Lord Mandelson: Government Response to Humble Address Motion

Lord Wallace of Saltaire Excerpts

Thursday 12th February 2026 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent (Lab)]

I thank the noble Baroness. She knows more than I do, outside of media speculation, about the appointment of a new Cabinet Secretary. I will not comment on any speculation regarding the position of the Cabinet Secretary or anyone who may or may not ever hold that role. However, the question from the noble Baroness was about the integrity and judgment of the Prime Minister. Noble Lords will be aware of why I am in your Lordships’ House: it is because of a horrible chapter in my party. From 2020, when I lost my seat, the Prime Minister asked me to work with him to root out antisemitism from my party. The Prime Minister underpromised and overdelivered. I trust the Prime Minister and I trust his political judgment. He is not just a nice and good man; he is a very good Prime Minister.

[Lord Wallace of Saltaire (LD)]

My Lords, we on these Benches welcome the degree of transparency that is happening over the Mandelson appointment. We stress as strongly as we can that the maximum amount of transparency is now needed to restore public confidence and trust. The noble Baroness, Lady Williams, mentioned that events have moved on. Events will continue to move on for some time on the broader Epstein issue. We have already heard about flights in and out of Britain; we will no doubt hear more names of people—possibly in British politics, very likely in British financial and company circles—which will continue to come out. All of us share a responsibility in making sure that public confidence is not cut further. I make a plea to those in all parties not to be too partisan about the way we handle this, because trust in democracy as a whole is now at stake.

[Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent (Lab)]

The noble Lord is absolutely right. One of the things I find so distressing about the events of recent weeks is that we keep forgetting that the victims have to live and breathe every part of this time and time again, ad infinitum, both because of the way in which this is coming out, with the release of the files, and because of some of the associated events that have occurred. It is right and proper that we remember there is a responsibility on every Member of both your Lordships’ House and the other place to rebuild trust in politics, which, let us be honest, is at an all-time low, as we have discussed in your Lordships’ House in recent days. This helps nobody except those people who seek to undermine our core democracy and our British values. We need to work together to fix what is so clearly now broken, but we also need to make sure the victims are at the heart of everything we do.

Think Tanks: Funding

Lord Wallace of Saltaire Excerpts

Wednesday 4th February 2026 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent (Lab)]

I thank the noble Baroness for her question. I am afraid I am not in a position to update her on the timescale or the development of those talks, but I will make sure that she gets an answer.

[Lord Wallace of Saltaire (LD)]

My Lords, I declare an interest: I used to work for the all-party think tank Chatham House, which always declares its donors, as all partisan or non-partisan think tanks should. The Minister may have noticed that, some days ago, the Free Speech Union took out an emergency injunction to prevent the publication of its donors. We are talking about a range of bodies which are partisan think tanks, lobbies trying to influence the political debate, and third parties, in effect, and we need to tighten the rules on those bodies. It is money coming in from the United States and the UAE, as well as from hostile states such as Russia and China in much smaller numbers. Some of the money coming in from the Gulf states to the Blair Foundation, I think, is very considerable. Should there not be tougher rules to make sure that transparency is insisted on in all cases?

[Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent (Lab)]

The noble Lord will be aware that last year, we published our anti-corruption strategy, which outlined the risks posed by corrupt actors who are seeking to influence UK institutions or launder their reputations by engaging in some organisations. As I have said before from this Dispatch Box, we have also recently launched the Counter Political Interference and Espionage Action Plan, which addresses how some state actors use different elements of the state. But the one thing that is incredibly important within the context of all these issues is that fundamentally, our country is run by the Government, and it is Ministers who make final decisions, supported by an impartial Civil Service. Those aspects are key and, while engagement with wider stakeholders is incredibly important and is covered by the Ministerial Code, it is about the integrity of our Ministers and making sure that we have a consistent, impartial Civil Service.

Public Trust in National Politics

Lord Wallace of Saltaire Excerpts

Thursday 29th January 2026 Lords Chamber

Asked by

[Lord Wallace of Saltaire]

To ask His Majesty’s Government what proposals they are considering to reverse the decline in public trust of national politics in the UK.

