argyrotsipi/train-dataset huggingface dataset:
Education Recovery — House of Lords, 2021-06-08
Topic: Social Welfare
David Maxim Triesman (Non-Affiliated, Unknown): My Lords, the noble Baroness, Lady Garden, said that the Government could do better. Speaking candidly, I think that they could hardly do worse. I was horrified by the derisory per-capita recovery funding that is to be spent on all children, as the noble Baroness, Lady Falkner, has just said, if they are to recover from the body blows to their education and future prospects. I have little doubt that that provoked the principled resignation of Sir Kevan. I imagine that that is also painful for the Minister, who is an honourable person. It is still worse in the aftermath of Marcus Rashford’s great campaign against childhood hunger, where the Government’s response was so poor It is true that the international comparisons stand up; it is fair to compare such things in these circumstances, and the facts cannot be obscured. The United States is going to spend 32 times as much on its recovery for kids as we are, while the Government here spend vast amounts on their friends and donors in this pandemic, rather than on the United Kingdom’s kids. The figures are well documented. What urgent plans does the Minister have in place to review and repair this miserly approach? She has mentioned a contingency plan that the Prime Minister may inaugurate. Is she committing to the money that that contingency plan may demand in the circumstances? Can she say more about the money for further education, where so many 16 to 18 year-olds are now educated?
Education (Environment and Sustainable Citizenship) Bill [HL] — House of Lords, 2021-07-16
Topic: Environment
Margaret Ritchie (Non-Affiliated, Unknown): My Lords, it is a pleasure to follow the noble Lord, Lord Randall. I congratulate and commend the noble Lord, Lord Knight, on this far-sighted legislation, which seeks to amend parts of the Education Act 2002 but most importantly seeks to ensure that climate change and sustainable citizenship become part of the school curriculum in maintained schools in England. I hope that the devolved Administrations follow suit and try to implement similar legislation and accommodate the interests and zeal of young people to protect our planet We all learned about climate change and its impacts on our environment in geography and science, but in many ways they were disconnected and we did not take the action required. This legislation seeks to place sustainability at the heart of our education system in response to the long-term systemic challenges of climate change and biodiversity loss Young people today are very focused on the impact of the actions of humanity upon where they live, their environment, their landscape and marine life. They are very conscious of biodiversity and nature and want to protect our planet. I was talking to a young guy who has just completed his A-levels and is on his way to university. He said to me, "Our generation will have to be the one that reduces the damage of climate change to ensure that future generations are free to live as comfortably as we and the generations before us have, and the only way we can do this is by instilling in them a sense of the urgency of the climate emergency, as well as effective skills and ideas with which to combat it." Having talked to him, his analysis, albeit he is a young guy in the first flush of youth, was that the education system has to be a more connected and has to make statutory provision for educating people on climate change and sustainability. Undoubtedly, the epitome of this is Greta Thunberg, who was been very much at the forefront of protecting the environment, biodiversity and our precious planet. To do that, we need a strengthened Environment Bill, but we want the educational outcomes for our young people to have meaning and purpose. They want their actions to have positive outcomes for the environment, and that requires legislation. They have protested for the protection of our environment. Let us support them and support this meaningful legislation.
Education (Environment and Sustainable Citizenship) Bill [HL] — House of Lords, 2021-07-16
Topic: Education
John Woodcock (Non-Affiliated, Unknown): My Lords, I add my congratulations and strong support to the noble Lord, Lord Knight. He was a brilliant Schools Minister, and he nailed the case in the introduction to his Bill. I naturally share the scepticism that he expressed, and on which the noble Lord, Lord Hannan, expanded, about the dangers of loading the curriculum with ever more worthy subjects—each worthy in their own right. However, this is so transcendentally important an issue that we must give it a greater focus within the education system and, frankly, across our public discourse than it has at the moment My emphasis might be different from that of the noble Lord, Lord McConnell, on the question of how wide this should be and whether it should encompass wider issues of sustainability. I have had my kids coming home from Scottish schools up in arms about invasive species, wanting to tell the whole world, and the political world, about the danger of particular plants overtaking other plants in the garden, which is worthy. However, even if one takes a minority view, or if there is only an outside chance of catastrophic damage from climate change—the climate chaos and disaster that may come within our lifetimes, potentially within the decade—we have to put greater focus on it than at present The level of change needed in this country and across the world is greater than any Government are currently prepared to sign up to. The reason underlying that, in my view, is that the public are not ready to accept that level of change, and they cannot be ready to do so unless they can understand to a greater degree what is at risk. That has to be embedded within the school curriculum. I would suggest going further and making a special case for an outside body of experts—I am not sure exactly what it would be—responsible for setting the guidance for what the curriculum ought to say. I am not sure that this can be left to the Government of the day, who may not be prepared to take as holistic a view of the science as is necessary. This process should start in schools, but we should also use it as a platform for wider debate in society about what we need to know, and what the public need to know, and how we go about addressing it, in this Chamber, the other place and right across society; it is so fundamentally important. I very much welcome this contribution to the debate and will strongly support its process through this House.
