Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill

Lord Mott Excerpts

Tuesday 3rd February 2026 Lords Chamber

[Lord Macpherson of Earl’s Court (CB)]

My Lords, I will speak in support of Amendment 243E, tabled by the noble Lord, Lord Layard. It is late, and I promise to be brief.

In Committee, a cross-party group of Peers spoke in support of an amendment that would have guaranteed a place on an apprenticeship to every 16 to 18 year-old who wanted it. Such a guarantee would have improved the supply of skills in this country at a time when they are needed more than ever, not least because of the Government’s success in curbing immigration. It would have enhanced growth and, more important still, improved the lives of young people who struggle with the academic education system.

Sadly, the Government were unable to support the amendment at that time. However, I was grateful to the Minister, the noble Baroness, Lady Blake of Leeds, for the positive spirit in which she responded. Since that debate, the noble Lord, Lord Layard, and I have had constructive meetings with DWP officials. We have therefore sought to soften the amendment to bring it into line with what Ministers and officials have said to us.

We are mindful that resources are finite, and the noble Lord, Lord Layard, and I have redrafted the original amendment to take this into account. All we are asking now is for the Government to endorse the principle that they will prioritise the provision of sufficient apprenticeships for qualified 16 to 18 year-olds as soon as resources permit. In effect, we are asking for the Government to sign up to the principle of a guarantee, not to its immediate delivery.

Unfortunately, the noble Lord, Lord Layard, is unable to be here today due to a long-standing engagement, but he has asked me to make three very short points. First, by the age of 18, one in three of our young people have ceased to receive any education or training. This proportion is much higher than in any comparable competitor country and is terrible for our productivity and the prospects of these young people.

Secondly, it is not these young people’s fault. Most of them would like to learn while earning, but the opportunities are just not there. Three times more people apply for apprenticeships than the number who obtain them. This is totally different from the university route, where nearly all applicants find a place.

Thirdly, the top priority in education policy should therefore be to ensure that there are enough apprenticeship places up to level 3 for all qualified applicants. That is what this amendment proposes. This is a hugely important issue that relates to one of the greatest problems facing our country. I hope that the Minister agrees that this should be put into law, but, if she cannot, can she at least make an oral commitment to this principle?

[Lord Mott (Con)]

My Lords, I shall speak to Amendment 241 in my name. It would require the Secretary of State to commission and publish a report on the educational attainment of school-aged children with a parent in prison. This is a focused and proportionate amendment. It does not prescribe policy. It does not require new programmes or spending. But it does seek to ensure that we understand properly the scale and nature of the problem before us.

During the progress of this Bill, there has been extensive discussion about vulnerable children, about those facing disadvantages and about the barriers that prevent too many pupils in our schools from fulfilling their academic potential. Children with a parent in prison are one such group. They are often invisible in our data, our systems and our schools.

I should make the House aware of my interest as a trustee of the national charity, Children Heard and Seen, which supports children and families impacted by parental imprisonment in their own community.

It is estimated that hundreds of thousands of children in England experience parental imprisonment at some point during their childhood. Evidence suggests that these children are more likely to experience disrupted schooling, lower educational attainment, poorer attendance and higher levels of emotional and behavioural difficulties. Despite this, there is no comprehensive national assessment of how parental imprisonment affects educational outcomes, nor a clear understanding of what interventions within the school system work best in mitigating these harms. Without this data, schools may struggle to identify affected pupils, local authorities may fail to plan appropriate support and national policy risks overlooking a group of children who face significant but often hidden disadvantages.

This amendment simply seeks to address that gap. It would require the Secretary of State, within six months of Royal Assent, to commission a report on the educational attainment of school-age children with a parent in prison and to make recommendations as to how their attainment could be improved. Importantly, it would also require this report to be published and laid before Parliament, ensuring transparency and enabling informed scrutiny and debate. This is not about labelling children, nor about lowering expectations. On the contrary, it is about honestly recognising barriers so that they can be effectively addressed. Schools cannot support what they cannot see, and policymakers cannot act confidently without a robust evidence base.

Education is one of the most powerful interventions we have to improve life chances, break cycles of crime and help children facing adversity to fulfil their potential. For children affected by parental imprisonment, school can provide stability, routine and a sense of normality at a time of upheaval. This can happen only if schools are aware of the specific challenges these pupils face and are equipped with the knowledge and tools to respond appropriately. By increasing awareness and understanding within the education system, this amendment would help to ensure that pupils affected by parental imprisonment are not inadvertently overlooked and are given the best possible opportunity to succeed academically.