[Baroness in Waiting/Government Whip (Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent) (Lab)]

The Government are committed to restoring public confidence in our politics. On entering office, the Prime Minister issued a new Ministerial Code strengthening the powers of his Independent Adviser on Ministerial Standards, increasing transparency on ministerial gifts and hospitality, as well as establishing the Ethics and Integrity Commission. The Public Office (Accountability) Bill will place a new legal duty on public servants to act truthfully and to fully assist inquiries and investigations. The Government have also announced an independent review into foreign financial influence and interference in the UK’s political and electoral system.

[Lord Wallace of Saltaire (LD)]

My Lords, I and others are grateful for those small steps, but the size of the problem of public distrust of politics is enormous. Fewer than 60% of voters voted in the 2024 election. Multiple surveys show real public disillusionment with Westminster politics—not with democracy but with Westminster politics. Should the Government not start a national conversation on a cross-party basis on how we rebuild trust in our national political institutions, including both Houses of Parliament?

[Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent (Lab)]

The noble Lord raises a genuinely important point about trust and politics. We spend a number of hours, in your Lordships’ House and the other place, discussing things that have an impact on people’s lives every day. There is a responsibility on us to make sure that they know what we are doing and that we are doing it in their name. Some of these things happen every day already, whether they are Select Committee reports or are about how we all come together, but there is a responsibility on the leaders of our country to make sure that people understand what we are doing. The politics of easy answers will get us nowhere. We need to be candid that life is difficult and to make sure we are delivering. I would say there is a battle for truth here, and the battle for democracy is the same thing, and we must work together to ensure those things happen.

Public Inquiries: Costs

Lord Wallace of Saltaire Excerpts

Monday 19th January 2026 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent (Lab)]

The noble Baroness is absolutely right. The responsibilities on everybody to truly participate to provide evidence is key. To answer her specific question, there are currently 21 public inquiries on the statute book, of which 16 are active, 12 are statutory and eight have been initiated by this Government.

[Lord Wallace of Saltaire (LD)]

My Lords, there is a danger that public inquiries end up like the royal commissions of old: taking minutes, lasting years and losing public confidence. Is there not now a case for looking at the way that public inquiries are handled and at how one can make sure that at least some of them conclude more quickly, so that we do not have to wait several years, as well as looking at the questions of overall cost and time spent?

[Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent (Lab)]

I absolutely agree. We have seen, whether in the infected blood scandal or the Horizon scandal, that people who genuinely wanted answers had to wait years before we even got to the point of a public inquiry. The Government have an opportunity to help rebuild trust in the institutions that should matter to people. At a time when there are significant threats to our democracy, it is incredibly important that people have trust in them. So, expediting this is key.

One of the things we have also done brought forward the dashboard where people can see what recommendations have been made by some of these public inquiries, to make sure that the recommendations are being implemented. There is a balance here. We must listen to people and ensure that they have their day and have their issues heard, and we must also act on the recommendations of the inquiries.

UK-EU Common Understanding Negotiations

Lord Wallace of Saltaire Excerpts

Thursday 18th December 2025 Lords Chamber

[The Earl of Courtown (Con)]

My Lords, there is little doubt across the House that the opportunity to live, study and work abroad can bring real benefits for young people. It enables them to experience different cultures, encounter new ways of thinking, build confidence and form relationships and friendships that can last a lifetime. Those objectives are, in themselves, entirely laudable. However, good intentions are not enough. If this arrangement is to command confidence, it must be fair, accessible and genuinely mutually beneficial. It is therefore right that we scrutinise carefully both the financial and practical implications of what His Majesty’s Government have agreed.

One of the most immediate questions raised by this announcement is whether it will represent genuine value for money for the British taxpayer. It is concerning that the Government have been unable to define any cap on the number of EU students who may come to the United Kingdom under this arrangement, nor have they ruled out a wider youth mobility scheme that could further increase the inflow of young people from the EU. Under the proposed deal, European students would be able to study in the UK for up to a year while continuing to pay tuition fees to their home institutions.

