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Tag: Speeches

  • Kevin Shinkwin – 2022 Tribute to HM Queen Elizabeth II (Baron Shinkwin)

    Kevin Shinkwin – 2022 Tribute to HM Queen Elizabeth II (Baron Shinkwin)

    The tribute made by Kevin Shinkwin, Baron Shinkwin, in the House of Lords on 9 September 2022.

    My Lords, the scale of technological progress achieved during Queen Elizabeth’s remarkable reign was exceptional but, as the noble Baroness, Lady Benjamin, reminded us, so too has been the change in social attitudes and values. As the noble Baroness, Lady Amos, said in her powerful speech, the Britain that the Queen leaves behind is so different from the Britain of the beginning of her reign. Indeed, the very idea that, even in the middle of her long reign, she would have made someone such as me, with a severe disability that also affects my ability to speak, a Member of your Lordships’ House I find inconceivable. The fact that I am speaking in your Lordships’ House today compels me to reflect that, surely, the richness of the legacy that she has bequeathed to us can in part be seen in the far more diverse and inclusive society she so gently nurtured.

    For me, one of the most visible signs of that deep personal commitment to all her people was her unstinting support for Motability, the charity co-founded by my noble friend Lord Sterling of Plaistow. I will never forget the occasion on which I was presented to Her Majesty at Windsor, where she very kindly hosted an event for Motability as its chief patron. It was a chilly spring day as we gathered outside, yet she spent over an hour greeting and speaking to all of us. For someone who grew up in an age of discrimination, some of it state-sanctioned, on grounds of sex, race, disability and sexual orientation, her capacity to reflect evolving attitudes and, subtly but no less powerfully for that, embrace diversity and inclusion was extraordinary. As my noble friend the Lord Privy Seal said in his profoundly poignant opening remarks, she was the Queen of everyone.

    As others have also said, she was a monarch of great courage as well. As we reflect on the stresses and strains of our troubled world, I am sure she would want us, as her beloved people, to draw strength from the fact that she served us, cared for us and led us through incredibly tough times, not least during the pandemic. Throughout, she always projected a supreme confidence that the resolve, resilience and resources of the diverse peoples of her United Kingdom and the Commonwealth would see us through to better times.

    The Queen was the personification of public duty. Our duty is to live up to her example and, as she did, continue to nurture a more diverse and inclusive society to the benefit of us all. His Majesty the King, as the Prince of Wales, has already shown his long-standing commitment to diversity and inclusion through the wonderful work of the Prince’s Trust and his support for interfaith initiatives. He deserves our fulsome support. That would surely be a fitting tribute, to sustain her legacy. May she rest in peace.

  • Michael Gove – 2011 Statement on Increased Funding to Address Shortage in Pupil Places

    Michael Gove – 2011 Statement on Increased Funding to Address Shortage in Pupil Places

    The statement made by Michael Gove, the then Secretary of State for Education, in the House of Commons on 3 November 2011.

    I would like to update the House on my Department’s work to address the shortage in pupil places being experienced by some local authorities, and reduce the level of prescription and unnecessary guidance which are a feature of the school premises regulations and hamper the development of new schools.

    I would also like to inform members of my final decisions on the Building Schools for the Future (BSF) programme in the six authorities which mounted Judicial Reviews.

    In July, I announced that an extra £500 million would be made available, this year, to local authorities experiencing the greatest need in managing shortfalls in providing pupil places. This additional funding has been made available from efficiencies and savings identified in BSF projects that are continuing.

    I can announce today that over one hundred local authorities will receive a share of the funding. The allocations have been calculated using figures provided to the Department for Education by local authorities through the 2011 School Capacity and Forecast Information returns. By using the most up-to-date information available we are making sure the savings identified are being targeted to local authorities experiencing the most severe need.

    I understand the economic situation means difficult choices need to be made about how to direct funding but I urge local authorities to target resources at managing the shortfalls in pupils places wherever they are most needed, and taking into account of the views of parents. This is especially pertinent in light of the data released last week by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showing that previous projections for population growth were underestimated and by 2020 there will be around 21 per cent more primary age children than in 2010.

    Today’s extra funding means that in 2011-12, a total of £1.3 billion will have been allocated to fund additional school places. The Government already announced an allocation of £800 million funding in December 2010, twice the previous annual level of support. The nature of this funding, (capital grant which is not ring fenced) the nature of the projects it will fund, (mainly small primary school projects) and the readiness of local authorities to get projects underway mean that this money will be spent efficiently. Further, I expect much of it to benefit small and medium-sized enterprises and to stimulate local economic activity across the country.

    I would like to reassure those local authorities whose needs were not as severe as others – and which, therefore, did not receive a share of this extra £500 million – that future capital allocations for basic need and maintenance pressures will be announced later in the year.

    I am also launching a twelve week consultation on the revision of school premises regulations. The consultation document sets out how the Government intends to deregulate and end the confusion and unnecessary bureaucracy surrounding the current requirements. A copy of the consultation document will be placed in the House Libraries.

    I am proposing to make the requirements for independent and maintained schools identical and to reduce the overall number of regulations. Some regulations are duplicated in other pieces of legislation or are simply unnecessary and I propose to remove these regulations completely. I also think that other regulations can be simplified to remove unnecessary bureaucracy and make requirements proportionate, without reducing the quality of buildings. I would welcome views on my proposals, further details of which can be found on the Department for Education’s website.

    Finally, today I am announcing my decision on the schools that are subject to the BSF Judicial Review proceedings, brought by Luton Borough Council; Nottingham City Council; Waltham Forest London Borough Council; Newham London Borough Council; Kent County Council; and Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council.

    I announced what I was minded to do in July and have received further representations from each of the claimant authorities. I considered these carefully but I am not persuaded that I should depart from the decision which I announced I was minded to take. My final decision is, therefore, not to fund the schools in the claim but, instead, to fund, in capital grant, the value of the claimant authorities proven contractual liabilities.

  • John Hayes – 2011 Speech to the Institute for Careers Guidance Annual Conference

    John Hayes – 2011 Speech to the Institute for Careers Guidance Annual Conference

    The speech made by John Hayes, the then Education Minister, at the Thistle Hotel in Brighton on 3 November 2011.

    Good morning everyone.

    I am very pleased to be here today in one of our most fashionable, creative and enterprising cities. Given that fashion is about here and now and I’m more interested in then and when, it is the other two adjectives – creative and enterprising – which are my main themes for today.

    The National Careers Service will be launched next April, and builds on Next Step, introduced last Summer, which has been and continues to be a vital and successful Government service. Next Step has the capacity to provide guidance to 700,000 adults a year, and can handle up to 1 million telephone guidance sessions and 20 million website sessions. And over 80% of adults receiving guidance say that it influences their decision to learn or move on in employment.

    These are impressive figures. They are testament to the achievements of the careers sector, and the respect in which careers guidance is held by those who have benefitted from it. And Next Step is a landmark service, streets ahead of the provision for adults we have seen in the past. Establishing a fully integrated careers service for adults was my ambition in opposition, delivered in Government.