This amendment is modest in scope, measured in ambition and entirely consistent with the aims of this Bill. I ask only that we shine a light on an issue that too often remains overlook and that we base future policy on evidence rather than on assumption. If we are serious about improving children’s well-being and about breaking cycles of disadvantage, then we must be able to understand the experiences of all vulnerable children, including those with a parent in prison. I hope that the Minister will share the ambition in Amendment 241 and recognise that it is a constructive step towards better outcomes for a group of children who deserve greater attention and support.

Think Work First: The Transition from Education to Work for Young Disabled People (Public Services Committee Report)

Lord Mott Excerpts

Tuesday 4th November 2025 Grand Committee

[Lord Mott (Con)]

My Lords, it is a pleasure to follow the noble Lord, who has been incredibly kind and generous to me since I first joined the Public Services Select Committee. I am sorry that he will be leaving us very shortly. I also pay tribute to and thank the noble Baroness, Lady Morris of Yardley, for excellently chairing the committee, leading to the report today. I echo the comments of many noble Lords in thanking the excellent team who provide the support that we require.

The gap in employment between disabled and non-disabled people had been narrowing for a number of years, at least until the Covid-19 pandemic. But since then, progress has stalled. According to the latest estimates, just over half of working-age disabled people are employed, compared to more than four in five non-disabled people. Tackling this gap is, of course, important from a financial standpoint, not least given the significant increase in the costs of working-age welfare and the broad consensus across the political divide of the need to reduce this. Crucially, tackling this gap for those who can work and want to work is far more important on a human level.

There will always be some people unable to work due to disability and they must get the full support that they require. As disabled people transition from education, we must do everything we can to help them find suitable and fulfilling jobs. Making use of all the talent we have in this country means more people with the security of work and with the independence, improved well-being and social inclusion that it brings.

It is timely for the Public Services Committee, of which I am a member, to have undertaken this inquiry: Think Work First: the Transition from Education to Work for Young Disabled People. The committee’s extensive report makes over 30 recommendations, ranging from education and employment services to workplace rights and support to employers. I hope that these will provide much food for thought for the department.

In my contribution today, I want to focus on how we can improve the bridge that links education and employment. This is where there are clear examples of things working well and where progress should be sustained. Getting real, hands-on experience is vital for anyone getting into the workplace, disabled or not. I saw this not only as an apprentice myself but during my time as chief executive of the Conservative Party, where I was delighted to help establish a paid internship scheme with the Patchwork Foundation, for which I remain a mentor, to help young people from disadvantaged and minority communities get experience working in politics.

We know that this type of experience is particularly valuable for disabled people moving into the workplace. If a young disabled person can get a supported internship, an accessible apprenticeship or quality work experience, they are more likely to go on to fulfilling work. Supported internships provide a structured, work-based study programme for 16 to 24 year-olds with special educational needs and disabilities who have an education, health and care plan.

I was delighted that the previous Government made a commitment to double the number of supported internships. We saw evidence of their particular success in the NHS, with 68 hospitals hosting supported internships and strong evidence that these often end with the NHS employer offering the interns full-time, permanent contracts. I urge the Minister to commit today to building on the previous Government’s commitments here and to take the committee’s recommendation to

“increase the number of supported internships, and … introduce ambitious, time-bound rolling targets for this”.

I agree that there are many opportunities in the public sector for such an increase, but the Government should also seek suitable and willing private sector partners.

Moving on, I support the efforts being made to help more disabled young people into suitable apprenticeships and I would be keen to hear from the Minister what plans the Government have to communicate the new criteria, promote apprenticeships to employers and training providers and incentivise employers to take on disabled apprentices, in line with the committee’s recommendations.

Finally, the committee is right to highlight the value of supported employment. The universal support programme, announced by the last Conservative Government, was allocated an initial £53 million to help 25,000 out of work, long-term sick and disabled people who face barriers to employment, with an ambition to go much further, with larger numbers of people helped, by providing sustained, wraparound help for up to 12 months for both the participant and their employer to help them stay in work.

The programme was welcomed and praised. Scope called it “good news” and said that it was something that it had been “calling for over many years”. But, as the report notes, there have been concerns within the sector that the current Government are not committed to the programme. Will the Minister today take the opportunity to allay these concerns and confirm that the Government remain fully committed to rolling out the programme? Specifically, I hope they will take forward the recommendations to

“set out clear timelines and targets for improving the regional and national availability of Universal Support, as well as metrics focused on employment outcomes for the disabled people who participate in supported employment programmes”.

Will more be done to link the universal support offer to the supported internships that I spoke to earlier?

Helping more people to find the security and fulfilment of work has always been at the heart of my politics. This should apply to everyone but, sadly, too many disabled people are still written off. We need to build on the progress already made, reverse the post-pandemic decline in progress and, in doing so, remember the sentiment of this report: Think Work First.