Education (Environment and Sustainable Citizenship) Bill [HL] — House of Lords, 2021-07-16
Topic: Education
Amirali Bhatia (Non-Affiliated, Unknown): My Lords, I agree with the noble Lord, Lord Knight, and support him in introducing this Bill. The Bill will amend Section 78 of the 2002 Education Act to include a general provision for education on the environment and sustainable citizenship. It will require maintained and nursery schools to follow a curriculum that "instils an ethos and ability to care for oneself, others and the natural environment, for … future generations" The Bill stipulates that the Secretary of State’s guidance must ensure that pupils learn about the impact of human behaviour on the natural environment and the impact of the natural environment on human beings. I ask the Minister whether sufficient financial support, resources and qualified teachers will be made available at all stages of schooling.
Education (Environment and Sustainable Citizenship) Bill [HL] — House of Lords, 2021-07-16
Topic: Education
Ian Austin (Non-Affiliated, Unknown): My Lords, I thank the noble Lord, Lord Knight, not just for introducing this important Bill but for a lifetime devoted to one of the most important causes of all: giving young people the best possible start in life and the education and skills they need to fulfil their potential and achieve their ambitions As we have heard, without much faster progress there will be no chance of achieving our net zero goals, and if we are to make changes in energy consumption and transport, the best place to start is in schools. These proposals should also help to equip young people for the hundreds of thousands of good, well-paid jobs that will be available in low-carbon industries The loss of traditional industries, the closure of pits and potteries, factories and foundries, the decline of shipbuilding and seaside resorts, jobs lost to recessions, technological change and competition from low-wage economies abroad have all seen the regions fall further and further behind. As a result, productivity in London is 30% higher than in the rest of the UK apart from the south-east. There are great businesses and signs of improvement in the regions, but over the past few decades they have clearly struggled to attract new jobs in growing industries such as financial services, professional services and the computer revolution, to replace the jobs they have lost. Over the next few decades there will be huge growth in and millions of well-paid jobs in high-tech industries such as advanced manufacturing, low-carbon, construction digital media and so on. It is vital that we do not make the same mistakes again Change could happen 10 times faster than and at 300 times the scale of the Industrial Revolution, and technologies that have yet to be developed will create jobs not yet imagined as the pace of change gets faster. However, there will also be many fewer jobs for people with limited skills or no qualifications, so the only way the Midlands and the north will weather this storm and attract new industries, which is what the levelling-up agenda is actually about, is by having the skills they need, and the only way young people will prosper is by learning how to master new skills and adapt to constant change. That is why these changes are so important I think we should view this timely and important Bill as an opportunity to help the former industrial towns and cities, the great cities of our country on which its wealth was based in previous centuries, develop the skills needed to attract investment in low-carbon technologies, green industries and sustainable development. Let us use this Bill to resolve that we will make this industrial revolution different from the major economic changes of the past few decades and ensure that it brings new industries, new jobs and greater prosperity to the parts of our country that have been left behind and let down for far too long, so that we can build not just a greener country in the future but a fairer one too.
Special Public Bill Committee (Charities Bill) — House of Lords, 2021-07-22
Topic: Government Operations
John Eric Gardiner (Non-Affiliated, Unknown): That, as proposed by the Committee of Selection, the following Lords be appointed to the Special Public Bill Committee on the Charities Bill [HL]: Etherton, L (Chair), Barker, B, Barran, B, Bellingham, L, Cruddas, L, Fullbrook, B, Goudie, B, Parkinson of Whitley Bay, L, Ponsonby of Shulbrede, L That the Committee have power to send for persons, papers and records; That the evidence taken by the Committee be published, if the Committee so wishes.
