Statutory Sex and Relationships Education

Debate between Caroline Dinenage and Lord Jackson of Peterborough

Tuesday 31st January 2017 Westminster Hall

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Education (Caroline Dinenage)]

It is a great pleasure to serve under your stewardship, Sir Edward. I thank the hon. Member for Kingston upon Hull North (Diana Johnson) for securing this important debate and for her constant and consistent engagement on the important issue of sex and relationships education and personal, social, health and economic education. I also congratulate her constituency and the whole city of Kingston upon Hull on its acclaim as the UK city of culture for 2017.

I very much welcome the opportunity to debate these important issues again. As various Members have mentioned, we spoke about them in last week’s Adjournment debate, but it is always valuable to gather and hear more views from more Members from all parts of the House on these areas of concern. I entirely share the hon. Lady’s view about the value of children and young people having access to effective, factually accurate and age-appropriate sex and relationships education. I agree with her and the Opposition spokesperson that it has to be about more than that; it has to be about healthy relationships, consent and respect for oneself and others. Those things are so important if our children are to face the challenges of the modern world. It has been helpful to hear views from Members from all parts of the House, particularly my hon. Friend the Member for Peterborough (Mr Jackson), whose birthday it is today.

My hon. Friend the Minister for Vulnerable Children and Families has already committed to come back to the House during the consideration of the Children and Social Work Bill with an update on how he intends to proceed. I have to be careful not to steal his thunder, particularly because he is as we speak on paternity leave, which is evidence, if needed, that he was definitely there for that class on which bit went where.

I reassure Members that the Government take the matter seriously. We welcome the extremely helpful input from the hon. Member for Kingston upon Hull North, many other Members and the Women and Equalities Committee, and the ongoing scrutiny of the Bill. The issue is a priority for the Government.

[Mr Jackson]

The paternity leave of my hon. Friend the Minister for Vulnerable Children and Families will no doubt be interrupted by the Whips tomorrow evening for the vote on article 50. May I press the Minister specifically on the issue of continuing to allow parents to withdraw their children from some classes under any new guidance issued by the Department? Hitherto, that has been a central tenet of Government policy on this sensitive issue.

[Caroline Dinenage]

The input of parents on this subject is fundamentally important, as is the input of teachers and other professionals. The Government are fully committed to exploring all the options to improve the delivery of sex and relationships education and PSHE. We want to ensure the quality of delivery and the accessibility of teaching so that all children can be supported to develop and thrive in modern Britain.

Adult Literacy and Numeracy

Debate between Caroline Dinenage and Lord Jackson of Peterborough

Thursday 10th October 2013 Commons Chamber

[Caroline Dinenage]

I think that this problem can only be tackled from the grass roots up.

“Yes we can read” is also reaching offenders in Britain’s prisons. In 2008 over two thirds of prisoners starting a custodial sentence had numeracy levels at or below level 1. The book has recently been made available in prison libraries, providing prisoners with invaluable access to this excellent resource. Peer-to-peer learning is arguably the most effective way to boost skills among prisoners. It removed the barriers created by an uncomfortable classroom and teachers whom the inmates often cannot relate to.

Improving literacy skills is crucial to reducing reoffending, as it boosts the chances of getting a job and holding on to it when released. One of the Prison Reform Trust’s Bromley briefings describes the National Grid-led offender training and employment programme. It works with prisoners coming to the end of their sentences and provides training and a job on release. More than 2,000 prisoners have passed through the scheme, which has an average reoffending rate of just 6%.

[Mr Stewart Jackson (Peterborough) (Con)]

I thank my hon. Friend for giving way and apologise for arriving late—I was serving on a Select Committee. She touches on recidivism and penal issues. Is she aware that the exemplar national payment-by-results scheme at Peterborough prison, which will hopefully be rolled out across the prison estate, depends on literacy, numeracy and life skills to reduce the level of reoffending and that it is absolutely crucial to prepare prisoners for life outside prison? Adult literacy must be at the centre of all such schemes.

[Caroline Dinenage]

My hon. Friend makes an excellent point. Although the scheme is not just about basic skills, the statistics are quite striking. It has a reoffending rate of just 6%, nearly eight times less than the UK average rate of 47%.

Basic literacy and numeracy skills are the foundation for an adult’s employability. Young men and women who lack literacy are the least likely to be in full-time employment by the time they are 30. That failure has a dramatic impact on business. A 2011 CBI study showed that 42% of employers were unhappy with literacy among school leavers and 44% were investing in remedial classes to improve basic skills. That is in line with my experience. I have owned a small business for the past 20 years and seen for myself the gradual decline in the level of numeracy, literacy and employability one can expect as the norm from school leavers.

I am pleased, therefore, that the Government have embedded a system whereby Jobcentre Plus advisers must scrupulously assess the English and maths needs of a relevant benefit claimant, mandating them to an initial interview with a provider where the lack of skills is preventing them from moving into work. NIACE is concerned that without improving basic skills among benefit claimants, we will be unable to improve employability and help reduce the number of long-term benefit claimants in the UK.

In order to achieve that, jobcentre advisers need to invest time in clients. Historically, their attempts to combat illiteracy and innumeracy have been hampered by staff choosing the quickest methods of assessing skills needs, falling for the “I’ve forgotten my glasses” line that we have already discussed, but that is not satisfactory and we must ensure that such practice does not continue.

I am pleased that all apprenticeship providers will be required to support apprentices to achieve level 2 in English and maths. Apprenticeships are a fantastic way for people to develop their skills and get a foot on the jobs ladder. With that in mind, I welcome the progress the Government have made in tackling adult literacy and numeracy problems, but there is still more to be done.

In closing, I reiterate that the focus must be on grass-roots learning. Community learning is a great way to promote skills development, and I welcome the Government’s support for that progress so far. I firmly believe that courses aimed at improving literacy for families and individuals who are most disadvantaged and furthest from learning are one of the best ways to tackle the absence of fundamental skills among our adult population. Adult literacy and numeracy problems cannot be solved by top-down Government policy and investment; our action must be bottom up, from the grass roots of society. If we can raise standards in schools and embed programmes that help right in the heart of our local communities, we can provide hope and opportunity to millions.