When this scheme last operated, the imbalance was stark. In 2018, almost 32,000 young people came to the UK through Erasmus, compared with around 17,000 UK students who travelled in the opposite direction. The result was an estimated net cost to the UK taxpayer of more than £200 million per year. The media reported this morning that the total cost to the British taxpayer from this new scheme could be as high as £8.75 billion. At a time when young people in this country are already facing rising living costs, spiralling unemployment and diminished opportunities to buy homes and to save and invest their money—problems largely stemming from this Government’s own policy choices—we must be extremely careful about entering into arrangements that risk British taxpayers subsidising European students to study here.

Whether or not a taxpayer’s own child benefits from this scheme, the cost is borne by everyone. If parents across the country are being asked to help fund opportunities for other people’s children to study abroad, we must be confident and able to demonstrate that this delivers benefits not just for the individual participant but for the country as a whole. What assurances can the Minister give the House that this will not again become an asymmetrical arrangement? Can she guarantee that participation in Erasmus+ from 2027 will not result in a net cost to the British taxpayer of the kind we saw previously? Can she please tell us how value for money for the taxpayer will be assessed and communicated?

Closely linked to this is the question of equitable access. It is easy to predict who is most likely to benefit from schemes of this nature: those who studied languages at school and travelled abroad with their families, and whose educational and social background already equip them to take advantage of international opportunities. Without careful design, Erasmus risks becoming little more than a publicly subsidised gap year for young people who already enjoy significant privilege. Although the Government have said that financial support will be available for disadvantaged students, funding alone is insufficient if those disadvantaged students are unaware of the scheme, lack institutional encouragement or do not see it as something for people like them. Can the Minister set out how the Government will ensure that this scheme is actively promoted and supported in schools, colleges and universities serving disadvantaged communities? What concrete steps will be taken to ensure that those who would benefit most from international mobility are not, once again, the least likely to access it?

I would also welcome the Government’s response on how the new arrangement will sit alongside existing UK mobility programmes. The United Kingdom currently operates the Turing scheme, which was designed to expand opportunities for students to study and work abroad, well beyond the European Union. Against that background, it would be helpful for the House to understand what the future holds for the Turing scheme once association with Erasmus+ begins in 2027. I hope, therefore, that the Minister can tell us how, in choosing to reassociate with Erasmus+, the Government intend to preserve the broader international reach that Turing was specifically designed to support. Will opportunities for global mobility beyond Europe be maintained at their current level, or do the Government envisage a narrowing of focus back towards the EU alone?

As I indicated earlier, this scheme must be able to not only deliver benefits but demonstrate clearly that it represents value for money for the taxpayer. Although the Government have outlined the initial cost of association, experience tells us that such programmes can become significantly more expensive over time, particularly where participation is uneven or demand exceeds expectations. It would therefore be reassuring to hear what safeguards are in place to prevent costs escalating in the years ahead.

The Government have said that rejoining Erasmus will cost £570 million in 2027 for a one-year membership but declined to say what the future costs will be. Can the Minister now tell us what they will be? It is reported that Brussels plans to increase funding for the scheme from 2028 by more than 50%, from around €26 billion to €41 billion. This, plus the extra costs associated with joining EU programmes after Brexit, means the bloc could charge Britain £1.25 billion a year between 2028 and 2034. Can the Minister confirm whether these figures are correct?

Also, if participation once again becomes markedly unbalanced, with substantially more students coming to the UK than travelling abroad, what mechanisms will exist to address that? Will the Government be able to renegotiate the terms of participation, adjust financial contributions or take corrective action to ensure that the UK is not locked into a persistently disadvantageous position? Can the Minister tell us what projected cost this programme will have to universities, which may lose out on international student fees as a result of this policy?

Finally, there will understandably be concern in this House and beyond that this EU reset could amount to a gradual reversal of the settlement reached when the United Kingdom left the European Union. What protections are in place to ensure that the UK is not drawn into open-ended financial commitments, regulatory alignment or governance structures over which it has limited control? Crucially, what clear mechanisms exist for the UK to withdraw or adjust its participation should this arrangement cease to serve our national interest?

