]

I thank my noble friend for his supportive comments. The self-employment income support scheme opened today at 8 am, and by lunchtime we had had 110,000 applications, worth in aggregate some £360 million. HMRC has undertaken to do everything possible to get payments out within the next six working days.

On my noble friend’s other point about the furlough scheme being too generous, as the Office for Budget Responsibility has said, if we do not take these sorts of measures, the cost to our country and our society will be even greater. However, we will be vigilant to ensure that the scheme is not abused.

[Lord Singh of Wimbledon (CB)]

While the measures announced are welcome, does the Minister agree that more fine-tuning will be needed in the coming months to meet the needs of different parts of the country and different economies, for a fair and balanced recovery?

Will the Minister find ways of adding to the well-deserved clapping of hands for low-paid members of the NHS and staff in care homes with some degree of monetary reward, to emphasise how much their dedication —often at real risk to their own health—means to us all?

[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.

Education: Climate Change Science

Debate between Lord Singh of Wimbledon and Lord Agnew of Oulton

Thursday 16th May 2019 Lords Chamber

[Lord Agnew of Oulton]

I assure the noble Lord that we are improving the curriculum all the time. For example, in 2018, 96% of pupils in state-funded schools were entered for the science component of the EBacc. The proportion of pupils taking GCSE geography increased from 26% in 2010 to 41% last year. We have also seen increases in participation in A-level chemistry and physics. These are all science and evidence-based subjects.

[Lord Singh of Wimbledon (CB)]

My Lords, could the Government get the United States President to drop in on one of those classes during his visit?

[Lord Agnew of Oulton]

The noble Lord makes a very interesting suggestion, which I shall pass on to the Foreign Office.

Religious Schools: Admission Policies

Debate between Lord Singh of Wimbledon and Lord Agnew of Oulton

Monday 29th April 2019 Lords Chamber

[Lord Agnew of Oulton]

My noble friend is quite right: the largest voluntary-aided schools are Catholic schools. There are some 850,000 pupils in those schools, and 33% of those pupils are from other faiths or none. They get higher results, on average, than the state system and they started free education in this country before the Government.

[Lord Singh of Wimbledon (CB)]

My Lords, does the Minister agree that while it is important to look at the interaction between people of different faiths in choosing the intake of faith schools, it is equally important to ensure that a broad curriculum of religion is taught so that people are taught about other religions in a respectful way and about how to respect those different faiths? The teaching should focus on underlying ethical imperatives common to all faiths.

[Lord Agnew of Oulton]

The noble Lord is quite right. With the help of all Members of this House, we got the relationships and sex education regulations through last week. They underpin the whole concept of preparing children for our very diverse society. To reassure noble Lords on the recent voluntary aided application system, we were very clear in the criteria that anyone applying for it had to address the needs of all pupils in that community, of all faiths and none. They have to prepare children for life in modern Britain and create inclusive environments. Nothing is more important, beyond a good education, than an integrated system.

Schools: Integrated Communities Strategy

Debate between Lord Singh of Wimbledon and Lord Agnew of Oulton

Tuesday 24th April 2018 Lords Chamber

[Lord Agnew of Oulton]

My Lords, I commend the work of my noble friend Lord Hodgson and his fellow members of the committee that has just reported. I extend an invitation to any of those members to meet me to discuss their recommendations and any criticisms that they have of our handling of this area. One of the most vital parts of the future of this country is to ensure that schools become the integration engine for our society. We are doing a lot to achieve that. Citizenship is part of the key stages 3 and 4 curriculum and, as the noble Lord will know, recently in our integrated strategy document we encouraged a number of additional methods to push this further forward.

[Lord Singh of Wimbledon (CB)]

My Lords, does the Minister agree that the underlying cause of religious extremism is the aggressive assertion that one system of belief is better than another? Will he further agree that, while we are all free to believe what we like, schools should emphasise respect for different faiths and the exploration of the many commonalities between them?

[Lord Agnew of Oulton]

My Lords, most dogma is based on ignorance, therefore a good education system is important because it tackles ignorance. All state-funded schools, including faith schools, have a legal obligation to promote community cohesion and to teach a broad and balanced curriculum. They are required to promote the fundamental values of democracy, the rule of law and individual liberty, as I mentioned in answer to an earlier question. We are looking at the moment at how faith free schools can pay more attention to how they attract pupils from different faiths and backgrounds.

Schools: Indoctrination

Debate between Lord Singh of Wimbledon and Lord Agnew of Oulton

Tuesday 6th February 2018 Lords Chamber

[Lord Agnew of Oulton]

I note the noble Lord’s concern. We addressed many of these points in the debate on Second Reading of the Bill promoted by the noble Lord, Lord Soley. We have just received legal advice on the powers of local authorities to investigate children who are being home educated. It is clear that there are more powers, but I do not think that they have been clearly delineated and explained to local authorities. That is the point of the guidance that we will be issuing shortly and we will be looking for feedback from local authorities on it.

[Lord Singh of Wimbledon (CB)]

My Lords, does the Minister agree that all the main religions should be taught in schools and that, if a school is not doing that, it is a failing school? Should not the teaching of religion be in the context of today’s times rather than literally in the language of outdated texts so that they cannot be manipulated for the purposes of extremism? Does the Minister further agree that the teaching should focus not so much on customs and rituals but on the underlying ethos so that it becomes self-evident that the different religions are all pushing in the same direction?

[Lord Agnew of Oulton]

My Lords, as all of you will know, faith schools play a very important part in the fabric of our state education. We have more than 4,000 Church of England schools and 2,000 Catholic schools. All the guidance around education and religion is about tolerance and understanding it in the context of our own society. The recent provision for the promotion of fundamental British values builds on that. As noble Lords may be aware, we now have specialist Ofsted inspection officers who look specifically for any incidence of where religion is not taught in that context.