Higher Education Institutions: Spending
Debate between Viscount Younger of Leckie and Lord Blunkett
Lord Blunkett (Lab)
I beg leave to ask the Question standing in my name on the Order Paper and in so doing draw attention to my interests as set out in the register.
Viscount Younger of Leckie (Con)
The independent panel chaired by Philip Augar has published its report to government as part of the review of post-18 education and funding. It forms an important step in the overall government review, but it does not constitute government policy. It is a comprehensive report with detailed analysis and no fewer than 53 recommendations. The Government will continue to engage with stakeholders, consider the independent panel’s recommendations carefully and conclude at the spending review.
Lord Blunkett
My Lords, given the 8% real-terms reduction inherent in the current fee to 2022, and given that even Boris Johnson has not promised more money for further and higher education, will the Minister make representations to colleagues, both present and future, to recognise the real damage that would result from a further 20% cut in funding for teaching and student contact, and that the value of higher education is derived not from the salary level a student receives immediately on graduation but from the liberation of talent and creativity which we will need for the future?
Viscount Younger of Leckie
As I say, the Government are considering the panel’s recommendations. There is no doubt that the impact of provider funding as a whole, including tuition fees and grant funding, is an important consideration. We will work with the OfS to make sure that overall funding supports teaching costs, access and successful participation for disadvantaged students and maintains the world-leading reputation of UK higher education. Overall, we are committed to ensuring that funding reflects a sustainable model that supports the skills needs of the country.
Childcare
Debate between Viscount Younger of Leckie and Lord Blunkett
Lord Blunkett (Lab)
My Lords, let me try to blend the two questions. Nine years ago this month, the coalition Government, in the first round of austerity measures, dealt a mortal blow to the Sure Start programme. Although Sure Start is more than childcare and healthcare, the recently issued IFS report unequivocally demonstrates its value in terms of health outcomes. Surely reinvesting in the original local Sure Start programmes will ensure that children are properly nurtured and parents are engaged in parenting programmes that will stop children being taken into care in the first place.
Viscount Younger of Leckie
I know that the party opposite feels very strongly about the Sure Start programme. I very much note the recent report that came out from the IFS, and in particular the focus on the health effects of Sure Start—but it also demonstrates that children in disadvantaged areas benefit most from the services, and the policy framework we have in place reflects this evidence. Also, there are more children’s centres now than prior to 2008, and during the period when Tony Blair was PM.
Litter: Schoolchildren
Debate between Viscount Younger of Leckie and Lord Blunkett
Viscount Younger of Leckie
My noble friend is right: this is about education. His aim is laudable but the Government have pledged not to change the national curriculum for the duration of this Parliament to provide stability and consistency for schools’ programmes and the teaching profession. However, he will know that, as part of the science curriculum, children are taught about scientific concepts relating to the environment, and that this can include teaching them about the negative effects of overpopulation, development, litter and deforestation.
Lord Blunkett (Lab)
My Lords, this Question relates directly to year 6 pupils. Does the Minister agree that, once they have completed the tests in May, it would be a very good idea to encourage them to continue picking up litter, to distinguish those aspects that can be recycled for the use of schools to provide some relief from the enormous budget cuts that they are experiencing —for instance, so that paper can be recycled during the following year?
Universities: Financial Sustainability
Debate between Viscount Younger of Leckie and Lord Blunkett
Viscount Younger of Leckie
My noble friend would expect me not to agree with that point, but I think the whole House would agree it is very important that we continue to attract students from overseas—from EU and non-EU countries. It is very encouraging that the number of applicants from the EU has increased by 1% to 43,890. There is still a lot of work to do in that respect but, in terms of students being included in the migration figures, we have had much discussion in the Chamber about that, and I do not want to go into it today.
Lord Blunkett (Lab)
My Lords, I declare an interest as listed in the register. Perhaps the noble Viscount would contemplate how we can provide much greater certainty as a global player in higher education. It is not just a question of the Augar financing review, Brexit, the pension fund or even the very temporary drop in the demographic in relation to early entry to university; it is also a question of our place in the world. Will he speak to the Secretary of State and, for that matter, to the Chancellor about the critical importance of retaining our reputation and removing uncertainty, which would undermine the willingness of students to come from abroad and undermine the reputation of our universities worldwide?
Viscount Younger of Leckie
There are a lot of uncertainties around, and the noble Lord makes an extremely good point. One of the most important points coming through, perhaps as a result of the reforms that we are making, is the opportunity for current and new providers to market themselves effectively. There are a lot of issues connected to this, including the teaching excellence framework. As we know, we are beginning to look more at how subjects can be assessed, so that students from abroad can see with much greater transparency and clarity what courses are available and what their ratings are like, and hopefully choose Britain rather than other countries to come to and study.
Local Authorities: Children with Special Needs
Debate between Viscount Younger of Leckie and Lord Blunkett
Viscount Younger of Leckie
I have seen the press report; it is right that local authorities respond appropriately to any special needs tribunal appeal—and in doing so they will inevitably incur some costs. The vast majority of cases for education, health and care needs assessments are concluded without the need to resort to tribunal hearings. As the House will appreciate, the system is designed to be person-centred and to ensure that families are properly engaged at all stages. We are investing £20 million more until March 2020 to improve the quality of information, advice and support available to families. On my noble friend’s point about independent schools, he is absolutely correct that parents have the right to ask that an independent school, approved under Section 41 of the Children and Families Act 2014, be named on their EHC plan, as such schools are treated legally in the same way as maintained schools.