There is broad consensus across this House that international mobility can be a powerful force for good, but good will must be matched by responsibility. If this scheme is to succeed, it must deliver value for money, widen opportunity rather than entrench privilege, and sit comfortably within a UK-EU relationship based on co-operation without dependency. I look forward to the Minister’s response on these points and to greater clarity on how the Government intend to ensure that this agreement works not just in theory but in practice for young people across the whole United Kingdom.

[Lord Wallace of Saltaire (LD)]

My Lords, we on these Benches welcome the Statement and the achievement. We regret only that the Government are moving so slowly. I note that this means we differ considerably from the Conservative Front Bench, although I was relieved that the noble Earl’s words were a little less hysterical than the front pages of the Telegraph and the Mail today. If we are going to pursue the reset further, as my party strongly supports, and move towards dynamic alignment across the board—and, therefore, closer association with the customs union, which will have to come next—the Government will need to change their language and spend more time discussing the benefits as against the costs, which my Conservative colleague, the Telegraph and the Mail have stressed so heavily this morning.

I declare an interest. I taught many students from other European Union countries in my last two jobs in universities, one of whom is the President of his country and extremely active on European security; a number of others are now in leading positions in public life in their countries and good friends of the United Kingdom. That is one of the benefits we get from exchanges. On the imbalance we had last time, an active scheme to encourage British students to spend time in other countries would be of enormous benefit to this country. It would lead to people who understand other countries, can do business with them, understand their politics and then enter public service here or elsewhere, to our mutual benefit.

I regret the language of the Statement. It is defensive and therefore wrong. It talks about only “the national interest” and “sovereignty”. I am sure the Minister will agree that the only country in the world that is fully sovereign is North Korea. In other countries, sovereignty has to be compromised by international co-operation. As the leader of Reform in effect makes clear, the alternative to membership of the European Union is not full sovereignty but dependence on the United States, which is not an easy alternative at the present time.

I suggest that the Government should be talking about shared interests, common security, the benefits as against the costs and the fact that our contributions helped save this country money in many ways. When the Conservative Government took us out of the European Union, we had to set up separate agencies and recruit additional public servants. We lost the European Medicines Agency in London, which was a great boon to our pharmaceutical industry, and a number of other things. The benefits absolutely need to be stressed and I encourage the Minister to say to her colleagues, in particular Nick Thomas-Symonds, that the sort of language they are using will not persuade the bulk of the British public that we need to be closer to the European Union.

We now know, on very strong evidence, that we have lost a lot of economic growth since we have left, which means we have also lost tax revenue. On goods and services, we know that we need to go back to closer relations. I encourage the Minister to go further.

[Baroness in Waiting/Government Whip (Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent) (Lab)]

My Lords, maybe this was not the Statement to bring some Christmas good will, cheer and unanimity across your Lordships’ House. It is a good thing that my language, I hope, will be both positive for the noble Lord, Lord Wallace, and slightly more circumspect for the noble Earl, Lord Courtown. I thank both noble Lords. We will continue to rehearse these arguments, as we have done for many years since the referendum, as we seek to undertake our reset. A number of important issues have been raised, which I will address in some detail. I will also reflect on Hansard to see which questions I have missed, either intentionally or by accident—never intentionally, as I am being reminded—and will write in due course.

I would like to engage with this in a spirit of good will. This is a positive thing we are doing: £500 million of additional investment in our young people in one year. It is something to be celebrated. I will engage in the promise of positivity at this time of year and I view it as my own Hanukkah miracle. I will touch on some of the issues raised.

On the UK-EU summit, our manifesto promised to reset our relationships with our European partners to improve our diplomatic, economic and security co-operation following Brexit. Earlier this year we hosted the first annual UK-EU summit, where the Prime Minister and the European Commission President welcomed our new strategic partnership and a landmark deal that is good for bills, borders and jobs. That is what we are seeking to deliver—a partnership that enables us to tackle the shared challenges we face, to boost the prosperity, safety and security of both our peoples, and to help strengthen European-wide defences.

