Tag: Westminster

UTTER SHAMBLES!

CHAOS IN THE COMMONS OVER GAZA VOTE

IN a dark day for democracy a Westminster debate on calls for a ceasefire in Gaza descended into chaos after the Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle was accused of allowing it to be “hijacked” by Labour.

Sir Lindsay Hoyle sparked fury from both SNP and Conservative MPs when he broke with convention to allow a vote on a Labour motion for an “immediate humanitarian ceasefire”.

SNP MPs walked out of the chamber en bloc in protest at the Speaker’s action, joined by a sizeable number of Conservative MPs.

The Speaker later apologised for his unprecedented decision, saying he had acted “with the right intentions”, but his position is increasingly seen as untenable by many.

The SNP said they had been “treated with complete and utter contempt” and have lodged a motion of no confidence in the Speaker.

They added: “Today should’ve been about a ceasefire in Gaza and protecting the lives of innocent civilians. Instead, Westminster turned it into a circus.

“Today’s shameful events show Westminster is utterly broken. This should have been the chance for the UK Parliament to do the right thing and vote for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and Israel – instead it turned into a Westminster circus.

“It is a disgrace that Sir Keir Starmer and the Speaker colluded to block Parliament voting on the SNP motion for an immediate ceasefire and against the collective punishment of the Palestinian people.

“More than 29,000 Palestinian children, women and men have been killed – and huge swathes of Gaza have been obliterated while Westminster equivocates.

“People in Gaza and Israel, and voters in Scotland, have been badly let down – they deserve so much better than this.

“The SNP will continue to press the UK government and parliament to back an immediate ceasefire. The time for equivocation is over.”

Following the chaos in the Commons chamber Labour’s amendment eventually went through without a formal vote, after the government said it would not take part in protest. This meant there was no formal vote on the SNP’s motion, which called for an immediate ceasefire.

The Former leader of the Conservative Party Sir Iain Duncan Smith has said he believes Sir Lindsay Hoyle was put under ‘intolerable pressure’ from Labour to include their amendment.

Sir Iain said he believed Labour wanted their amendment ‘to try and stop some kind of rebellion’ from within their own party and has called for the vote to be rerun.

Speaking on GB News last night, Sir Iain Duncan-Smith said: “There’s never normally a second amendment to an opposition day motion. Opposition days are about giving the opposition a chance to put their motion forward. Otherwise, all they’re ever doing is reacting to government.

“That standing order gives them a shot and having a vote on their motion before it’s amended.

“Tonight, that was all put into chaos because I think, due to the intolerable pressure the Speaker was under was to add the Labour amendment in.

“We know why Labour wanted their amendment in, it wasn’t just to express their view it was to try and stop some kind of rebellion on their part.

“Under the normal saga, it would have been the SNP first and we would have voted on the SNP [motion], not theirs.

“The government withdrew and said, we’re not going to put our amendment to the motion because it’s chaotic and messy. That’s the moment when they should have reversed the process back to normal and had the SNP one first. But the Speaker was determined that the Labour one would be done first.

“That’s where the chaos arose, because in all the rows that went on, they weren’t able to do it because in the noise, the Deputy Speaker quickly passed the Labour amendment.

“The SNP have expressed a lack of confidence [in the Speaker]; I don’t know where they’ll take it. I’m very fond of the speaker, he’s been very good in many ways, and he’s defended our rights.

“I think the truth is he was put under intolerable pressure by Labour’s determination to bend the rules so they can have their own amendment.

“Many on the Labour front bench need to reflect on the position they’ve left him in.

“I think we should rerun all of this personally, because I think the public should and deserves better from Parliament and the Speaker should never have been put under that pressure.”

After all the noise, all the drama, the government does not even have to adopt Labour’s position as the vote is not binding! So a hollow victory for Labour, then – but a deeply damaging day for Westminster democracy.

UK Government plan urgently needed to address “the silent killer” of heatwaves

2022 saw UK temperatures soar to above 40°C for the first time, while 2023 was the world’s hottest year on record. Westminster’s Environmental Audit Committee has raised concerns over the UK’s lack of preparedness in its report on ‘Heat resilience and sustainable cooling’.