    Now as we plan the launch of the National Careers Service we approach a moment of immense significance. It marks the point at which the careers sector will step into the sunlight. It is the start of your renaissance.

    And to do that, the sector needs to be both creative and enterprising, just as the City of Brighton and Hove has been. From the prescribing of seawater in the 1740s to its current epithet of “Silicon Beach”, Brighton has flourished.

    Change is always a challenge, and for some people too hard to face. Perhaps that’s why we’ve heard too much talk of a “golden age” in careers guidance which is at risk. I don’t want you to have any illusions that the past was better than the future. Although the Connexions service had an impact on the lives of many young people, it was a model that simply did not work.

    Giving professional careers guidance is a specialism, which requires expertise and experience. The Connexions model stretched professional careers advisers to breaking point, requiring of them that they give expert advice on health, housing, personal finance and other matters.

    This was ineffective, and ultimately destructive: the product of a public service strategy which asked professionals to do everything at once, rather than doing what they know best.

    This was not the right model for professional careers guidance, and it will not be the model for the future.

    The launch of the National Careers Service brings a clear focus on professional, independent guidance which springs from a deep knowledge of the labour market and the specialist skills and experience of the careers adviser. Empirical, up to date, and to the point. That is what you have all called for, and that is exactly what will be delivered.

    But it depends on the commitment of every single person in this room; every professional in the sector; everyone like us who has a passion for careers guidance.

    I am sensitive to the scale of the challenge you face and know just how radical our ambitions are. But I want us to move on and up, and take bold strides forward. Yes,economic circumstances are difficult. But that must be a spur, an inspiration to even greater creativity, drive and ambition. As I said in Belfast, we simply have to do more with less; and that will be the project and the glory of the careers profession.

    I am passionate about guidance. It can set young people upon a path which will inspire and motivate them at every turn. It can help adults who have fallen on hard times turn around their lives. It deserves the highest and widest public recognition, and the prestige of a profession which is respected and admired.

    You have a chance, a golden chance, to turn your passion for guidance into a reinvigoration of the sector’s aims and ambitions. But we must move with the times. The model of the past is not the model of the future, and I want you to develop, to innovate, to reinvent where you need to reinvent, and to rise to the challenge.

    As I have said before, guidance is “the stuff of dreams”, because it clarifies and inspires. As Ruskin put it, “To see clearly is poetry, prophecy and religion, all in one.”

    The National Careers Service will bring online and helpline services for young people and adults together in one place. It will be required to hold the new, more rigorous matrix standard which I had the pleasure to launch earlier this month. It will have a redesigned website which makes information about careers and the labour market more accessible. It will provide high quality advice and guidance to adults in community locations. And it will be promoted at a national level, so that its profile and visibility are high.

    I want the National Careers Service to be the gold standard in careers guidance. It will not manage the market – the Government’s approach is to remove regulation, not increase it. But it will set a standard of quality and professionalism that all providers of guidance should seek to match.

    Alongside that, the Careers Profession Alliance is leading the renaissance of the guidance profession. Following the great work of the Careers Profession Task Force, the Alliance has set itself the target of achieving chartered status for the careers profession inside three years.

    I was delighted to share a platform today with Ruth Spellman, who is chair of the Alliance. This is not by chance, but by design. I want to stand shoulder to shoulder with the careers profession as it continues its journey, and I was pleased that Ruth spoke with authority about the steps which need to be taken.

    I applaud the ambition the Alliance have shown, and strongly support the work that Ruth and her colleagues are leading. Developing a set of professional standards which are respected and aspired to by all those providing careers advice – wherever they work and to whatever professional body they belong – is an undertaking of the utmost importance; and I urge all the parties involved onwards to success.

    I support the work on developing Higher Apprenticeships as a route for the professions, and I am sympathetic with the view that a quota of level 6 staff should be the aim. So the building blocks are in place. And we are working to a clear strategy, which will not change.

    The participation age for education and training will be raised to 18 in 2015. In line with that flagship policy, responsibility for careers guidance for young people will be devolved to the institutions of learning which know them best, and local authorities will be expected to work hard to re-engage those who have disengaged with the system. Schools will work with local authorities to identify young people who are at risk.

    The National Careers Service will provide information, advice and guidance which supports growth and social mobility, and is in tune with the labour market. Its advisers will be expert, and its reputation will be second to none.

    And underpinning this, the careers profession – and the market in high quality careers services – will continue to grow.

    We must continue to look for new and better ways of measuring and recording the positive outcomes to which guidance can lead. Government will play its part in seeking new sources of evidence; but we will continue to be challenged to justify every penny we spend, and the best evidence of success is that which you yourselves provide.

    The Alliance, its constituent bodies, and every organisation and adviser in the sector, will need to champion the quality of professional standards to which guidance is delivered, so that there is demand for professional services.

    And everyone whose business it is to engage in this noble profession – not just the National Careers Service – will need to look for the opportunities and openings which allow them to demonstrate their skill and commitment.

    I know there has been debate about the importance of face to face careers guidance for young people.

    I share the view that face to face guidance is of critical importance. Pupils and students can benefit enormously from support offered in person, which raises their aspirations and guides them onto a successful path.

    This is particularly true of those young people who do not have the social networks which can connect them to inspiring figures in different occupations; or those who come from families with a long history of unemployment; or those with learning difficulties or disabilities. You will have heard me speak before about the importance of wherewithal: many young people do not lack aspiration, but do lack the means to achieve their goals. Face to face guidance can help to move them onto the right path. This is the difference between information and advice, between data and understanding. It was Eliot after all who said “where is the knowledge lost in information.”

    Many of you have stressed the importance of ensuring that schools are able to draw on careers guidance of the highest quality. I share that view. My friends in the teaching profession have left me in no doubt that headteachers are ready to respond to the new duty to secure independent, impartial careers guidance. But they have called for support to help them take advantage of opportunity, and help others do the same.

    So today I am pleased to report that my right honourable friend Lord Hill of Oareford told the House of Lords last week that Government will bring forward statutory guidance for schools on the new legal duty. He also said that this statutory guidance will highlight to schools how they can be confident that the external support they are buying in is of the desired quality; and that the Government would consult on the guidance.

    Lord Hill also confirmed that the Government will place a clear expectation on schools that they should secure face-to-face careers guidance where it is the most suitable support, in particular for disadvantaged children, those who have special needs and those with learning difficulties or disabilities.

    These important messages in statutory guidance will be underpinned by the sharing of effective practice and evidence of what works. Headteachers need to be able to spread the word about the best, most innovative and most cost effective providers of guidance.

    And we will not stop there. The matrix standard embodies the quality I expect of all careers guidance services. As a visible national standard, it will be promoted, and should serve to help schools decide what careers guidance to secure.

    And providers in the National Careers Service will be encouraged to market their services to schools. This will provide an additional stimulus for the market in young people’s guidance to respond.

