"I entirely agree with my noble friend. It is obviously a good day to be discussing how we appoint leaders. There is more to be done, as my noble friend rightly says, on various aspects of improving diversity, but it is crucial that we abide by the principles of Civil …..." Lord Bridges of Headley - View Speech
"I entirely agree with the noble Lord. He obviously speaks with a great deal of experience. As the nephew of a diplomat, I am somewhat biased but I completely agree. On his final point about language skills, more needs to be done, as always. We need to make sure that …..." Lord Bridges of Headley - View Speech
"First, let us see what the data say; then, if they say that there are talents in pockets of society who are not applying and we think should be applying, we will redouble our efforts to ensure we get more applications from those groups...." Lord Bridges of Headley - View Speech
"I am sure that is the case and that we need to redouble our efforts to improve standards in maths right across the board...." Lord Bridges of Headley - View Speech
"My noble friend makes an extremely good point. Apprenticeships will be key. The high-level apprenticeship talent programme aims to bring in 750 people this year, and around 18% of highers come from lower socioeconomic backgrounds. I will write to her specifically on the point about the fast stream...." Lord Bridges of Headley - View Speech
"The noble Baroness makes a good point. As the head of the Civil Service has pointed out, we are determined to make sure that we get the brightest and best to negotiate and advise on an outcome that represents the views of our entire society. I am unable to go …..." Lord Bridges of Headley - View Speech
"Indeed, I can confirm that, and my noble friend makes a good point about ensuring that civil servants from Scotland are exposed to Whitehall...." Lord Bridges of Headley - View Speech
"I entirely agree with the noble Lord. We have come a long way but there is always more to be done. I concur with him about language skills...." Lord Bridges of Headley - View Speech
"That is absolutely right and is key. As noble Lords said earlier, we need to ensure that diplomats have a grasp of culture, not just language...." Lord Bridges of Headley - View Speech