"My Lords, following the grooming gang trial in the north-east, in Newcastle, the safeguarding committee said that one of the institutions that needed to be looked at was how the court undertook the trial, and that cross-examination had been used as another weapon against the young women. I met and …..." Baroness Armstrong of Hill Top - View Speech
"My Lords, I have five amendments in this group, all of which come from my knowledge and understanding of evidence-based work. I declare my interest as a trustee of the Foundations What Works Centre for Children and Families.
"My Lords, it seems clear that this support is critical for many children, and I am thinking in particular of children in kinship care. The problem is that at the moment the criteria restrict the fund to those who have previously been in the care system. When kinship care really …..." Baroness Armstrong of Hill Top - View Speech
"My Lords, I was told before the election that this was a GDPR issue, but it became very clear that it is not. Now that that is clear, every single one of the 23 local authorities in the north-east is now engaged in auto-enrolling every eligible child for free school …..." Baroness Armstrong of Hill Top - View Speech
"My Lords, this is such an important issue. We have let down a generation of children and young people. The National Citizen Service, good as it was, and the International Citizen Service, good as it was, were never going to be a replacement for decent youth work activities where young …..." Baroness Armstrong of Hill Top - View Speech
"My Lords, will my noble friend comment on how she sees the development of steel in this country? I am pleased that the Opposition are now interested in that. I represented a community that lost what I think was at the time the most cost-effective steel-making plant in the country; …..." Baroness Armstrong of Hill Top - View Speech
"My Lords, I thank the Minister for ensuring that we get the chance to speak on this Statement and to ask questions. I am name-checked in the Statement because, in my previous life as a Minister, I introduced the new deal for communities along with my boss, John Prescott. It …..." Baroness Armstrong of Hill Top - View Speech
"My Lords, I am not sure about declaring interests, because I have never understood how on earth I got involved in this issue. It is in an incredibly difficult arena where so many people have experienced trauma. I have never laid a bet or bought a lottery ticket. I grew …..." Baroness Armstrong of Hill Top - View Speech
Does my noble friend the Minister recognise that, if one simply thinks about numbers, it can end up being a perverse electoral solution that undermines local people’s faith in who represents them? When community cohesion is totally ignored for numbers, many people …..." Baroness Armstrong of Hill Top - View Speech