    Let me reiterate. We are moving from a past in which specialist, professional careers guidance was submerged by a model which did not work, to a future in which high quality, dynamic and responsive careers services will flourish.

    We can create a long term environment for guidance which endures. But the sector needs to seize its opportunity.

    And in Government, we will not rest on our laurels. On the contrary, we will continue to increase the reach and visibility of careers guidance.

    We will encourage careers guidance providers in the community to establish networks with other public, private and voluntary sector services. Specialist services working in partnership can have a huge impact on outcomes for individual people. So I want to build on the level of co-location which the Next Step service has already developed.

    I can confirm today that the number of Further Education colleges working with Next Step has now reached 139. Some, such as Southgate College, are exploring new models which bring together careers and job support. Here, in Brighton, Next Step South East is co-located with City College and the Whitehawk Inn community centre to deliver both support and training. We will work with the Association of Colleges, Jobcentre Plus and others to further develop those models. Following our launch in the spring, my ambition is for co-location with Job Centre Plus and colleges to exceed 250 sites across the UK by the end of next year. I can also announce that from April 2012, we will pilot new forms of co-location for the National Careers Service, including in places of worship, community centres, the charitable and voluntary sectors.

    We will help providers in the service to expand their share of business in the market, so they can take the quality of the National Careers Service offer out as widely as possible, and I want to explore how a peripatetic service can be put in place to serve rural areas like the one I represent. The National Careers Service – in towns, cities and villages across the UK.

    And we will continue to explore how we make best use of available funding to support Growth and Social Mobility – for example, by reviewing the groups which are eligible for more than one session of face to face support.

    The National Careers Service will be at the heart of the system. To play its role as part of the vision I have set out, it will need inspirational leadership, and a hotline to the profession. So I can announce today:

    that we will establish a National Council for Careers made up of key figures from the profession, to advise on the management and direction of the service as it continues to develop;

    and that in the New Year, we will publish a document confirming the policy and direction for careers guidance, which will reinforce everything I have said today.

    In Belfast, I issued a challenge, and called on you all to respond. My message has not changed. Indeed, it has got stronger, my conviction still more certain.

    This is the careers profession’s time. This is a renaissance. I love the past but I am not its captive. It will not take us forward.

    Everyone in this room, everyone out there in the sector is committed to inspiring and guiding the young people and adults of this country. We need to step up to the mark, as will the Government . In Kipling’s words “Gardens are not made by sitting in the shade.” We must continue the journey, and move into the bright sunshine. Moving forward, not holding back. Aiming high, not for ourselves, but for the lives we change through what we are and what we do.

    Thank you for listening.

  • Danny Alexander – 2011 Speech to the House of Commons on Public Service Pensions

    Danny Alexander – 2011 Speech to the House of Commons on Public Service Pensions

    The speech made by Danny Alexander, the then Chief Secretary to the Treasury, in the House of Commons on 2 November 2011.

    I wish to update the House on progress in reform of public service pensions to set out the new offer we have made as we seek to bring this issue to a conclusion by the end of this year.

    Our objective is to put in place new schemes that are affordable, sustainable and fair – to both taxpayers and public service workers. And to put in place schemes that can be sustained for decades to come.

    It’s not easy, but it’s the right thing to. I recognise that this is a contentious area. Public service workers deserve a good pension in retirement, as a fair reward for a lifetime spent serving the public.

    That is why in June last year the Chancellor commissioned Lord Hutton, the Work and Pensions Secretary in the previous Government, to take an impartial, dispassionate look at this to bring forward proposals for reform.

    His landmark report has set the terms of the debate, and I am sure the whole house will share my gratitude for his work.

    In his interim report, he found that there was a clear justification – based on the past cost increase borne by the taxpayer for an increase in member contributions.

    We accepted that recommendation, and increases in member contributions will take place starting next year – although next year’s increase merely reflects the increase already planned by the previous Government.

    In his final report, he set out a blueprint for a new landscape of public service pensions based on retaining defined benefit schemes, but moving to a fairer career average basis, and increasing the retirement age in line with the State Pension Age to protect the taxpayer against future increases in life expectancy.

    We accepted his recommendations in full as a basis for consultation, and we have been discussing the recommendations with the trade unions.

    Those discussions started in February, and are still going on. Despite some of the public comment, significant progress has been made. And I want to pay tribute to the Minister for the Cabinet Office and the General Secretary of the TUC for their tireless work to reach common ground on reform.

    The trade unions have welcomed many of the commitments that we made at the start of this process:

    • That public sector schemes will remain defined benefit, with a guaranteed amount provided in retirement
    • That all accrued rights will be protected. Everything public servants have earned until the point of change, they will keep and will be paid out in the terms expected, at the retirement age expected. Final salary means just that – your accrued rights will be based on the final salary not at the point of change, but your final salary whenever your career ends or you choose to leave the scheme.

    No public sector worker needs to have anything to fear at all for any of the entitlements they have already built up.

    We have reached agreement the importance of transparency, equality impacts, participation rates and opt-outs, scheme governance, and high level principles to inform consultations on scheme level pensions.

    However, the central issue of the value of new schemes remains to be agreed.

    Two aims need to bet:

    First, that for most low and middle income workers, the new schemes would generate an income at retirement at least as good as the amount they receive now.

    Second, that the taxpayer needs to be properly protected from the future risks associated with further increases in life expectancy, by linking the scheme normal pension age to State Pension Age.

    In early October, we set cost ceilings to meet these tests.

    Cost ceilings based on Lord Hutton’s recommendations that generate an accruals rate of 1/65th for the new schemes.

    Scheme by scheme discussions have been taking place on this basis, since the beginning of October.

    And while the talks have been productive,  trade unions and departmental ministers have given consistent feedback about what they think needs to change.

    Last week, the Minister for the Cabinet Office and I met the TUC negotiating team who pressed for a more generous cost ceiling was needed, and explicit protections for those workers nearest to retirement.

    I have received similar feedback from the Secretaries of State for Education and Health.

    Having listened to their views, I have decided to revise the government’s offer.

    Cabinet discussed these matters yesterday, and I met the TUC this morning to set out the terms of our new offer.

    It is an offer that increases the cost ceiling and provides for generous transitional arrangements for those closest to retirement, and I have made available to Members today a document that sets out the detail.

    This generous offer should be more than sufficient to allow agreement to be reached with the unions.

    But it is an offer that is conditional upon reaching agreement.

    I hope that on the basis of this offer, the Trade Unions will devote their energy to reaching agreement not on unnecessary and damaging strike action.

    That way this offer can inform the scheme by scheme talks that will continue until the end of the year. Of course, if agreement cannot be reached we may need to re-visit our proposals, and consider whether those enhancements remain appropriate.

    I can announce today that I have decided to offer an increase to the cost ceiling. So future schemes will now be based on a pension to the value of 1/60th of average salary, accruing for each year worked. That is an 8% increase on the previous offer.

    Let me give some examples of what that means.