The “silent killer” of heatwaves could claim up to 10,000 lives annually in the UK without concerted action, with the most vulnerable at greatest risk. Physical and mental health can be severely impacted: the Committee heard that suicide risk is twice as high in the UK when the temperature was 32°C rather than 22°C.

Work-related injuries also increase, and interrupted sleep patterns due to high temperatures can cost the UK economy £60bn a year, or 1.5% to 2% of GDP.

The social and economic case for accelerating heat adaptation measures in the UK is clear-cut, and EAC recommends measures around prioritising passive cooling – that do not involve expending energy – and clear Government messaging on the risks of heat events, underpinned by a national strategy on heat resilience.

Nature based solutions offer important passive cooling measures and additional co-benefits. Parks, trees, water bodies and green infrastructure – such as green roofs – can have significant cooling effects and also help biodiversity and air quality.

The Government must adopt a range of these measures, particularly in areas where the ‘urban heat island’ effect typically raises temperatures: for example, London can be up to 8°C warmer than surrounding rural areas.

Over 4.6 million English homes experience summertime overheating, and with 80% of homes that will exist in 2050 having already been built, retrofitting for net zero and thermal comfort will be needed on a vast scale.

Existing initiatives on insulation and energy efficiency should be developed into a national retrofit programme which should be delivered by local authorities, supported by long term funding, focusing on insulation and ventilation, as well as passive measures, above active cooling mechanisms.

Fans may also have a role, and the Government should consider amending Building Regulations to encourage the use of ceiling fans. The Government must urgently bring forward proposals to encourage access to low-cost finance for householders to retrofit passive cooling measures.

Some of the passive measures EAC heard about included installing external shutters, which could reduce incidences of heat mortality by around 40%, and coating the roofs of buildings with reflective white paint.

Passive cooling measures would reduce the need for energy intensive air conditioning units, which in 2022 and 2023 led to a surge in demand for electricity causing coal fired power stations to fire up once more. A repeat of this surge risks a vicious cycle of increased greenhouse gas emissions that in turn make the world even hotter. Action to increase the energy efficiency of air conditioners is therefore also required.

Any national retrofit programme must be well-funded but also address concerns of a “net zero tradespeople crisis” amid concerns that by 2030, there will be a shortfall of 250,000 people in suitable roles.

Information on coping with extreme heat does not always appear to be reaching those in need. Repeating calls the predecessor Committee made in its 2018 Heatwaves report, EAC urges the Government to launch a public information campaign on the developing threat of heatwaves and their significant impact on human health and activities.

The Met Office should trial naming heatwaves to boost public recognition of the threat to health and wellbeing in the same way as named storms. Humidity levels should also be incorporated into weather forecasts and heat-health alerts.

At COP28, the UK signed the Global Cooling Pledge, which saw nations commit to reduce cooling related emissions by 68% from 2023 by 2050. EAC hopes its report assists the Government’s production of a national cooling action plan as the pledge calls for, and in response to its report, the Government should set out its timetable for this plan.

Environmental Audit Committee Chair, Rt Hon Philip Dunne MP, said: “The world is heating up, and in the coming year we may exceed an increase of over 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels: breaking a key ambition of the Paris Agreement. The record temperatures we are seeing in UK summers, triggered by climate change, pose significant risks to health and wellbeing, and swift action must now be taken to adapt to the UK’s changing climate.

“Projections suggest that without action, there could be 10,000 UK heat-related deaths annually. High temperatures are costing the UK economy £60 billion a year: so measures to address the risks from overheating are simply a no-brainer.

“There are a number of relatively simple ways to mitigate overheating risk, such as installing shutters, increasing the size of green spaces and using reflective paint on roofs. Yet none of these measures are being rolled out at scale. There is now a real opportunity to focus on these measures in tandem with improving the energy efficiency of the country’s homes in a new national retrofit programme.

“Tackling overheating at scale will not be a quick or easy undertaking. Clear collaboration between Government departments and local authorities is necessary, supported by a clear messaging campaign and a pipeline of funding and skilled retrofitters to undertake the work needed.

“Existing Government policy fails to grasp the urgency of the task at hand. A Minister with oversight on heat resilience must be appointed to oversee this important work.”

