Vol. 812 Tuesday No. 17 15 June 2021 PARLIAMENTARYDEBATES (HANSARD) HOUSE OF LORDS OFFICIAL REPORT ORDEROFBUSINESS Questions Children with Genetic Conditions: Specialist Support .................................................1755 Private Landlords: Tenants with Pets ...........................................................................1758 Armed Forces: Transition to Civilian Life....................................................................1762 British Airways and Ryanair: Customer Refunds.........................................................1765 Age of Criminal Responsibility Bill [HL] First Reading.................................................................................................................1769 Modern Slavery (Amendment) Bill [HL] First Reading.................................................................................................................1769 Ethiopia Commons Urgent Question............................................................................................1769 Covid-19 Update Statement......................................................................................................................1774 Skills and Post-16 Education Bill [HL] Second Reading.............................................................................................................1790 Grand Committee Climate Change Act 2008 (Credit Limit) Order 2021 Considered in Grand Committee ...............................................................................GC 377 Conformity Assessment (Mutual Recognition Agreements) and Weights and Measures (Intoxicating Liquor) (Amendment) Regulations 2021 Considered in Grand Committee ...............................................................................GC 387 Common Organisation of the Markets in Agricultural Products (Fruit and Vegetable Producer Organisations, Tariff Quotas and Wine) (Amendment etc.) Regulations 2021 Considered in Grand Committee ...............................................................................GC 394 Public Procurement (International Trade Agreements) (Amendment) Regulations 2021 Considered in Grand Committee ..............................................................................GC 405 Lords wishing to be supplied with these Daily Reports should give notice to this effect to the Printed Paper Office. No proofs of Daily Reports are provided. Corrections for the bound volume which Lords wish to suggest to the report of their speeches should be clearly indicated in a copy of the Daily Report, which, with the column numbers concerned shown on the front cover, should be sent to the Editor of Debates, House of Lords, within 14 days of the date of the Daily Report. This issue of the Official Report is also available on the Internet at https://hansard.parliament.uk/lords/2021-06-15 In Hybrid sittings, [V] after a Member’s name indicates that they contributed by video call. The following abbreviations are used to show a Member’s party affiliation: Abbreviation Party/Group CB Cross Bench Con Conservative DUP Democratic Unionist Party GP Green Party Ind Lab Independent Labour Ind SD Independent Social Democrat Ind UU Independent Ulster Unionist Lab Labour Lab Co-op Labour and Co-operative Party LD Liberal Democrat LD Ind Liberal Democrat Independent Non-afl Non-affiliated PC Plaid Cymru UKIP UK Independence Party UUP Ulster Unionist Party No party affiliation is given for Members serving the House in a formal capacity, the Lords spiritual, Members on leave of absence or Members who are otherwise disqualified from sitting in the House. © Parliamentary Copyright House of Lords 2021, this publication may be reproduced under the terms of the Open Parliament licence, which is published at www.parliament.uk/site-information/copyright/. 1755 Arrangement of Business[15 JUNE 2021] Children with Genetic Conditions 1756 House of Lords Baroness Eaton (Con) [V]: I commend the Government on their growing support for family hubs. The original Tuesday 15 June 2021 Breakthrough Britain report recommended these, high- lighting their role as a one-stop shop for families with The House met in a hybrid proceeding. disabled children, which would greatly help those with often very debilitating genetic conditions. Can my noble friend the Minister advise the House of what plans there Noon are to expand the remit of family hubs to include this? Prayers—read by the Lord Bishop of Leeds. Baroness Berridge (Con): My Lords, a number of family hubs are already in operation but the department has just finished procurement for a national centre for Arrangement of Business family hubs as part of the £14 million allocated to this. Announcement Part of that role will be to ensure that best practice is spread across England. The noble Baroness is correct 12.06 pm that these centres should be a hub of voluntary,statutory and other services for families, including those with The Lord Speaker (Lord McFall of Alcluith): My special educational needs and disabilities. Lords, the Hybrid Sitting of the House will now commence. Some Members are here in the Chamber Lord Watson of Invergowrie (Lab): My Lords, the and others are participating remotely, but all Members head of Ofsted has highlighted that children with will be treated equally. I ask all Members to respect special educational needs and disabilities have incurred social distancing and wear face coverings while in some of the biggest learning losses from schools closing, the Chamber except when speaking. If the capacity noting: of the Chamber is exceeded, I will immediately adjourn “Many have genuinely gone backwards in basic skills, language, the House. numbers”. Oral Questions will now commence. Please can This is because too many seriously ill children did not those asking supplementary questions keep them to receive—and in some cases are still not receiving— no longer than 30 seconds and confined to two points? adequate support for their disability or medical condition I ask that Ministers’ answers are also brief. through health services or school, despite having education, health and care plans. What consideration have the Government given to the need for a therapies Children with Genetic Conditions: catch-up plan for children who have regressed or plateaued Specialist Support in their speech, communication, physical development Question or social skills due to the pandemic, as called for by the Disabled Children’s Partnership? 12.06 pm Baroness Berridge (Con): My Lords, it is indeed Tabled by Lord Farmer correct that some of the learning lost has been greatest for those with special educational needs and disabilities. To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps That was one of the reasons why, during both of the they intend to take to ensure that children with lockdowns when schools were closed, places were still (1) 22q11 deletion syndrome, and (2) other genetic available for many of those young people. They should conditions, receive specialist support to address now be accessing all the therapies and additional and prevent any loss of (a) learning, or (b) social support that the plan says they should receive.The recovery skills, due to the disruption of their education package has the flexibility that some of the money is during the COVID-19 pandemic. per-pupil and, therefore, schools can buy in the additional specialist support that the noble Lord outlines. Baroness Eaton (Con) [V]: On behalf of the noble Lord, Lord Farmer, and with his permission, I beg Lord Shinkwin (Con): My Lords, the absence of a leave to ask the Question standing in his name on the diagnosis or late diagnosis of 22q11 deletion syndrome Order Paper. means an inevitable impact on children’s educational support and outcomes during their school years. Can my noble friend the Minister shed some light on work TheParliamentaryUnder-Secretaryof State,Department that she may be doing with the Department of Health for Education and Department for International Trade on the Government’s plans to increase the number of (Baroness Berridge) (Con): My Lords, we are committed conditions included in newborn screening for specialist to help all children, including those with genetic disorders, support, in line with other countries, and what to recover from the impact of lost learning during the consideration has been given to the inclusion of 22q11? pandemic. Following the most recent announcement on education recovery on 2 June, we have now allocated Baroness Berridge (Con): My Lords, as I understand over £3 billion to children and young people. We are it, this is the second most prevalent genetic disorder targeting those resources to support those in greatest after Down’s syndrome. I will take back to colleagues need; for example, special and alternative provision at the Department of Health the request as to whether schoolswillreceiveadditionalfundingtoensureone-on-one it is included in screening. This disorder apparently tutoring for their pupils. has a wide spectrum of effects, so some of those 1757 Children with Genetic Conditions[LORDS] Private Landlords: Tenants with Pets 1758 [BARONESS BERRIDGE] SEND, as well as providing support through the Family children are never identified during their school career, Fund, but I will ensure that the noble Baroness’s but the education, health and care plan should support request is taken back to the department to ensure that them if they do exhibit a need for extra support. we are aware of the full range of voluntary organisations. Diagnosis is not a precursor to having an