    A teacher with a lifetime in public service with a salary at retirement of £37,800 would receive £25,200 each year under these proposals, rather than the £19,100 they would currently earn in the final salary Teachers’ Pension Scheme.

    A nurse with a lifetime in public service and a salary at retirement of £34,200 would receive £22,800 of pension each year if these reforms were introduced, whereas under the current 1995 NHS Pension Scheme arrangements they would only get £17,300.

    Pensions that remain considerably better than available in the private sector.

    To earn the equivalent pension in the private sector, the teacher retiring on £37,800 would need a pension pot of around £675,000, the nurse retiring on £34,200, a pot of £600,000. Both would require an annual contribution of around a third of their salary.

    In addition, I have listened to the argument that those closest to retirement should not have to face any change at all.

    That is the approach that we have taken in relation to increases to the State Pension Age over the years, and I think it is fair to apply that here too.

    I can also announce that scheme negotiations will be given the flexibility, outside the cost ceiling, to deliver protection so that no-one within 10 years of retirement will see any change in when they can retire nor any decrease in the amount of pension they receive.  .

    Anyone ten years or less from retirement age on 1 April 2012 are assured that there will be no detriment to their retirement income.

    We need to be clear about the backdrop against which this offer is made.

    I fully understand that families across the country are feeling financial pressure right now. These are unprecedented and tough economic times.

    But reform is essential because the costs of public service pensions have risen dramatically over the last few decades.

    The bottom line is that we are all living longer.

    The average 60 year old today is living ten years longer now, than they did in the 1970s. That is a remarkable and welcome feat of science and healthcare. But it also means that people are living in retirement longer and claiming their pension for longer.

    As a result the costs of public service pensions have risen to £32bn a year. An increase of a third over the last 10 years. And whilst they accounted for just under 1 % of GDP in 1970, they account for around 2% of GDP today.

    More than we spend in total on police, on prisons, and the courts.

    And for the most part, it hasn’t been the public service workers footing the bill. It’s been the general taxpayer.

    We have to reform to ensure the costs of pensions are sustainable in the long term and to ensure costs and risks are fairly shared between employees and taxpayers.

    I believe this package is affordable. I believe it is also fair, not just to public sector workers, but delivers significant long term savings to taxpayers who will continue to make a significant contribution to their pensions.

    If reform along these lines is agreed, I believe that we will have a deal that can endure for at least 25 years and hopefully longer.

    People are living longer, so public sector pension reform is inevitable. But we’ve listened to the concerns of public sector workers, and come up with a deal that’s fair and affordable. The lowest paid and people ten years off retirement will be protected – and public sector pensions will still be among the very best available.

    If reform of this sort is agreed, then no party in this house will need to seek further reform of the overall package. This sustainability is an important prize.

    So I hope that the trade unions will now grasp the opportunity that this new offer represents.

    And I hope party opposite will do the right thing, put party politics aside, and support the proposals, which came from John Hutton, in the interests of securing a long term consensus on the future of public service pensions.

    It is the chance of a lifetime to secure good, high quality, and fair public service pensions.

    Yes we are asking public service workers to contribute more.

    Yes, we are asking them to work longer, along with the rest of society

    But we are offering the chance of a significantly better pension at the end of it for many low and middle income earners.

    A fairer pension, so that low income workers stop subsidising pensions of the highest earners.

    A sustainable deal, that will endure for at least 25 years.

    An affordable deal, that ensures that taxpayers are being asked to make a sensible contribution, but keeps costs sustainable and under proper control.

    That is the new offer I am putting on the table today, it is an offer that the opposition should support and the unions should agree to and I commend this statement to the House.

  • Volodymyr Zelenskyy – 2022 Statement on the Situation in Ukraine (15/09/2022) – 204 days

    Volodymyr Zelenskyy – 2022 Statement on the Situation in Ukraine (15/09/2022) – 204 days

    The statement made by Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the President of Ukraine, on 15 September 2022.

    Good health to you, fellow Ukrainians!

    Today in Kyiv, a new plaque dedicated to President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen was unveiled on the Walk of the Brave. It was really a great honor and simply a pleasure for me to take part in this unveiling, in the recognition of Mrs. Ursula’s bravery. She is one of the central figures of the European policy towards Ukraine, she is one of those thanks to whom the European space and European values are now really being protected.

    Today Mrs. Ursula has visited our country for the third time since February 24. And every time her visits open a new stage in the rapprochement of Ukraine and the European Union. We discussed all the key points in our relations. But now I want to highlight the issue of integration, the movement of our country towards full membership in the EU.

    Whatever the circumstances, we will still implement every detail of our arrangements to open the possibility of membership negotiations. Already in November, we are to fulfill the seven recommendations of the European Commission, which we received when we obtained the candidate status. The assessment by the European Commission of our progress in integration should begin as soon as possible. And next year, we should clarify the key issue: when we can start membership negotiations. The Ukrainian side will do everything for this. And as elements of rapprochement, we consider such things as the regime of the EU internal market for Ukraine, as the unification of our institutional work, for example, at customs – in joint customs control between Ukraine and EU countries. We are already working on this.

    Today I thanked Mrs. Ursula for the support already provided – macro-financial, sanctions, defense. We also discussed energy cooperation, which is extremely important for Ukraine and for every EU country on the eve of this winter, which Russia will try to use against all of us in Europe.

    I told about a new and particularly vile tactic of Russian terrorists – attacks on energy and hydrotechnical infrastructure. Just during the stay of the President of the European Commission in Ukraine, the Russian army launched new missile attacks on Kryvyi Rih, on the Kirovohrad region. In both cases – on hydrotechnical structures. The purpose of these strikes is completely clear. These are attacks on people, on the normality of life in Ukraine. The terrorist state is trying to show that it can allegedly compensate with such strikes for the cowardice and incompetence of its military, for the failure of its efforts to avoid sanctions and economic isolation.

    In response, we must show that there will always be a tough and principled reaction to every manifestation of Russian terror. That is why the eighth EU sanctions package is needed – we talked about it with Mrs. Ursula. A principled decision by the United States of America regarding the terrorist state, the legal recognition of this status is also needed, and we discussed this, by the way, recently during the visit of US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to Kyiv. We also discuss this issue during contacts with congressmen.

    Progress is needed in providing Ukraine with air defense systems. We already have agreements with certain countries, our diplomats are working with others. I want to emphasize that without providing us with a sufficient number of sufficiently effective air defense systems that will protect the Ukrainian skies, Russia will continue to feel impunity and provoke new local and global crises. Therefore, protecting Ukraine from Russian missiles is truly a basic element of global security.

    In general, supporting Ukraine with weapons, ammunition and finances is crucial for peace in Europe. The better support we have, the sooner this war will end. I talked about it with the representatives of the leading think tanks of Poland, Britain, France and the US who arrived in Kyiv. Real protection of freedom and common values of the free world is possible now only as a result of Ukraine’s victory in this war.