Dr Radhika Khosla, Associate Professor at the Smith School of Enterprise and Environment, University of Oxford, who acted as Specialist Adviser for the EAC’s inquiry, said: “We were delighted to partner with the EAC for this timely and important inquiry.

“Sustainable cooling has rightly been pushed up the global agenda in recent years as temperatures rise around the world. But now that we recognise the problems from extreme heat, it is imperative we commit to the solutions.

“Our hope is that this report helps the UK take action to meet its Global Cooling Pledge commitments and, most importantly, helps to save lives and protect people’s wellbeing while reducing emissions from cooling.”

Urgent action required to tackle ‘endemic’ misogyny faced by women in the music industry, committee warns

Women pursuing careers in music face “endemic” misogyny and discrimination in a sector dominated by self-employment and gendered power imbalances, Westminster’s Women and Equalities Committee (WEC) has warned.

WEC’s ‘Misogyny in Music’ report laid bare a “boys’ club” where sexual harassment and abuse is common, and the non-reporting of such incidents is high. Victims who do speak out struggle to be believed or may find their career ends as a consequence.

Despite increases in representation, women encounter limitations in opportunity, a lack of support and persistent unequal pay; these issues are intensified for women facing intersectional barriers, particularly racial discrimination, the report found.

Female artists are routinely undervalued and undermined, endure a focus on their physical appearance in a way that men are not subjected to, and have to work far harder to get the recognition their ability merits.

Making a series of strong and wide-ranging recommendations, the cross-party committee of MPs called on ministers to take legislative steps to amend the Equality Act to ensure freelance workers have the same protections from discrimination as employees and bring into force section 14 to improve protections for people facing intersectional inequality.

It also recommended the Government should legislate to impose a duty on employers to protect workers from sexual harassment by third parties, a proposal the Government initially supported and then rejected last year.

Both the music industry and Government, WEC said, should increase investment in diverse talent and make more funding available to the schemes that support it. Pathways to careers for women working in the sector must improve it added, particularly in male-dominated areas such as Artists and Repertoire (A&R), sound engineering and production.

Record labels should commit to regular publication of statistics on the diversity of their creative rosters, with all organisations of more than 100 employees required to publish data on the diversity of their workforce and gender and ethnicity pay gaps.

On non-disclosure agreements (NDAs), the report cited distressing testimonies of victims “threatened into silence”, with WEC urging ministers to prohibit the use of non-disclosure and other forms of confidentiality agreements in cases involving sexual abuse, sexual harassment or sexual misconduct, bullying or harassment, and discrimination relating to a protected characteristic.

The Government, WEC recommended, should consider a retrospective moratorium on NDAs for those who have signed them relating to the issues outlined.

The report also called for strengthened requirements for industry areas where harassment and abuse are known to take place. It recommended that studios, music venues and the security staff that attend them should be subject to licensing requirements focused on tackling sexual harassment and that managers of artists should also be licensed.

WEC supported the Office for Students’ proposed new condition of registration and potential sanction for educational settings aimed at improving protections for students and urged the OfS to “implement its proposals swiftly and to enforce them robustly”.

The establishment of a single, recognisable body, the Creative Industries Independent Standards Authority (CIISA) WEC’s report concluded will help to shine a light on unacceptable behaviour in the music industry and may reduce the risk of further harm.

But the committee cautioned it is “not a panacea for all of the problems in the industry” and “time will tell whether it has the powers required to drive the changes needed”.

Chair of the Women and Equalities Committee, Rt Hon Caroline Nokes MP said: “Women’s creative and career potential should not have limits placed upon it by ‘endemic’ misogyny which has persisted for far too long within the music industry.

“Our report rightly focuses on improving protections and reporting mechanisms, and on necessary structural and legislative reforms.

“However, a shift in the behaviour of men—and it is almost always men – at the heart of the music industry is the transformative change needed for talented women to quite literally have their voices heard and be both recognised and rewarded on equal terms.”

Remote Scottish communities worse off due to ‘rural premium’ despite cost of living support, MPs find

The Scottish Affairs Committee warns blanket UK-wide schemes intended to support households with the rising cost of living were not sufficiently ‘rural-proofed’ and did not meet the needs of remote communities in Scotland who face a ‘rural premium’.

