Strathclyde Review

Debate between Baroness Evans of Bowes Park and Lord Foulkes of Cumnock

Thursday 17th November 2016 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Evans of Bowes Park]

I do not want to give answers that diminish the enthusiasm we are showing today, but I shall not make promises I cannot keep. I add my thanks for the work of the Constitution Committee, both for its report on this review and for its wider work, which is extremely valuable and well respected.

[Lord Foulkes of Cumnock (Lab)]

My Lords, I was slightly worried that the Leader of the House was implying that she and the Government would have an easy time when it came to scrutinising all aspects of Brexit. The legislation that gave us the referendum was itself flawed, in that it had a very restrictive franchise and no threshold, and it was not, in my view, considered properly by Parliament. As a result of that we are in a mess. That is why it is very important to scrutinise every aspect of Brexit and all the consequences, which are huge and serious, not just in Scotland and Northern Ireland but throughout the whole of the United Kingdom, affecting the constitution of this country as well as its stability and prosperity. If we do not scrutinise them properly, we are not doing our job.

[Baroness Evans of Bowes Park]

My Lords, I am under no illusions about the task that we have ahead and the role this House will play in scrutinising legislation relating to Brexit. As I said, noble Lords have already taken a constructive approach in dealing with the debates we have had so far, and I have faith that this will continue. As I said to the noble Lord, Lord McNally, we are also reliant on self-regulation and discipline to ensure the passage of legislation. We hope that that will continue.

Adult Education: Part-time Attendance

Debate between Baroness Evans of Bowes Park and Lord Foulkes of Cumnock

Wednesday 9th March 2016 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Evans of Bowes Park]

This Government are taking a number of steps to help to encourage part-time learning. For instance, we will be introducing maintenance loans for part-time students for the first time, and we have expanded second degree student support funding for those who want to study a STEM subject. We have also expanded the advanced learner loan system, so from 2016-17 learners aged 19 and over studying at levels 3 to 6 will be able to access that support. We are doing what we can to provide people who want to study part-time with the support to do so.

[Lord Foulkes of Cumnock (Lab)]

I thought that there could not be a worse Government than this Tory one for butchering further education until I looked at Scotland, where there are now 150,000 fewer places in FE than there were when the SNP took over. Are the Tories and the SNP in some kind of Dutch auction to see who can reduce further education places to their lowest number?

[Baroness Evans of Bowes Park]

I am very pleased to reassure the noble Lord that in fact, under this Government in the last spending review, we have protected FE budgets at £1.5 billion over the course of the Parliament. Therefore I am sure that the noble Lord will recognise how much the Government are doing to support FE and will want to congratulate us on doing so.

Women: Representation

Debate between Baroness Evans of Bowes Park and Lord Foulkes of Cumnock

Tuesday 8th March 2016 Lords Chamber

[Lord Lexden (Con)]

My Lords, is it not worthy of note that two out of the three devolved Governments in our country are now led by women?

[Lord Foulkes of Cumnock (Lab)]

The wrong women.

[Baroness Evans of Bowes Park]

My noble friend Lord Lexden makes a very good point and I am happy to agree with him.

Sir John Cass Faculty of Art, Architecture and Design

Debate between Baroness Evans of Bowes Park and Lord Foulkes of Cumnock

Thursday 3rd December 2015 Lords Chamber

[Lord Mawhinney (Con)]

My Lords, will my noble friend accept that the Government’s commitment to art and design is admirable, as is their commitment to the autonomy of universities?

[Lord Foulkes of Cumnock (Lab)]

That is a difficult one.

[Baroness Evans of Bowes Park]

They have all been quite hard so far, so I thank my noble friend for his question.

Education: Free Schools

Debate between Baroness Evans of Bowes Park and Lord Foulkes of Cumnock

Monday 22nd June 2015 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Evans of Bowes Park]

I have indeed—and it just goes to show that I am very willing to support some of the comments made by the Benches opposite. I say once again that free schools, increasingly run and set up by teachers, can be set up only where parents want them. That is why they are proving so popular. Not only are they offering a great education to their pupils; they are helping raise standards across the system and having a particular effect on those low-performing schools in their areas.

[Lord Foulkes of Cumnock (Lab)]

My Lords, I think that the noble Baroness went to school in Northern Ireland. Why does she think that the Governments in Northern Ireland and Scotland have not followed the example of free schools?

[Baroness Evans of Bowes Park]

I hope that once the devolved Governments hear of the outstanding success of free schools, they will indeed decide to take up this policy. I am very happy to repeat the statistics, but perhaps I could mention several of the outstanding free schools that we have seen: the Boulevard Academy in Hull, Becket Keys in Brentwood and Derby Pride Academy, which is helping the most disaffected young people get back into education. These are the success stories of free schools and I hope that the whole House will join me in congratulating the hundreds of teachers around the country who are working so hard to improve education in this country.