I turn to the core of the announcement. We have made good progress on talks with the EU since the summit, working to implement the joint commitments we made in May. I am therefore pleased to inform the House that, yesterday, the UK and the European Commission concluded negotiations for the UK’s association to Erasmus+ from 2027 for one year—with, as I said, £500 million of investment in our young people. Our association to the programme will open up opportunities for learners, educators, youth workers, sports sector professionals and communities of all ages in our education, training, youth and sport sectors, for both the professionals who work in these sectors and, crucially, our young people. Participants can travel to any European Union member state and to several countries outside it, opening doors to tens of thousands of people across the UK, renewing our people ties with Europe and beyond.

At the summit, we also agreed to work towards participation in Erasmus+ on the basis that there will be a fair balance between our financial contribution and the number of UK participants receiving funding. We are pleased that the EU has agreed financial terms—a 30% discount in 2027 compared with the default terms in the trade and co-operation agreement. This is a fair balance between our contribution and the benefits of the programme. It has also been agreed that the UK’s participation in the programme will be reviewed 10 months after our association, which will include data on the demand for funding in the UK. Any continued participation will be informed by our experience of association in 2027. The Government will now work quickly to ensure that there is maximum take-up across all sectors and groups and that the benefits of our association to Erasmus+ can be felt.

The noble Earl, Lord Courtown, raised an important issue about people’s awareness of the scheme. I live in Stoke-on-Trent, and we must make sure that people from up and down the country are able to access these schemes, so that it is not, as historically it could have been considered, a boost for middle-class children, but is accessible to everyone. Many Members of your Lordships’ House have associations with further education facilities and schools up and down the country; there is a responsibility on each of us to make sure that people are aware of this scheme. I urge all noble Lords to reach out to their communities. The funding streams open in October 2026 and we have time to make sure that people can access this. One of the things I was most delighted to see yesterday was a quotation from the Association of School and College Leaders, which was delighted about this scheme.

The Turing scheme has wider international reach since we left Erasmus, though it was not the scheme that we left. I reassure noble Lords that the Turing scheme will be operating as normal next year and that we will continue to learn lessons from it. Any future decisions on Turing will be brought forward to your Lordships’ House in due course. On international fees to the EU, I am not sure that is something that I recognise, but I will reflect on the noble Earl’s exact question and come back to him.

On today’s coverage in the Mail and Telegraph, it will not surprise noble Lords that I anticipated such a question. The reality is that the European Union has not yet determined any costings for the next scheme, so nobody recognises the numbers that were in the papers today because no such scheme has been rolled out with any such budget. We have been clear to commit to 2027. We will make sure that it works and proves to be good value for money for the United Kingdom and is of huge value to our young people. We will continue to negotiate with the European Union on next steps.

The noble Earl raised the youth experience scheme. As I have made clear in other debates in your Lordships’ House, the Government recognise the value of such schemes. One of the things I find exceptionally difficult when we discuss youth mobility schemes is that the previous Government signed a youth mobility scheme with Uruguay. I do not understand why a youth mobility scheme with the European Union is so contrary to our values that we would not want one. If we can have one with 13 other countries, we can have one with the European Union.

On the Labour Party’s red lines in our manifesto, I hate to disappoint the noble Lord but we have been very clear that we are not rejoining the customs union. Our manifesto set out exactly what we were prepared to do in our negotiations. All our negotiations are through the prism of our red lines. We will not be returning to the single market, the customs union or freedom of movement.

On whether the UK is becoming a rule-taker, we have made a choice to align in some areas where it makes sense for our national interest. The EU has accepted that there will need to be a number of areas in which we need to retain our own rules as we make alignment going forward. The details of these are all subject to negotiation. We will be involved in forming the regulations that apply to the UK at every stage, and Members of your Lordships’ House will have appropriate scrutiny arrangements in place.