The ‘rural premium’ refers to the higher prices that communities in remote rural areas pay, relative to urban areas, to access the same goods and services. The report highlighted three key areas – energy, food security and transport – and finds that rising costs in each sector disproportionately affects rural communities in Scotland. 

Examples cited by the Committee include exposure to fuel price inflation due to being more reliant on transport, a reliance on expensive alternative fuels for off-grid households and higher charges for food deliveries to remote locations. 

In a new report published yesterday, MPs on the Westminster-based Scottish Affairs Committee acknowledge the unprecedented package of support provided by the UK Government which has helped to mitigate the impact of price spikes.  

The Committee concludes that some schemes, however, had prioritised administrative ease to accelerate funds getting to people rather than specifically targeting financial support for those who need it most. MPs on the Committee found that financial support tailored towards remote communities experiencing the ‘rural premium’ would have more effectively alleviated the acute and unique pressures those households face. 

Evidence submitted to the Committee as part of the inquiry showed that prior to the sharp increase in fuel prices, the highest rates of fuel poverty in Scotland could be found in the most rural regions – Na h-Eileanan Siar (40%), Highland (33%), Argyll and Bute (32%), Moray (32%), Shetland Islands (31%) and Orkney Islands (31%). The Scottish Government has estimated that 57% of households in rural areas would be in fuel poverty by April 2023. 

The Committee heard that food insecurity had led to a ‘cost of surviving crisis’ for some in particularly remote areas, while delayed plans to improve ferry and road infrastructure has further exacerbated difficulties for rural communities. 

MPs are calling for the Scottish and UK Governments to work together in order to better understand the scale and complexities of the challenges facing rural communities in Scotland. Agreeing consistent definitions of food poverty and more effective collaboration to overcome transport infrastructure challenges would be welcome steps forward in tackling this issue, the Committee says.

Chair of the Scottish Affairs Committee, Pete Wishart MP, said: “During the cost-of-living crisis, people living in remote parts of Scotland have found themselves in a perfect storm of poorly-insulated, high energy usage homes with an extended journey to local amenities and food shopping bills off the charts.  

“Schemes implemented by both the UK and Scottish Governments have been welcome in large parts of Scotland, but the reality is these households have been lumbered with a ‘rural premium’ that hasn’t been adequately addressed by state support. 

“We must learn the lessons from the economic challenges households have faced over the last few years. I hope both the UK and Scottish Governments will use this time to properly understand the support these communities will need to prevent them falling further into poverty should we face similar problems in the future.” 

Treasury Committee queries public sector organisations over use of Fujitsu

WESTMINSTER’s Treasury Committee has asked His Majesty’s Treasury, and all associated agencies and public bodies, to send them details of any contracts awarded by their organisation to Fujitsu Services Ltd, or any other Fujitsu Global-owned entities, since 2019.

The international technology corporation has faced renewed questions over its role in the Post Office Horizon Scandal in recent weeks.

The Committee aims to understand the extent to which the company has continued to be awarded government contracts with HM Treasury-affiliated organisations since the High Court ruling in 2019. 

Questions include whether the contracts went through a tendering process, the extent to which the company’s role in the scandal was considered as part of the due diligence process and whether they have considered terminating contracts with the company at any stage. 

Treasury Committee Chair, Harriett Baldwin, said: “The public outcry regarding the Post Office sub-postmaster scandal is entirely justified, and I know I speak for the whole Committee when I express my horror at the injustices the victims faced. 

“It’s clear that Fujitsu has questions to answer over its conduct. I think it’s important we can see the extent to which taxpayer money has been spent with Fujitsu since the High Court ruling as they are simultaneously assessed on their fitness to remain a government supplier.” 

Choudhury: Third sector community organisations crying out for support

A Labour MSP for Lothian has rung alarm bells about the barriers to funding for small, community-based organisations.  

Foysol Choudhury yesterday (17th January) hosted a roundtable at the Scottish Parliament for third-sector community organisations to discuss the current funding model, barriers to access for smaller organisations, and what lessons could be learnt. 

