Covid-19: Children

Lord Walney Excerpts

Thursday 17th June 2021 Lords Chamber

[Lord Walney (Non-Afl) [V]]

My Lords, it is a privilege to follow that powerful speech from the noble Lord, Lord Rooker. I absolutely endorse what he said about Professor Marmot’s review, in particular. It is vital that we pay attention to his analysis and recommendations in this critical debate. I draw attention to my entry in the register of interests, in particular my work to support and help promote the levelling-up goals that were founded by the former Education Secretary and International Development Secretary, Justine Greening, with whom I served on different Benches in the House of Commons over the last decade.

I add my admiration for the noble Baroness, Lady Morris. Many of my colleagues in the Labour student movement and I admired her greatly when she was Education Minister, during her time serving in the new Labour Government. It is an unexpected privilege to share a debate with her in this House today.

The noble Baroness talked powerfully about the power and central importance of the state, and cast the need for education change and reform in terms of the great changes to the welfare state over the years. That puts in mind exactly how damaging what has happened during the pandemic has been over this last year. Levelling up is a relatively new way of trying to encapsulate what governments, businesses and wider society mean in bringing about these kinds of changes, but the business of state-funded and state-directed universal education has been crucial to a welfare-minded society for 150 years. That has been taken away over much of the last 12 months. Therefore, it is no surprise that this has greatly exacerbated what were already great inequalities in the education system and beyond.

I absolutely endorse the many powerful speeches that have already been made on the need for a greater focus on this challenge than has so far been put forward by the Government. It is not simply in the huge but relatively narrow field of education attainment where we risk falling behind; this has consequences for every field of society and, ultimately, for our ability to defend ourselves, and to create the medical and scientific progress that will be needed in future health crises. It is vital that we raise our game beyond where we are at the moment.

I add one final observation to the speeches already made. As part of the great increase in state activity and focus that has been called for in myriad ways in this debate already, I hope we can also see and be part of encouraging a change in the way that a wider community and wider society, including local and national businesses, view the power of education.

During my time as the MP for Barrow and Furness between 2010 and 2019, I was part of a push for change, with businesses taking greater responsibility for the area’s education outcomes, which in Barrow and many provincial parts of England were lower than the national average. We formed the Future Leaders’ Academy, the summer school funding for which was overwhelmingly provided by local businesses that understood the need to invest in their future workforce from the very earliest ages. So, this is possible.

I challenge what the noble Baroness, Lady Garden, said. In deprived areas it is absolutely possible for an increased contribution from the state to work hand in hand with an increased contribution from businesses to make the changes we need.