I will finish on a positive. The expected financial benefits for our economy from having a closer relationship with the European Union are hugely significant. The SPS and carbon-pricing agreements which we are currently negotiating will add nearly £9 billion a year to the UK economy by 2040. The carbon-pricing deal avoids the risk of UK businesses paying tax to the EU on £7 billion-worth of trade. We are seeking to reset our relationship based on what is best in our national interest as a sovereign country. The European Union is our biggest trade partner and the biggest source of economic growth for this country. We continue to work closely with it, in a spirit of good will at this time of year.

Office for the Impact Economy

Lord Wallace of Saltaire Excerpts

Wednesday 17th December 2025 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent (Lab)]

My Lords, the office is already building partnerships to benefit people in exactly the way my noble friend has outlined. We are working with MHCLG to secure match funding for the £5 billion Pride in Place programme, and with DHSC on the neighbourhood health implementation programme. In the early years space, we are supporting the DfE’s Blended Finance Facility and working with it on the Best Start Family Hubs match fund and of course the better futures fund, the biggest outcomes fund in the world, which will change the life chances of over 200,000 children over the next decade. This is only the beginning. The Office for the Impact Economy really will help us deliver on our promise of national renewal.

[Lord Wallace of Saltaire (LD)]

My Lords, the Liberal Democrats are strongly in favour of a larger third sector—mutuals, non-profits and charities—rather than outsourcing, for example, special needs or care homes to the private equity sector instead. The Social Impact Investment Advisory Group’s report, which foresaw the setting up of this new office, said priority one was to establish

“visible leadership at both ministerial and senior civil service levels”.

Does the Minister agree that visibility has been rather blurred so far and that, if one wants to attract the wealthy philanthropists into partnership with the government to strengthen the third sector, a great deal more visibility is needed?

[Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent (Lab)]

My Lords, I thought it was the season of goodwill and I genuinely thought there was going to be a positive question. In terms of visibility, let us be clear that the Office for the Impact Economy was announced by the Prime Minister—I am not sure how much more visible or committed we can be. Also, the main Minister leading this is the Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister, who will be overseeing its implementation, along with my right honourable friend Lisa Nandy, the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport. This is being led at the highest level, with huge commitment. This is an excellent report, led by Dame Elizabeth Corley. We thank her for her work. We are now seeking to work with her and the wider team to co-design what happens next, to make sure that we can deliver on the promises that can come from the impact economy.

Ministerial Code

Lord Wallace of Saltaire Excerpts

Wednesday 26th November 2025 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent (Lab)]

I could not agree more with the noble Viscount. Everybody in your Lordships’ House, whether they hold ministerial office or not, has a responsibility to help us rebuild trust in politics. It is incredibly important in a world of misinformation, in a world where we have seen the Horizon scandal and the infected blood scandal, and where we are trying to fix some things that were genuinely broken, that the general public have faith and trust in us, both as the Government and as the establishment, and that we collectively work together to make sure that people can trust their Government.

[Lord Wallace of Saltaire (LD)]

My Lords, we on these Benches see a very large pot attacking a rather smaller kettle. The Conservatives, as a responsible Opposition, must own and admit their own past record on this; on public appointments, including to the BBC board, the Conservatives have a number of answers to give. I am constantly amazed at the Conservatives’ denial that they were in office for the last 10 years.

The Minister will not have seen this morning’s publication by UCL’s Constitution Unit—one of the best sources of comment on constitutional matters—which has the headline, “Starmer’s constitutional timidity”. I encourage her to look back at what the Labour manifesto said on this, because much of what that manifesto promised on public appointments, a stronger role for Parliament and modernisation simply has not been pushed through yet. On public appointments, it seems clear, particularly after the current BBC arguments, that Parliament should be given a fuller role in checking public appointments—Select Committees, for example, which have been strongly supported to vet public appointments as they are made. Do the Government not intend to push through some of the commitments they made in their manifesto, such as proper modernisation of the Commons and thorough reform of the Lords?

[Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent (Lab)]

I thank the noble Lord for bringing my attention to the report; I look forward to reading it. He will not be surprised that, on Budget Day, I have yet to reflect on the report, but I will do so. We are 18 months into a Labour Government that have delivered on strengthening the Ministerial Code by setting out new financial penalties and new terms of reference for the independent adviser, establishing a new monthly register of Ministers’ interests, and establishing a new Ethics and Integrity Commission, which was in our manifesto. Having sat through every moment of our debates, I know that we have been in your Lordships’ House for over 50 hours discussing the future of the House as well as other areas of modernisation. We are acting. This is a hugely ambitious Government with a great deal to do, and we will continue to move forward.

Office for National Statistics

Lord Wallace of Saltaire Excerpts

Monday 10th November 2025 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent (Lab)]

My Lords, the drop in the response rate is of deep concern, and I thank my noble friend for asking. Concern about the Labour Force Survey and our economic statistics more widely was a key reason for the Devereux review, which was commissioned earlier this year. As I said, since then the ONS has published a survey improvement enhancement plan on economic statistics. I assure my noble friend that this is something that we are taking very seriously, not least because having clear data, especially in an age of misinformation, ensures that the Government can act. This is always the case with the gender pay gap—but, regardless of the data, what is clear is that the underlying message on the gender pay gap is the same. There is a persistent gender pay gap that is bad for women, businesses and growth, which is why this Government are taking the necessary steps to ensure that it narrows more quickly.

[Lord Wallace of Saltaire (LD)]

My Lords, when I was attached to the Cabinet Office well over a decade ago, I was told that the Government, locally and nationally, have a very large amount of administrative data which is not shared because of systemic barriers between different departments. I note that this was recommendation 6 in the Lievesley report last year, but nothing much has been done in that regard. I note also that the Devereux report suggests that we may need legislation to correct this. How do the Government plan to integrate administrative data much better than we have so far achieved?

Youth Mobility Scheme

Lord Wallace of Saltaire Excerpts

Wednesday 29th October 2025 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent (Lab)]

The right reverend Prelate makes a very important point. One of the reasons why we have these schemes is the shared cultural and social norms with our nearest allies that develop from them. There are 13 of these schemes already in existence, ranging from New Zealand and Canada to Uruguay, ensuring that people have access. So far this year, 12,000 visas have been issued. This is active participation to make sure that young people view the world in the broadest possible way.

[Lord Wallace of Saltaire (LD)]

My Lords, the Minister referred to “a balance”. We are very conscious that when we were in the EU, more students and young people from the EU and elsewhere came to Britain. What are the Government doing to encourage young British people to spend time on the continent taking apprenticeships, a year in universities or whatever? On the question of balance and improving languages, are we considering a teaching assistant exchange whereby people with native languages might be able to teach in British schools, with people here teaching English there?

Civil Service: Interns

Lord Wallace of Saltaire Excerpts

Tuesday 2nd September 2025 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent (Lab)]

I thank the noble Baroness for her question and for her work in this area. She will be aware that the fast-track internship programme started in 2000 and has had many different iterations, and therefore there are well-established assessment processes in place to make sure that changes work effectively. With regard to how we are doing it, we are adopting this scheme through our test-and-learn approach within the Cabinet Office to make sure that if we do not believe it is working then we will change it. We will be using the criteria that have previously been used, which is why we are using the definition I cited. That is how I can tell your Lordships that in 2022 the internship scheme had people from lower socioeconomic backgrounds at a level of 33% of applications, but that fell to 19.7% and now has fallen even further at this point. We have the data to demonstrate why we need to do this.

[Lord Wallace of Saltaire (LD)]

My Lords, I welcome the Minister reminding us that the original scheme had a diversity element, which was abolished by the Conservative Government in 2023 in a rather Trumpian attack on the whole idea of diversity. Does the Minister recall that when Oxford and Cambridge introduced similar diversity schemes for children from deprived backgrounds in poorer state schools there was an enormous amount of criticism? I was on the staff of Oxford University at the time and remember being almost physically assaulted. After 30 years, these are widely accepted to have brought a number of extremely bright children from poor backgrounds up into very successful academic, administrative and other careers, and I think this scheme is likely to have the same sort of effect.