 The roundtable attendees and MSPs heard from Citadel Youth Centre, Edinburgh and Lothians Regional Equality Council (ELREC), EVOC, North Edinburgh Arts and The Larder.  

Mr Choudhury is Chairperson of ELREC and will be well aware of the challenges faced by third sector organisations.

Following the roundtable, Foysol Choudhury praised the work of these third-sector organisations in working so closely with, and to benefit of, local communities. He said, however, that more could be done to support these vital organisations to be more included in the funding process: 

“The third sector in Scotland is a vital contributor to both the economy and society as a whole.   

“The recent Scottish Budget announcements have left many organisations in the third sector unable to be sure of secure funding for the year ahead, directly impacting on their ability to provide vital services to communities when they need it the most post-pandemic and during the cost-of-living crisis.   

“It was made clear from today’s discussion that sustained, long-term and fair funding is needed for the sector. 

“Some third sector organisations may be smaller, but they have a big impact and they must be consulted with and represented in the Scottish budget. 

“This is especially true where they cater to minority communities and exclusion from the budget may increase inequalities for those communities.” 

Mr Choudhury says that the conversation at the table today was positive and collaborative but that the organisations were also “crying out for more support and recognition of their vital work”.  

Organisations at the roundtable raised how many smaller organisations were in competition with each other for grants and core funding, so the system should facilitate more collaboration.

Other groups also raised how smaller organisations are missing out on funding because they don’t meet criteria, or don’t have the experience and funds to hire fundraisers to make applications like many bigger organisations do.

Mr Choudhury says he will continue to build on this constructive conversation and represent small third-sector community organisations in the Scottish Parliament, pressing for more funding and consultation wherever possible.

Budgets are about spending priorities, and Labour trails both the SNP and the Conservatives at Holyrood. Elections to the Scottish Parliament will not take place until May 2026.

Of more immediate concern for voluntary sector organisations is the current budget process. The city council (a Labour-led coalition with Lib-Dems and Conservatives) is looking at further cuts as it sets it’s budget for 2024 – 25.

Councils blame the Scottish Government for funding cuts while Holyrood in turn blames the UK Government at Westminster. It’s a blame game that’s gone on for as long as I can remember, and while the politicians bicker, the poorest communities – and the charities and voluntary sector projects that support them – bear the brunt and feel the pain of service cuts.

That’s got to change – but sadly change, if it comes, will come too late for many – Ed.

Former First Ministers to discuss intergovernmental relations with Scottish Affairs Committee

All living former First Ministers of Scotland – Nicola Sturgeon, Alex Salmond, Jack McConnell and Henry McLeish – have agreed to give oral evidence to Westminster’s Scottish Affairs Committee as part of its ongoing inquiry into intergovernmental relations. 

The inquiry, named Intergovernmental Relations: 25 years since the Scotland Act 1998, is looking closely at the structures which underpin relations between the UK and Scottish Governments, including the new IGR framework introduced in 2022. 

In sessions due to take place in the first half of 2024, MPs will have the chance to question Nicola Sturgeon, Alex Salmond, Jack McConnell and Henry McLeish on their experiences of intergovernmental relations between Edinburgh and London during each of their tenures as First Minister.  

The witnesses led the Scottish Government during significant political events, including the 2014 independence referendum and the UK’s exit from the EU. The Committee will also be taking evidence from a number of former Secretaries of State for Scotland who have held the post since 1998.  

So far, the inquiry has received written evidence from Tony Blair and Lord David Cameron, as well as hearing from former UK Government ministers and senior civil servants to assess whether the intergovernmental processes have delivered on the aspirations of politicians in 1998. 

The Committee also questioned leading academics at the University of Glasgow and University of Stirling for their expert views on whether current intergovernmental processes are working effectively. 

Alex Salmond will be questioned by the Committee on Monday 19 February.

The date of the other former First Ministers’ appearances will be confirmed in due course. 

Chair of the Scottish Affairs Committee, Pete Wishart, said: “It’s a clear demonstration of the importance of this work that all living former Scottish First Ministers have agreed to appear in front of the Committee as part of the inquiry into relations between the UK and Scottish governments since 1998. 

“Given that we will hear from all living former First Ministers of Scotland, we will be inviting all former UK Prime Ministers who have been in power since the implementation of the Scotland Act to appear in front of the Committee.