    I also spoke about further support for Ukraine with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. As always, very substantive, specific. We discussed various security issues, including Russian missile strikes, defense assistance, training of our military, prospects for the developments on the battlefield, restoration of critical infrastructure before the winter period. I am grateful to Mr. Prime Minister for the support already provided to us, in particular financial, for the funds for the purchase of gas. And for understanding the steps we need to take to ruin Russia’s terrorist plans.

    An important IAEA resolution was adopted today – a resolution demanding that Russia cease all actions against the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant at the plant itself, at any other nuclear facility in Ukraine. Although international organizations are often limited in their ability to respond, we see that the IAEA clearly identifies the source of radiation danger, namely: the Russian military presence at the Zaporizhzhia power plant, Russian actions against the nuclear power plant. Therefore, the complete demilitarization of the plant, the immediate withdrawal of all Russian troops from there is the only thing that can ensure the implementation of this IAEA resolution. And this is also a basic element of global security. As long as Russian soldiers remain at the nuclear power plant, the world remains on the brink of a radiation disaster – worse than even Chornobyl. And it is the joint responsibility of everyone in Europe and the world – to remove the Russian presence from the territory of the ZNPP.

    Today I want to thank all the representatives of the State Emergency Service, utility services, construction workers, police officers, military personnel, representatives of local authorities, business representatives – everyone who is involved in eliminating the consequences of Russian missile terror, who helps those who suffered from the strikes. In Kryvyi Rih and the Kirovohrad region, in Kharkiv and Zaporizhzhia, in Mykolaiv and the Donetsk region – in all the cities and communities that Russia tortures with its missiles.

    The terrorist state has already used more than 3,800 different missiles against us. But no missile will bring Russia closer to its goal. There will be no subjugation of Ukraine. And each missile brings Russia closer to greater international isolation, greater economic degradation and even clearer historical condemnation.

    And finally. A mass burial site was found in Izyum, Kharkiv region. The necessary procedural actions have already begun there. There should be more information – clear, verified information – tomorrow. Tomorrow there will be Ukrainian and international journalists in Izyum. We want the world to know what is really happening and what the Russian occupation has led to. Bucha, Mariupol, now, unfortunately, Izyum… Russia leaves death everywhere. And it must be held accountable for that. The world must hold Russia to real account for this war. We will do everything for this.

    Eternal memory to all those whose lives were taken away by the occupiers! Eternal glory to everyone who fights for Ukraine!

    Glory to Ukraine!

  • Karan Bilimoria – 2022 Tribute to HM Queen Elizabeth II (Baron Bilimoria)

    Karan Bilimoria – 2022 Tribute to HM Queen Elizabeth II (Baron Bilimoria)

    The tribute made by Karan Bilimoria, Baron Bilimoria, in the House of Lords on 9 September 2022.

    My Lords, I was in Boston yesterday and at lunchtime, Boston time, I came out of a meeting with one of my Harvard Business School professors, looked at my phone and saw the sad news about Her Majesty.

    Some of my earliest memories going back to my childhood are of seeing the photographs, which are in our house in India to this day, of Her Majesty the Queen and His Royal Highness the Duke of Edinburgh on their state visit to India in 1961, when Rajendra Prasad was the President of India and my father, at that time Captain Bilimoria, was the senior ADC to the President of India.

    Little did I know that years later, I would be privileged to not only meet but get to know them both. What I saw was a couple who were devoted to each other. Her Majesty the Queen was absolutely devoted to His Royal Highness the Duke of Edinburgh, and he to her. A few years ago, when His Royal Highness the Duke of Edinburgh came to visit the Zoroastrian centre in Harrow, I accompanied him. When we went up to the prayer room, we had to take off our shoes; when we came out of that room, we were sitting next to each other, putting our shoes on and tying our laces, and he said to me, “Do you know, I’ve had these shoes since the day I got married?” Such was the sentimentality between this couple.

    As we heard from the noble Lord, Lord Howell, Her Majesty was not just the Queen of the United Kingdom but Head of the Commonwealth—a Commonwealth of 56 countries, all voluntary. Not one of those countries has to be a member of the Commonwealth; they do it out of choice. She was not just the figurehead but the leader of this array of nations—from giants such as India with its 1.4 billion people to tiny Caribbean countries—making up a third of the world’s population. We heard just now from the noble Baroness, Lady Grey-Thompson, about the Commonwealth Games. I am privileged to be chancellor of the University of Birmingham and was there on 7 October when Her Majesty drove up in the courtyard in front of Buckingham Palace, stepped out and handed over the baton to its first relay holder. It went all around the world, across all the Commonwealth countries and territories.

    Prime Minister Liz Truss described the Queen as the rock of the nation over seven decades. Republics do not have this advantage that we have. Presidents change regularly; we have had continuity for 70 years—not just continuity but somebody who has been apolitical, objective and completely independent. She cared for Great Britain and for Northern Ireland; she cared for the Commonwealth. Her stamina, of course, is legendary. I remember that at the state visit of the President of India to Windsor Castle, it was late into the night at a post-dinner reception when I was suddenly summoned by the Master of the Household, saying, “Her Majesty would like you to accompany her for a while, please.” So I went up to her and asked, “Your Majesty, where is the President?” The Queen said, “She and her husband have retired”, yet she stayed on until past midnight, meeting visitors.

    Fast forward: a few years ago, the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh came up to Birmingham to reopen New Street Station. That was a big enough thing in itself but, from there, they came over to the University of Birmingham to open the new dental centre at Pebble Mill. Not only did she open that dental centre, they stayed for lunch, spent the whole afternoon and went back. It was absolutely remarkable, and how wonderful that we were able to celebrate her Platinum Jubilee.

    This year, I was proud to be a member of the committee at the Royal Windsor Horse Show. Her Majesty always came to attend the final night, and that night we were warned: “She may not come and if she does, she may come only for a few minutes. She has not been well.” If your Lordships remember, she had missed the State Opening of Parliament just before that. We were all seated at 8 pm when she walked in, on time for the show to start. She stayed the full two hours—clapping, smiling, laughing and enjoying every minute, and it did not stop there. She then got into the Range Rover and did a whole lap of the arena, waving to everyone who was there. She left after 11 pm.

    Winston Churchill, the Queen’s first Prime Minister, was born 100 years before today’s Prime Minister, Liz Truss. It is truly remarkable. I have been proud to be a deputy lieutenant, representing Her Majesty in Greater London. I was appointed on 9/11 in 2001, when I was still in my 30s. I remember the vice lord-lieutenant at the time, Sir Michael Craig-Cooper, telling me a story about accompanying the Queen. She was going through crowds and stopped in front of a teenage girl. The teenage girl curtsied and, at that moment, her phone rang. The Queen said, “Maybe you should answer that. It could be somebody important.” That was her sense of humour.

    I remember sitting opposite her at a lunch at Buckingham Palace. There were the famous stories about the corgis. The corgis were sitting around her and one of the butlers, or waiters, walked behind her—she did not see this happen—and tripped over one of the corgis. It was like slow motion in a comedy movie; somehow, he managed not to drop the tray.