Future UK-EU Relationship on Professional and Business Services (EU Committee Report) — House of Lords, 2021-07-22
Topic: Macroeconomics
Amirali Bhatia (Non-Affiliated, Unknown): My Lords, I fully agree with what the noble Baroness, Lady Donaghy, said in her speech. She has laid out all the parts of the committee’s report, which was unanimous. We must acknowledge that this sector is vital to the UK economy, contributing £224 billion and employing some 4.6 million people. The Government are yet to give their final response to the committee’s report. Can the Minister inform the House when they will do so?
Strategy for Tackling Violence against Women and Girls — House of Lords, 2021-07-22
Topic: Law and Crime
Tina Stowell (Non-Affiliated, Unknown): My Lords, clearly we are all united in our condemnation of violence and aggression against women and girls, and we are also united in our view that perpetrators be pursued and prosecuted with vigour and the full force of the law. I share the view of the noble Baroness, Lady Benjamin, that in the context of online pornography I hope to see more moves addressing the availability and access to that among children, which is incredibly concerning to all of us in the way in which it might influence the attitudes of young men and boys to women. In the context of such an important strategy, I want to raise very carefully a concern that is worth us being mindful of, and that is how we can avoid a mindset developing where all women are victims and all men are villains. Are the Government conscious of this, and if so, how are they reflecting that in this strategy and in the way that they intend to roll it out?
Northern Ireland Protocol — House of Lords, 2021-07-21
Topic: Foreign Trade
Margaret Ritchie (Non-Affiliated, Unknown): My Lords, in light of the absence of trust caused by the original internal market Bill last September and the unilateral extensions of grace periods in March, how confident is the Minister that the EU will have the appetite to consider such a fundamental departure from the protocol in terms of Article 5? After all, the UK Government negotiated, agreed and ratified the protocol.
Northern Ireland Protocol — House of Lords, 2021-07-21
Topic: International Affairs
Charles Hay (Non-Affiliated, Unknown): My Lords, there are 32 committees set up under the TCA and the withdrawal agreement, only three of which are directly relevant to the Ireland/Northern Ireland protocol, leaving 29 that are not—presumably now 30, given the overnight news on Gibraltar. Does the Minister share the concerns of many that the trust problems that are taking place within the Ireland/Northern Ireland protocol might leak across to these other 30 forums, which would be most unfortunate? If he shares those concerns, what are the Government doing to address that?
Northern Ireland Protocol — House of Lords, 2021-07-21
Topic: International Affairs
Catharine Letitia Hoey (Non-Affiliated, Unknown): I thank the noble Lord for his time spent in Northern Ireland listening to people, and for the recognition that the protocol is not working and cannot work. I welcome the proposed changes; particularly important is removing Northern Ireland from being subject to EU rules and the EU court without any say. Could the Minister give us some idea of timescale in terms of just how long these negotiations might go on before it is felt to be time to do something more drastic? Does he agree with me that, if the European Union is really concerned about peace and stability in Northern Ireland, it will respond positively to these proposals—and respond very speedily?
Covid-19: Education Attendance — House of Lords, 2021-07-01
Topic: Education
Claire Fox (Non-Affiliated, Unknown): What advice would the Minister give to parents if their child says that he or she has a tummy ache and does not want to go to school? Parents would usually reply, "You’ll be fine, darling, remember that education is so important". Now, after months of forcing hundreds of thousands of pupils to stay isolated at home, even though they are well, surely the lesson is that school is not so important. Does she also have any advice for teachers in the future, chasing homework or confronting truancy after so long socialising pupils to think that school attendance is provisional?
