Apprenticeships

Debate between Lord Touhig and Baroness Garden of Frognal

Monday 26th November 2012 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Garden of Frognal]

My Lords, there is certainly an action plan to increase the number of apprentices with a disability throughout the workforce through all sorts of employers. Certainly, government employers will be included in that plan.

[Lord Touhig]

My Lords, further to the Answer that the Minister gave to my noble friend Lady Healy, on 6 November Mr Edward Thompson, the children’s Minister, speaking at the Education Select Committee about allowing health and education care plan funding to be used to help youngsters with special educational needs into apprenticeships, said:

“I think a strong case has been made for inclusion of apprenticeships. I am minded to include them in the scope of the Bill”.

Will the Minister say whether this is now government policy?

[Baroness Garden of Frognal]

I am not sure whether we have got to the point of making it government policy in the Bill, but the noble Lord will know that the Government have committed to take on board the action plan and the recommendations that have come from the Little report. We are looking at them at the moment and hope to implement them, which should make a great difference to the way in which employers are able to give apprenticeships to those with different forms of disability and also to the young people seeking to go down those pathways.

Armed Forces: Reserve Forces

Debate between Lord Touhig and Baroness Garden of Frognal

Monday 12th November 2012 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Garden of Frognal]

That is an interesting question. Obviously there will be a need for medical services, which will have to be provided either by regular troops or reservists. On how the balance will pan out, again, we need to wait to see what the need is and then make sure that the need is met.

[Lord Touhig]

My Lords, in the Minister’s previous answer she made reference to the contribution that people who have served in our Reserve Forces bring back to their companies. Many companies across the country will testify that when their reservist staff return, they have had new experiences and gained new skills, and add value. Can we make sure that those good stories are spread throughout the public sector as well so that people can see that there is a huge value in allowing their staff time to serve in the Reserve Forces?

[Baroness Garden of Frognal]

I entirely agree with the noble Lord that a great deal is brought back. Of course, we have to balance that against the disadvantage that employers see in having their people away for set periods of time. Under the proposals of the new consultation that should be more manageable—employers should have more notice of when it is going to happen—and we hope that all the good stories that the noble Lord has highlighted will be evidence that having reserves in your employment is a good thing.

Education Bill

Debate between Lord Touhig and Baroness Garden of Frognal

Tuesday 1st November 2011 Lords Chamber

[Lord Touhig]

My Lords, I have some concerns about these amendments, in particular Amendment 86 in the name of my noble friend Lady Turner of Camden and Amendment 88 in the name of my noble friend Lady Massey of Darwen. Amendment 86 would dilute the existing legislative protection which allows Catholic schools to give priority to Catholics when recruiting to any post, without the need to provide justification for doing so. That has been a long established practice and it is essential that such preference is given to ensure that the Catholic ethos, which is the whole basis of having a Catholic school, is allowed to continue and to be maintained and developed. I suggest to my noble friend that the proposed subsection (5A) in her Amendment 86 is unnecessary since schools with a religious character are already obliged to comply with the Equality Act 2010, which includes appropriate exemptions for such schools.

Amendment 88 in the name of my noble friend Lady Massey of Darwen relates to voluntary controlled schools only. There are no voluntary controlled schools in the Catholic sector but this amendment would affect Church of England voluntary controlled schools which convert to academy status. These schools, which currently admit only a certain proportion of children of faith, would be prevented from increasing that quota except in specific circumstances. My fear is that if my noble friend's amendment was incorporated into the Bill it would pave the way for imposing quotas on all schools of a religious character. I do not think that is reasonable, right or just. From the point of view of the Catholic sector, this would certainly limit the ability of Catholic parents to send their children to Catholic schools. For that reason, I could not support my noble friend’s amendment.

[Baroness Garden of Frognal]

My Lords, this debate allows us to return to the topic of faith schooling. As we have made clear in previous debates, the Government believe strongly in the role of faith schools in this country. As we have heard from my noble friend Lord Deben, faith schools existed before there was a state education system and have contributed a great deal to its development. As the right reverend Prelate the Bishop of Oxford set out, it is vital to faith schools that they are able to maintain their particular religious ethos and their ability to deliver the form of education which they have historically provided, and which parents want. We think the long-standing arrangements that provide for this are working well. The Government are therefore seeking to ensure that faith schools which seek academy status continue to have the freedoms they have previously enjoyed, subject to the same protections.

Turning first to the issue of faith staffing, I am aware that the noble Baroness, Lady Turner of Camden, and indeed my noble friend Lord Avebury continue to have concerns with aspects of Clause 60, which seeks to replicate the staffing regime in voluntary controlled schools on their conversion to academy status. We are grateful for the discussions which the noble Baroness had with my noble friend the Minister on these issues and hope that the detailed letter sent to her and to my noble friend Lord Avebury on 5 October provided some reassurance on this matter. My noble friend referred to that letter in the course of his comments. We agree with many of the sentiments expressed by noble Lords today. The issues are really therefore more technical ones, about how these sentiments can best be given effect in law.