    We loved Her Majesty the Queen and the world loved her. As she said, the price of love is grief. We are grieving. We have received messages from all over the world; I have received messages from the Middle East, India and America. We thank Her Majesty. My mother in India, who I spoke to this morning, said, “What a dignified woman.” She was majestic, magisterial, a true leader. She was an authentic leader: she had the abilities and the empathy of a true leader; she really cared.

    She was the Queen of all Queens, the monarch of all monarchs. She was not only the most famous monarch in the world but the most respected, by miles. I have said time and again that the United Kingdom has one of the strongest combinations of hard and soft power in the world. Of that soft power, the number one factor is our luckiness as country to have had Her Majesty the Queen, our strongest element of soft power. She is the most priceless asset our country has had.

    His Majesty King Charles III has not just a hard act to follow but an impossible one. Yet I hope—I know—that, looking ahead, like Isaac Newton, he will be able to say:

    “If I can see further, it is because I am standing on the shoulders of giants”,

    and of one giant in particular. Your Majesty the Queen, we will miss you but your inspiration will live on with us forever. We offer our heartfelt sympathy and condolences to His Majesty the King and the Royal Family. Long live the King, King Charles III. Long may he reign.

  • Aamer Sarfraz – 2022 Tribute to HM Queen Elizabeth II (Baron Sarfraz)

    Aamer Sarfraz – 2022 Tribute to HM Queen Elizabeth II (Baron Sarfraz)

    The tribute made by Aamer Sarfraz, Baron Sarfraz, in the House of Lords on 9 September 2022.

    My Lords, I too offer my deepest condolences to the Royal Family on the passing of Her Majesty the Queen. My family and I will join millions of people in praying for them during this difficult time. There is a simple reminder that all Muslims say out loud when someone passes away: “Ina lilahe wa ina ilayhe rajioon”, or “We come from God and to God we shall return”.

    All day I have been receiving messages from friends all over the world offering condolences on Her Majesty’s passing. It is touching to see just how much love there was and always will be for Her late Majesty. In Singapore, for where I am the Prime Minister’s trade envoy, Parliament will observe a minute’s silence and flags will fly at half-mast—such is the sentiment across the Commonwealth and beyond. Rarely has one person meant so much to so many people.

    When I was born, Her late Majesty had already reigned for 30 years. Personally, today I feel a great sense of gratitude to her. I am grateful for her tireless service to our country up until the day she passed, for her love, for her selflessness, for her great spirit and for being the flag around which we all could rally at the hardest moments. She embodied our history, our values and what it means to be a servant of this great nation.

    I wish His Majesty the King strength and fortitude in building on his mother’s legacy and forging a legacy of his own. Long live the King.

  • Sarah Teather – 2011 Speech to the National Children and Adult Services Conference

    Sarah Teather – 2011 Speech to the National Children and Adult Services Conference

    The speech made by Sarah Teather, the then Children’s Minister, on 24 October 2011.

    Thanks to NCAS. It’s a great pleasure to be here today.

    This is not an easy time to be in government at any level. It’s not an easy time to be in national government, and it’s not an easy time to be in local government. I am sure I speak for all Ministers in saying that we’re extremely grateful for all that you have done working with us over the last year at a time when I know that it hasn’t been easy for you.

    Despite challenging financial circumstances, the government is determined to stick to the principles I outlined to you last year. Our priorities are early intervention; a focus on the most disadvantaged; and we want to do that by working through principles of localism.

    In an ideal world I could wave a magic wand and conjure up more money. I am sure that all of you wish that you could too. But the truth is that neither of us can. You know as well as I do that the government has to tackle the deficit and we have to get the economy back onto a sound footing.

    It makes it an incredibly challenging time for all of us to play a leadership role. But you don’t get to choose your moment to be in government. You only get to choose how you act. It’s more important now, than at any other time, that we have very clear priorities, and that we stick to those despite the challenging circumstances in which we’re working.

    It would have been easier for us to have acceded to calls to reintroduce ring fencing, to tighten up targets, and to introduce more prescriptive guidance. We chose not to. We made a promise to you that we would give you more freedom and give you more power to act. Localism is something that we believe in and it is something that we’ve tried to stick to.

    Similarly, I imagine it would have been easier for you to have cut deeply into early intervention services. But many of you have chosen not to do that this year. Most of you have worked incredibly hard to protect frontline services. Most of you have done your best to prioritise Sure Start Children’s Centres, by merging back office functions, clustering services, because you know that this makes sense. You know that it makes sense for children, it makes sense for families and, in the long term, it makes good financial sense for you if you’re running a council.

    Tough times are the times when leadership comes to the fore. We know we need to give DCSs the space to fill that leadership role. We have recently issued a consultation on revised statutory guidance on the role of the DCS and Lead Member for Children’s Services.

    It is much shorter and much less prescriptive. It will be up to local authorities to determine their structures. It is important that we’re able to assure ourselves that we have in place the clear line of accountability that Lord Laming and Professor Munro saw as critical to the well-being and safety of children and young people. This is a question of balance, a question where we’re trying to make sure that we clearly balance our priorities with our localist principles. I would certainly encourage you to respond to the consultation.

    Part of leadership is about sharing knowledge with one another. There is an enormous amount that you can teach others, very much including myself.

    We’ve seen that clearly in the 18 authorities who are participating in trials this year to develop provision or capacity for the new entitlement for two year olds.

    Already some promising evidence is filtering through. For example, in Rotherham, settings have boosted the number of places they can offer through earlier opening times and stretching the offer across all weeks of the year, rather than just during term time. One setting now offers 45 places rather than 14.

    Similarly, we’ve seen great examples in Medway, where they’ve created a database to track the development of each child or cohort, so that children starting to fall behind are identified promptly.

    Examples like this are just the tip of the iceberg. I’m sure that there will be many examples in your local authority where you know that you’re really challenging practice; that you’re taking ideas forward; that you’re doing things on the ground that others could learn from. I hope that conferences like this are opportunities for you to flaunt those examples and advertise them to others to make sure that everyone is learning from the good practice that is working on the ground.

    We’ve been trying to tap into that ingenuity and good practice in the way in which we are developing policy.

    Early Years

    Just before the summer recess we issued a document called Families in the Foundation Years. We worked on that document in a different way: through a co-production process, working with local authority representatives and professionals from the early years to make sure we were actually developing policy from the ground up.

    There’s a considerable amount of work now building on that initial work that we announced in the summer. We have our consultation on Early Education and Childcare coming up. This is really important – for lead members and DCSs as well as for early years leads.

    It is important because it sets out proposals for which disadvantaged two-year-olds will be eligible for free early education from September 2013.

    We want to make sure that your teams have local discretion to fund other disadvantaged two years old who might benefit. In particular, that means children with disabilities or with special educational needs.

    Included in the consultation is draft guidance for the delivery of free early education for 2, 3 and 4 year olds, along with strengthened criteria for free early education places so that we have a more open process for identifying quality and promoting improvement.