“I sincerely hope they will match the commitment of their Scottish Government counterparts and accept our invitation.”

Social Housing: Emergency hazards to be repaired in 24 hours through Awaab’s Law

Housing Secretary launches a consultation proposing new legal requirements for England’s social landlords to address hazards including damp and mould quickly

plans to clamp down on rogue social landlords who fail to provide safe homes have been announced today, supporting the Government’s pledge to deliver Awaab’s Law.   

The two-year-old from Rochdale died from a respiratory condition caused by extensive mould in the flat where he lived, and the Government is taking action to introduce lifechanging reforms in social housing to prevent future tragedies.  

The Awaab’s Law consultation has been launched by the Housing Secretary, which proposes introducing new strict time limits for social housing providers and force them to take swift action in addressing dangerous hazards such as damp and mould.

It proposes new legal requirements for social landlords to investigate hazards within 14 days, start fixing within a further 7 days, and make emergency repairs within 24 hours. Those landlords who fail can be taken to court where they may be ordered to pay compensation for tenants.  
  
Landlords will be expected to keep clear records to improve transparency for tenants – showing every attempt is made to comply with the new timescales so they can no longer dither and delay to rectify people’s homes.    

Housing Secretary, Michael Gove said: “The tragic death of Awaab Ishak should never have happened. His family have shown courageous leadership, determination and dignity to champion these changes and now it’s time for us to deliver for them through Awaab’s Law.  
    
“Today is about stronger and more robust action against social landlords who have refused to take their basic responsibilities seriously for far too long. We will force them to fix their homes within strict new time limits and take immediate action to tackle dangerous damp and mould to help prevent future tragedies.  
    
“Alongside Awaab’s Law, our landmark Social Housing Act will drastically improve the quality of life in social housing, granting residents a proper voice to fight those who think they can cheat the system and ensuring rogue landlords face the full force of the law.”  

Faisal Abdullah, Awaab’s father. said: “We hope that Awaab’s Law will stop any other family going through the pain that we went through.

“Landlords need to listen to the concerns of tenants and we support these proposals.”

Social Housing campaigner, Kwajo Tweneboa said: “As we know many families across the country are still living in homes with damp and mould, creating misery but more worryingly risks their health and safety.  

“I’m pleased to see Awaab’s Law reach the consultation phase and hope that it goes far enough to prevent other families going through the tragedy Awaab’s family have had to. It’s crucial the government are able to make sure this law has teeth and is enforced for it to work as intended.” 

Through the measures announced today tenants will be able to take their landlords to court if they fail to fix dangerous hazards. This builds on the progress already made to drive up standards in social housing.

The UK Government says there has been consistent improvement in the quality of social homes since 2010 – with a reduction in non-decent social homes from 20% in 2010 to 10% last year – but recognises ‘there is more work to do’.

The Social Housing (Regulation) Act, which became law last year,  will equip the Regulator of Social Housing and tenants with stronger powers and rights to hold the small minority of rogue landlords accountable.     

New enforcement powers will also be available for the Regulator to weed out bad landlord practices – including issuing unlimited fines and entering properties with only 48 hours’ notice to make emergency repairs in the most severe cases.    

As part of changes to deliver Awaab’s Law, the Government recently consulted on what more tenants need to better understand their rights and challenge social landlords when things go wrong – the direction to the Regulator will be published in the coming weeks.   

This is the latest step in addressing systemic issues identified following the Grenfell Tower fire – not just the safety and quality of social housing but how tenants are treated by their landlords.

Awaab’s Law consultation will be open for eight weeks and further details on how to respond can be found here   

Major national drive to improve school attendance in England

Attendance hubs to more than double to support 1,000 more schools and £15 million investment to expand the attendance mentor pilot programme

Driving up attendance and tackling persistent absence is at the centre of new stronger measures launched today as pupils return to school in England.  

More than one million children and young people will be supported into regular education as part of a major expansion of the attendance hubs, which provide a range of tailored support to families and pupils to boost time in school. 

There will be 18 new attendance hubs across six regions, bringing the total to 32 and will see nearly 2,000 schools helped to tackle persistent absence.