Lord Blunkett (Lab)
My Lords, everyone in this House will be familiar with the pressures on local government. Nevertheless, there is no excuse for the way in which, too often, local authorities and their local health providers fail to implement the education, health and care plans, and for the fact that the Children and Families Act is not working in the way that was originally intended. Will the Minister give a guarantee that more work will be done across departments to ensure that people get the rights they need, and, above all, that children get the kind of education and health support that makes it possible for them to live independent lives in the future?
Johnston Press
Debate between Viscount Younger of Leckie and Lord Blunkett
Viscount Younger of Leckie
I thank my noble and learned friend, who makes some good points. First, as I said, the move to online is happening, it is inevitable and it is fair to say that a lot of young people only go online. But it is also important that the transfer for local newspapers from paper form to online is effected in a measured way that does not lead to the sudden putative loss of jobs that might have happened if JPI had not stepped in for Johnston Press. I also take note of his point that it is very important that any government money should be put into a long-term future. We await the results of the Cairncross review, which will be looking at all aspects of this, including the online focus.
Lord Blunkett (Lab)
My Lords, would the Minister acknowledge that the £220 million debt run up by Johnston Press over a number of years was a scandalous mismanagement, which led to its mortgaging the operations, including the work of local journalists, for reasons other than for delivering what we want—and what I am sure the Government would want—in terms of the revitalising of local democracy that we will be talking about? Is it not true that, in picking up the pension entitlement, the Pension Protection Fund will have to use public money once again to bail out what was a scandalous misuse of the resources of Johnston Press over the years?
Viscount Younger of Leckie
I am not prepared to comment or respond to the comment made about the debt. The fact is that the debt is there, Johnston Press had it and JPI is taking it on and is looking ahead. On the PPF, again I think that it is right that the Government do not comment until we hear back from the PPF, which will in due course take a view on the pension situation at Johnston Press.
Apprenticeships: Levy
Debate between Viscount Younger of Leckie and Lord Blunkett
Lord Blunkett (Lab)
My Lords, I beg leave to ask the Question standing in my name on the Order Paper. In doing so, I draw attention to my interest as set out in the register.
Viscount Younger of Leckie (Con)
My Lords, we continue to monitor apprenticeships’ market performance, including levels of starts and spend. We have made radical reforms to the way we develop, deliver and fund high-quality apprenticeships, and further major changes have the potential to be destabilising. However, we are prepared to make adjustments when and where they are required in order to deliver our ambitions and support quality apprenticeships.
Lord Blunkett
I thank the noble Viscount for that Answer, but I am genuinely at a loss as to why the Government are so resistant to the calls being made by those who are committed to the apprenticeship levy and to quality apprenticeships for changes that would reverse the 26% drop in the last quarter in starting apprenticeships and utilise the underspend so that small and medium-sized companies and associated colleges could undertake the necessary work, perhaps in the future top-slicing sufficient funds to reach out beyond the larger enterprises, thereby helping both individuals and our economy.
Viscount Younger of Leckie
I hope that I can reassure the noble Lord that the Government have awarded £490 million to providers across the country to deliver apprenticeship training for smaller businesses from January 2018 to April 2019. Today, we have announced that in April we will be making available an additional £80 million for starts with SMEs which will support up to an extra 40,000 apprenticeships. Also, in terms of flexibility, from April levy-paying employers will be able to transfer up to 10% of the annual value of the funds entering their digital accounts to other employers, including SMEs.
Vulnerable Children
Debate between Viscount Younger of Leckie and Lord Blunkett
Viscount Younger of Leckie
The figure that my noble friend has given gives rise to concern, certainly. Influential evidence from the Early Intervention Foundation and the Centre for Social Justice, among others, has shown the importance of strong family relationships. The evidence is clear that, when conflict between parents is frequent, intense and poorly resolved, it leads to negative outcomes for children. The report builds on cross-party and cross-government recognition of the challenges that need to be addressed and are often entrenched. That is why the Government are developing a new national programme to reduce conflict between parents, led by the Department for Work and Pensions, working closely with the DCLG and the Department of Health.
Lord Blunkett (Lab)
My Lords, I welcome this very substantial report from an excellent Children’s Commissioner. Will the Minister reflect on the fact that one missing category from the report are the children of families where one of the parents has been sent to prison and where, after lengthy prison sentences, the impact on the children will have not just a concern for us morally but a societal impact down the line that we will need to take practical measures to overcome? Will that be considered in reflecting on the report?
Viscount Younger of Leckie
The noble Lord makes a good point. I have in front of me the four key categories highlighted by the Children’s Commissioner. Within those four categories are 32 cohorts. It is true that the issue of children linked to prisons is not in there, but there are some very interesting statistics under the heading of “Children with family-related vulnerabilities”.