UK Foreign Aid Programme — House of Lords, 2021-07-01
Topic: International Affairs
Michael Cashman (Non-Affiliated, Unknown): My Lords, as a member of the APPG on HIV/AIDS, I will focus on this critical issue among so many critical issues. The UK has provided £15 million a year for the past five years to the joint United Nations programme on HIV/AIDS but now plans to cut this, by more than 83%, to £2.5 million this year. These cuts to UNAIDS risk jeopardising work supporting some of the most marginalised people. They will damage work to promote girls’ education and empowerment and lessen the ability to help countries, including the United Kingdom, to end HIV and AIDS The UN Population Fund has seen an 85% reduction in support from the UK, which has cut a flagship supplies programme from £154 million to £23 million and core funding from £20 million to £8 million. Analysis has indicated that this funding would have helped prevent 250,000 child and maternal deaths, 14.6 million unintended pregnancies and 4.3 million unsafe abortions. The Government have also decimated their funding for HIV bilateral programmes, which has forced the closure of a number of vital HIV services and cancelled several funds supporting small and medium- sized civil society organisations The ODA budget had already been reduced because, as has been said, it is a percentage of our gross national income. This additional cut, during a global pandemic, will inflict damage that will take decades to undo. The facts speak for themselves, but they will not be heard by this Government. Like others, I am left feeling ashamed of this shameful Government.
UK Foreign Aid Programme — House of Lords, 2021-07-01
Topic: International Affairs
Amirali Bhatia (Non-Affiliated, Unknown): My Lords, [Inaudible.] The UK is one of the countries to completely untie aid, meaning that it is provided without being tied to any policy considerations. It created a government department responsible for administrating—[Inaudible] —provided for by the International Development Act 2002. This is because DfID has public money, money that cannot be spent without parliamentary authorisation regarding the manner and purpose of its use As a policy, DfID decided that the following eight goals should be achieved through its budget: first, eradicate extreme poverty and hunger; secondly, achieve universal primary education; thirdly, promote gender equality and empower women; fourthly, reduce child mortality; fifthly, improve maternal health; sixthly, combat HIV, malaria and other diseases; seventhly, ensure environmental sustainability; and, eighthly, develop a global partnership for development Many years ago, as a trustee of Oxfam, I saw the effects of poverty. One of the researchers often told me that to understand what poverty means, you have to not only pour money but smell poverty. I underscore the need to protect women and their needs.
UK Foreign Aid Programme — House of Lords, 2021-07-01
Topic: International Affairs
John Woodcock (Non-Affiliated, Unknown): My Lords, this debate has of course focused on the impact of the cuts. Many noble Lords have given powerful examples of the damage done to communities and vital programmes by these sudden and forced reductions. If the Government still accept the basic case that development spending remains in our own national interests, and apparently they do, then logic dictates that this cut hurts our own national security and must be reversed as soon as possible. The damage, as so many have set out, could be all the greater in this uncertain and fragile period as we recover from the pandemic However, concern over the need to restore the level of spending must not divert attention from the importance of the forthcoming review into how the UK’s development assistance should be allocated. The direction of reform indicated by the Government is significant. The integrated review of defence and security has shown that this Administration understand the scale of the threat to all nations posed by the rise of powers that are fundamentally changing and challenging the liberal rules-based order in which we had assumed our commitment on aid would be made Given how much has changed and what is at stake, the Government’s objective to secure a greater level of strategic alignment of the country’s foreign policy objectives is laudable. But there is a great deal riding on getting the changes to culture, processes and priorities right. As well as returning to 0.7% immediately, I hope that Ministers will set out as soon as possible a transparent and inclusive path to a new strategy for how we support other nations with that investment.
UK Foreign Aid Programme — House of Lords, 2021-07-01
Topic: International Affairs
Margaret Ritchie (Non-Affiliated, Unknown): My Lords, I congratulate the noble Lord, Lord Fowler, on securing this important debate on overseas aid and its budget. I come from a firm belief that there is a moral imperative to retain that budget level at 0.7% of GNI because if you are to help people get properly vaccinated and stay in their own countries, the best way is to have a properly functional overseas aid budget. It is totally undemocratic for this Government to deny both Houses of Parliament the right to vote on its reduction. It would be much better if the overseas aid budget was retained at 0.7% of GNI We have to ask ourselves whether this Government want to help the Rohingya refugees; the children of Syria traumatised by the recent conflict; countries that lack a formalised health service; the people of north-eastern Nigeria, who are subject to a serious conflict in which 10 million people are in serious need of help; and the women and girls around the world who have been subjected to, and survived, a lot of violence. I ask this simple question of the Minister today: are the Government serious about rebuilding the lives of all these people? If they are serious about doing that, and about ensuring a global vaccination programme, why will they not reinstate this important budget?