School Libraries

Debate between Baroness Smith of Malvern and Baroness Hunt of Bethnal Green

Monday 30th June 2025 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Smith of Malvern (Lab)]

To clarify, I think the survey showed not that 50% of books were withdrawn but that in 50% of cases there was pressure to withdraw books—pressure that might have come to fruition. As I previously said, there is important guidance for schools from the School Library Association and through the Government’s reading framework to support them in developing their libraries and the other ways in which they make books available to children. Of course we support schools in making the right decision for the education and broadening of horizons of children and in making sure that all children’s lives and families are represented in the books they have the opportunity to read in their libraries.

[Baroness Hunt of Bethnal Green (CB)]

My Lords, does the Minister share the view, consistent with the Government’s wider commitment to freedom of speech, that students should be trusted to engage with challenging material rather than being shielded from it through library censorship? What skills might teachers need to support children to disagree well through that challenging material?

[Baroness Smith of Malvern (Lab)]

The noble Baroness is absolutely right. It is part of the role of reading to challenge us and broaden our horizons, as I have said, and it is part of the skill of teaching for teachers to support, through the way they teach about reading and books, the ability for students to be able to critically assess what they are reading. Those are really important parts of our schools and something we should be proud of and defend.

Sport: Supreme Court Ruling on Sex and Gender

Debate between Baroness Smith of Malvern and Baroness Hunt of Bethnal Green

Wednesday 7th May 2025 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Smith of Malvern (Lab)]

I am an enormous fan and participant in parkrun, which manages to provide enormous opportunities for running for both very talented runners and people like me. The noble Baroness makes an important point about everybody being able to identify their performance on the basis of a fair comparison. It is for parkrun to listen to that and to make the relevant decisions.

[Baroness Hunt of Bethnal Green (CB)]

My Lords, the Minister will be aware, as has already been alluded to, that the Equality Act and the Gender Recognition Act have always allowed trans people to be excluded from sports, and the Supreme Court judgment has not changed that. The most complicated area for elite sport and international sport is around those who are not trans but for whom it is hard to determine whether they are a woman. The Supreme Court judgment defines biological sex as something that is assigned at birth. Does the Minister think that it is the role of the Government to re-examine what we mean by biological sex, to enable elite sport and international sport to make a more balanced judgment about who is allowed to compete in the category of woman?

[Baroness Smith of Malvern (Lab)]

Frankly, no, I do not think that it is the role of government to determine for international sporting bodies how they make those decisions in the very difficult circumstances that the noble Baroness identified.