Education: Henley Review

Baroness Grender Excerpts

Tuesday 15th March 2016 Lords Chamber

[Lord Nash]

I do. It is true that of the approximately 2,000 independent schools, nearly 800 of them are engaged in activities with state schools—of course, many of those which are not are very small. It is something which should be encouraged and we are doing everything we can to do so.

[Baroness Grender (LD)]

My Lords, the joint ministerial board that the Government said was an immediate priority in response to the review and that was set up in 2013 is an entirely separate body from the cultural education partnership group, which Ministers do not attend. Can the Minister tell us whether Ministers on that board have met since the general election and explain to us why the future of this board is under consideration rather than getting on with this all-important work?

[Lord Nash]

The noble Baroness is quite right that the board has not met since the general election, but it has achieved a great deal. It has monitored progress against the recommendations from the Henley review; it has evaluated the impact of the programmes which have been funded, some of which I have referred to; and it has been involved in making sure that best practice is shared across the industry.