    I think you’ll also be pleased to hear it has dropped in size from 100 pages to fewer than 20. I hope that’s good news! It’s something that we are trying to do across the piece.

    And do please feed in to Professor Nutbrown’s upcoming review, which will be looking at the early years workforce, something which is incredibly important and which many of you have raised with me at previous conferences. It will be formally launched at the end of this month, through a ‘call to evidence’ to the sector. We’re very keen to hear your views, so please do get involved.

    Payment by results is another good example of where the sector leading the way in shaping future services. Local authorities are supporting one other under the guidance of the ADCS, SOLACE and the LGA.

    Trials of payment by results for children’s centres have started in 26 areas. These will find ways to reward children’s centres and local authorities for improvements in outcomes, rather than inputs, with a particular focus on child development, school readiness and reducing inequalities for the most disadvantaged families. We’re looking forward to hearing what makes a difference on the ground, and what needs to change.

    Another critical aspect of leadership is joining up services in the interests of children. I know that this is something that you do every day in your work.

    It’s something that is core to what we’ve been trying to do through our Green Paper on Special Educational Needs, and the reforms that we’re taking forward.

    We want health services to be firmly integrated into a local offer, a single assessment process and the Education, Health and Care plan.

    Local authority leaders have key role in achieving this ambition. I’m grateful to those of you whose teams are currently involved in the pathfinders. We’ve already seen some very exciting ideas coming out from them, and it’s a tremendous credit to the local authorities involved.

    We have a lot to do to make sure that these proposals work. They’ve been developed with the ideas that have come from you and come from others over the first 18 months that we’ve been in government. A lot of work is going to be needed to hold all of those professionals’ feet to the fire, including making sure that we properly integrate that work with health, something that I know many of you feel very strongly about. I’m going to need all of your help on the ground to make sure that we develop that properly.

    The pilots are trying to make sure that we look through to 25; that we deal with the issues around transition that we know are so difficult. Bringing together assessments and bringing together the role of the voluntary sector.

    I hope that it will put children, young people and families at the heart of the process. Making sure the services they receive are not just about adults, but about the children and young people who are receiving them.

    There are many exciting opportunities coming up for local authorities – getting more involved in public health, for example. Tom Jeffery and David Behan are giving a presentation on this subject on Friday, and looking at issues around the new relationship with public health, something that I know many of you will be interested in.

    I know that this is a tough time, and I also know that it’s not going to get any easier in the short term. We both know that.

    But we can’t stand still in that time, no matter how difficult it may be. We have to put in place now the right changes. The right structural changes that will benefit us in the long term. Making sure that we’re clear about our priorities. Making sure that partnership working really does work.

    A great deal can change, even in days when money is short, by working better together. By changing how we work. By changing the way in which we learn from one another.

    That takes leadership. And it takes a different style of leadership. Leadership which is open – open to challenge, open to new ideas. Not necessarily ideas that were started here, but also making sure that we’re making the most of ideas that started in other places too.

    Let me finish by saying a huge thank you to you for all that you have done, for all the work that you’re taking forward; for all the ways that you’ve positively responded to consultations and requests that we’ve made of you for more information, detail and examples to make sure that we’re getting our policy right. I’m determined that we continue to work in that spirit, and look forward to working with you over the next twelve months.

  • Nick Gibb – 2011 Speech at the Reading Reform Foundation Conference

    Nick Gibb – 2011 Speech at the Reading Reform Foundation Conference

    The speech made by Nick Gibb, the then Education Minister, on 14 October 2011.

    I’d like to start by thanking the experts I have worked with over the last five years, people like Ruth Miskin, Jennifer Chew, Sue Lloyd, Debbie Hepplewhite and others.

    I am profoundly grateful to them and to all of you for teaching me and the children in your care so much about reading. Thanks to your patience, perseverance and passion at the most vital stage of a child’s education, hundreds of thousands of pupils have taken their first successful step in a lifetime of education.

    The Government is determined to improve the teaching of reading in schools, and close the gap in attainment between the wealthiest and poorest pupils. We want to help all children, from all backgrounds, to become fluent and enthusiastic readers. Only once children have learnt to read, can they read to learn.

    We already know how to tackle reading failure. High-quality international evidence has proved that systematic teaching of synthetic phonics is the best way to drive up standards in reading. Taught as part of a language rich curriculum, systematic synthetic phonics allows problems to be identified early and rectified before it is too late.

    But although this country is one of the world’s highest spenders on education, too many children are failing. When teachers should be helping children to develop a lifetime’s love of reading, poor teaching strategies and practices are condemning too many children to a lifelong struggle.

    The figures speak for themselves:

    Only 73 per cent of all pupils on free school meals, and only two-thirds of boys eligible for free school meals, achieve the expected standard in reading at Key Stage 1;
    More than 83,000 seven-year-olds achieved below Level 2 at Key Stage 1 this year;
    One in five 11 year-olds leaves primary school still struggling with reading. Even worse, nine per cent of 11-year-old boys only achieve Level 2 or below at Key Stage 2;
    Looking just at white boys eligible for free school meals, 60 per cent still aren’t reading properly at the age of 14;
    And the reading ability of GCSE pupils in England is more than a year behind the standard of their peers in Shanghai, Korea and Finland, and at least six months behind those in Hong Kong, Singapore, Canada, New Zealand, Japan and Australia;
    Overall, in the last nine years, England has fallen in PISA’s international tables from 7th to 25th in reading.
    Early reading failure can affect a child’s education and attainment for the rest of their life. A recent report from the Centre for Social Justice pointed out that “significant literacy and numeracy problems are found in between 50 and 76 per cent of children who are permanently excluded from school”.

    The report also identified literacy and numeracy problems in 60 per cent of children in special schools for those with behavioural problems, and in 50-60 per cent of the prison population. As the report’s author, Adele Eastman, concluded: “Many display challenging behaviour to hide the fact that they cannot read.”

    And too many children grow to adulthood without ever learning this basic skill. Just this week, Army recruiting offices revealed that hundreds of would-be soldiers are being turned away because they cannot pass the most basic literacy and numeracy tests – that is, because they do not have a reading age of more than 11.

    As a report by Civitas has stated, “Weak reading lies at the heart of both the educational apartheid between the advantaged and disadvantaged and stalled social mobility. The inability to read properly is the single greatest handicap to progress both in school and adult life”.

    So for all these reasons, tackling reading failure is an urgent priority for this Government. We are completely focused on improving the teaching of reading in reception and Year 1 of primary school, with an emphasis on systematic synthetic phonics as the most effective means to achieve it.

    And as well as mastering the basic skill of decoding, we want to encourage children to experience the joy of reading and develop a lifelong love of books.

    One of my greatest pleasures when visiting a good school is listening to the children talking with real passion about their favourite books – the characters they have grown to love and the stories they have learnt.

    But according to the OECD, the UK is ranked 47th out of 65 nations on the number of young people who read for enjoyment. Only six out of 10 teenagers regularly read for pleasure in this country, compared to 90 per cent in countries like Kazakhstan, Albania, China and Thailand. The difference in reading ability between pupils who never read for enjoyment, and those who read for just half an hour a day, is equivalent to a year’s schooling at age 15.