Hubs are run by schools with excellent attendance that share practical ideas with other primary, secondary, alternative provision and special schools in England who need help to boost their attendance.

From direct pupil engagement initiatives like breakfast clubs and extracurricular activities, to improving their processes and analysis of attendance data, lead hub schools provide a range of support to schools that they can tailor to their pupils and families.  

The Westminster government is also increasing the direct support offered to children and their families with the expansion of the attendance mentor pilot programme.

With an investment of up to £15million, over three years, this programme will provide direct intensive support to more than 10,000 persistent and severely absent pupils and their families.  

The programme will see trained attendance mentors working in 10 further areas from September 2024. These areas are in addition to the existing pilot programme with Barnardo’s which is already operating in Middlesbrough, Doncaster, Knowsley, Salford, and Stoke on Trent.  

The programme provides intensive one-to-one support to pupils who are persistently absent working with them and their families to find out why the child is skipping school. This can lead to extra support, more intensive work with teachers or in some cases bridge-building between school and family.

Being in school has never been more valuable with standards continuing to rise. 89% of schools are now rated good or outstanding, up from 68% in 2010. We are constantly seeing the success of our reforms rising up the rankings in maths, reading and science.

Just this month, England was ranked 11th in the world for maths, up from 27th in 2009, and in May, England was named ‘best in the west’ for primary reading.

Education Secretary Gillian Keegan said: “The benefits of our success in raising education standards can only be when all children are in school.

“Tackling attendance is my number one priority. We want all our children to have the best start in life because we know that attending school is vital to a child’s wellbeing, development, and attainment as well as impact future career success.

“I am hugely grateful to all our brilliant teachers, heads, and everyone whose worked with us to make the progress we’ve already made with 380,000 fewer children persistently absent.”

Children’s Commissioner Rachel De Souza said: “As Children’s Commissioner, I have made school attendance one of my top priorities because children tell me how much they value their education and want to be in school.

“Every day counts: when children miss school, it’s not just about missing lessons, it’s also about losing valuable moments spent with their friends and teachers.

“I very much welcome the government’s announcements today which include the recommendations made last year in my report on school attendance.

“I am hopeful that these measures will arm local authorities and schools with real-time information about school absence rates and provide vital support for children who face barriers to attending school.”

Chief Executive of Barnardo’s, Lynn Perry MBE, said: “Our Attendance Mentoring pilot scheme shows that one of the best ways to improve attendance is working individually with children, building trust and listening to their concerns.

“Our mentors encourage children to talk openly about issues such as family finances, bullying, or mental health worries – anything they feel may be preventing them from going to school.

“In Middlesbrough, 82% of the children we have worked with improved their attendance through one-on-one support from an attendance mentor, with almost two-thirds of the children saying their mental health also improved.”

Rob Tarn CBE, Chief Executive of Northern Education Trust said: “We are delighted that the hard work around attendance at North Shore Academy has led to significant impact for our students and their outcomes.

“The fact that this work was recognised as a best practice model meant we felt compelled to share what we are doing with other schools and academies in similar contexts and help where we could.

“This was, in essence, the beginning of the attendance hub programme. Seeing this work extended, with more hubs supporting more schools, is a source of great pride for the trust.”

A national communications campaign on the importance of attendance is also launching today targeting parents and carers.

Under the strapline ‘Moments Matter, Attendance Counts’ it outlines the importance of attendance for attainment, wellbeing, and development as well as signposting to advice for further support.  

Key advice includes a recent letter from the Chief Medical Officer that outlines best practice when it comes to attendance and illness.

The intention is to ensure that parents have the guidance they need when it comes to making decisions when deciding to send their child to school or when to keep them home. 

The UK government has also committed to further legislation in the coming months that will mean all schools will be required to share their daily school registers.

This, together with reforming pupil registration practice, will modernise how schools record and share data on attendance and support them to understand what is driving absence in their school and provide early support and intervention where pupils are displaying worrying trends of absence.

‘The lungs of the world are collapsing at an alarming rate’

Westminster committee urges UK Government to act with urgency to tackle global deforestation

UK consumption is unsustainable, with the nation’s appetite for commodities including soy, cocoa, palm oil, beef and leather putting enormous pressure on forests, Westminster’s Environmental Audit Committee (EAC) warns today.