    So we’re also working on policies to promote reading for pleasure. We’re currently considering ways to encourage children to read large numbers of books, and I will bring you up to date on our plans in due course.

    We have already introduced a number of measures to ensure that more children learn the essential skill of decoding, and to equip teachers with the necessary skills, resources and training.

    From next summer, our new Year 1 reading check will help teachers confirm whether individual pupils have grasped fundamental phonics decoding skills, and identify which children may need extra help.

    The check will provide a national benchmark for phonic decoding, allowing schools to judge their performance on a local and national level, and encouraging them to set high expectations for what their pupils can achieve by the end of Year 1.

    It will also help to give parents confidence that their child has learnt this crucial skill, reflecting research that found that 73 per cent of parents thought a year 1 reading check is a good idea.

    Our pilot this year took place in around 300 schools across the country. Independent evaluation by a team from Sheffield Hallam University showed that three quarters of the schools felt that the check assessed phonic decoding ability accurately, while the vast majority of schools (over 90 per cent) thought that most aspects of the check’s content were suitable for their pupils.

    Most importantly, almost half of the pilot schools (43 per cent) indicated that the check had helped them to identify pupils with phonic decoding issues of which they were not previously aware.

    We’re now planning to roll out this short, simple check across the country next summer. The check will consist of a list of 40 words and non-words, 20 of each, which a child will read one-to-one with their own teacher.

    The independent evaluation of the pilot showed that most children actively enjoyed the non-words, and thought they were “fun”.

    Of course, it is important that children understand the difference between real words and non-words, and we are taking steps to address this issue: helping teachers to introduce non-words clearly, and carefully considering how non-words should be labelled or presented.

    But I am very glad to see that our overall plans for the reading check have been welcomed by the Reading Reform Foundation (RRF), and that you believe that it will “ensure that all children have a good phonics foundation, and identify those pupils who need extra help”.

    I hope that we can recruit all of the RRF’s members to help us raise awareness about the check among schools, teachers and parents, and highlight the benefits of using systematic synthetic phonics to give children the skills they will need to succeed.

    Of course, it goes without saying that ongoing teacher assessment alongside the check will continue to be hugely important in ensuring that pupils are making progress.

    To ensure that teachers have the necessary skills and training, we’ve reviewed the qualified teacher status (QTS) standards under Sally Coates. It is now an explicit requirement that teachers of early reading should demonstrate a clear understanding of the theory and teaching of systematic synthetic phonics. You won’t be able to acquire QTS as a primary teacher unless you can demonstrate a skill in teaching phonics.

    As a consequence the Training and Development Agency, together with the Universities Council for the Education of Teachers, is working to ensure that all university teacher training faculties are improving the training of teachers in this area.

    And so that all schools have access to high-quality phonic resources, we have introduced matched-funding of £3,000 per school. This funding will support schools in choosing and purchasing the appropriate resources for their pupils, together with our recently released catalogue of well-respected phonics products and training, The Importance of Phonics. We are considering running a new procurement process for inclusion in an updated catalogue of resources in Spring 2012, and more information on that will be available in due course.

    Finally, Ofsted has published a new inspection framework which draws a closer link between teaching quality and the overall grade schools receive. This new way of inspecting schools will allow Ofsted to spend more time in the classroom and I am very pleased that, for the first time, Ofsted inspectors will listen to pupils reading aloud to check their rate of progress – with a particular focus on weaker readers.

    We hope that these measures will help all children to master the essential and life-changing skill of turning words on the page into images, information and ideas in their heads.

    In this work I am delighted to have the support of the Reading Reform Foundation, and delighted to be here with you all today. Thank you again for all your hard work and I look forward to working with the RRF over the coming months and years as we take this important task forward.

    For children from all backgrounds, being able to read is the vital skill that unlocks all the benefits of education. Together, I hope that we can give more children the key to reading and tackle reading failure.

  • John Inge – 2022 Tribute to HM Queen Elizabeth II (Lord Bishop of Worcester)

    John Inge – 2022 Tribute to HM Queen Elizabeth II (Lord Bishop of Worcester)

    The tribute made by John Inge, the Lord Bishop of Worcester, in the House of Lords on 9 September 2022.

    My Lords, like millions of others across the globe, I was immensely sad to learn of the death of Her late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. I have just travelled up from Worcester and lots of people are gathering at the cathedral to pay their respects, as they are at many other parish churches. I am sure I speak on behalf of all the people in Worcestershire and Dudley in the diocese of Worcester in saying how desperately sad we are at this news.

    In my tribute to her late Majesty today, I shall refer to my particular place in the Royal Household. For some 10 years I have been privileged to be the Lord High Almoner to the Queen, a rather esoteric title for an ancient role. Cardinal Wolsey was one of my predecessors, and he did not come to a very good end. Traditionally, the almoner has been responsible for all the monarch’s almsgiving. Nowadays my duty is to take overall responsibility for the Royal Maundy Service. At that service, as your Lordships will know, the same number of men and women as the monarch’s age—so 96 men and 96 women this year—are awarded the Maundy money in recognition of their exemplary Christian service over a long period. I was moved to be able to accompany Her Majesty the Queen, someone who herself gave exemplary Christian service over her lifetime, in honouring those who had done the same. It seemed to me that as they looked into one another’s eyes, they understood one another and what made them tick. Her Majesty took the Royal Maundy Service very seriously, I think because it symbolised what motivated her. She served because of her faith in Jesus, who came not to be served but to serve. In doing so, she was an inspiration to millions around the globe.

    The Royal Maundy Service is a very serious matter but, with the constant twinkle in her eye and that radiant smile, the Queen managed to put people at their ease, immensely nervous though they were. I told them beforehand that they should just say, “Thank you, Your Majesty” or “Thank you, Ma’am”, as the Queen approached them and then give a bow. But, one year, there was a woman who could not resist thrusting a pot of marmalade into the Queen’s hands as a sort of return gift. As you can imagine, the Queen dealt with that unexpected development with great aplomb. All those who were privileged to know Her Majesty can attest that not only was the Queen a fount of wisdom, but she had a great sense of humour and fun. Only latterly did James Bond and Paddington make that plain to everyone.

    This is a time of deep grieving, but the Queen was a person of profound Christian faith, who believed in a God whose love is stronger than death. Some 16,000 Anglican parish churches and cathedrals, as well as other places of worship, that have symbolised that Christian hope for centuries are now open for people to give thanks, reflect and pray. As we give thanks for the life of this most remarkable monarch and wonderful woman and commend her to the God in whom she believed, I pray that we shall all come together as a nation as we honour her. That would surely be the most fitting tribute to our late beloved Queen who was, through her faith and service, the glue that held us all together.

    We pray too, as we do so, for His Majesty the King, for him to be given the strength and grace that he needs as he takes over the reins of the monarchy. God save the King.