Forests host 80% of the world’s terrestrial biodiversity, support the livelihoods of 1.6 billion people and provide vital ecosystem services to support local and global economies. Deforestation threatens irreplaceable biodiverse habitats and contributes 11% of global carbon emissions.

The intensity of UK consumption on the world’s forests – its footprint per tonne of product consumed – is higher than that of China.

The EAC is calling on Ministers to develop a Global Footprint Indicator to demonstrate this impact to the public, and a target to reduce the UK’s impact on global deforestation. Such a measure will only be meaningful if sufficient monitoring and reporting is embedded for forest risks – including mining – so EAC recommends that the Government work with international partners to improve oversight in the UK and globally.

Through legislative provision in the Environment Act, the Government has committed to establishing a regime  to require forest-based commodities to be certified as ‘sustainable’ if they are to be sold into UK markets. At COP28 the Government announced that the first four of these commodities are to be cattle products (other than dairy), cocoa, palm oil and soy, which the EAC was pleased to see.

While the Government’s intention to tackle sustainability concerns of products is welcome, EAC is concerned  over the seeming lack of urgency about the implementation of this regime, given global commitments to halt and reverse current deforestation trends by 2030.

For instance, no timeline has been offered as to when this important legislation will be introduced, and its phased approach of incorporating products gradually into the regime does not reflect the necessity of tackling deforestation urgently.

The Government should also bring other forest-risk commodities, such as maize, rubber and coffee, into the certification regime as soon as possible to be ‘sustainable’. 

The Committee recommends that the Government strengthens the existing legislative framework so as to prohibit financial sector businesses from trading or using commodities linked to deforestation.

At global COP summits, the UK has been instrumental in delivering ambitious agreements to address global deforestation. However, despite this, the world does not appear to be on track to halt deforestation by 2030: a key commitment made during COP26 and at the Kunming-Montreal COP15 summit in December 2022.

The Government has announced large sums for programmes on climate and nature, amounting most recently to £11.6 billion with £1.5 billion earmarked for deforestation.

However, the Committee has heard concerns that  there is a lack of transparency over how this investment will be spent. The Committee is therefore calling for clarity from Ministers as to how the money will be used to support activities to halt and reverse deforestation.

The Committee was alarmed to hear from Global Witness that one person is killed every other day defending land and the environment. Indigenous peoples are protectors of the world’s forests and can possess detailed knowledge on biodiversity and ecosystem trends. It is therefore critical that they are facilitated to participate fully in negotiations to address deforestation activity.  

To fulfil its commitment to put environmental sustainability measures at the heart of global production and trade, the Government must ensure that biodiversity considerations are more consistently applied into its trade agreements and operations.

EAC therefore repeats its earlier calls for sustainability impact assessments to be conducted for all future trade agreements. Ministers must also develop strategies to monitor effectively and deliver environmental net gains in the UK’s international activity, including gains through halting and reversing deforestation.

Environmental Audit Committee Chair, Rt Hon Philip Dunne MP, said: “UK consumption is having an unsustainable impact on the planet at the current rate. UK markets must not be flooded with products that threaten the world’s forests, the people whose livelihoods rely on them and the precious ecosystems that call them home.

“Yet despite the recent commitment before and at COP28 to invest more in reforestation measures and The Amazon Fund to help halt the speed of global deforestation, the UK needs to take tangible steps to turn the dial at home.

“The Government’s ambition and stated commitment at COP26 to halt deforestation by 2030 was very welcome: but it is not on track now. Its legislation for a regime to require certain products to be certified as ‘sustainable’ before they can be sold in UK markets was welcome: but the implementing legislation has still not come forward. There is little sense of urgency about getting a rapid grip on the problem of deforestation, which needs to match the rhetoric.

“Countries all around the world contribute to deforestation, and the international community of course needs to do much more to tackle deforestation. Yet on some measures the intensity of UK consumption of forest-risk commodities is higher than that of China: this should serve as a wake-up call to the Government.

“To demonstrate genuine global leadership in this critical area, the UK must demonstrate domestic policy progress, and embed environmental and biodiversity protections in future trade deals.”