What do peers do during the recess? For me, it provides relief from the horrors of commuting on the train and the underground, a two and a quarter hour journey from door to door, and from living out of a suitcase for two or three nights a week in London. I know many people do the same for reasons of employment, but still, it is a strain. Nevertheless I spent some time at my other job in London. The parliamentary mail is forwarded, so there is still quite a bit of correspondence to tend to, not least responses from the public to the lectures on family law I have been giving at Gresham College. And there are briefings about bills which are shortly to be debated. I have written two speeches on the future of the legal profession, one for Bar students and one for legal practice managers. I have finalised two more lectures on family law, one on civil partnership and one on cousin marriage. And I await the next huge parcel of statutory instruments, to be scrutinised in time for the meeting of the Merits of Statutory Instruments Committee. I went to the launch of a review of the work of the Office of the Independent Adjudicator for Higher Education, a post I used to hold, which deals with student complaints. They are, unexpectedly, on the rise and will no doubt continue to rise because of the cuts in university funding. As students pay higher fees, they expect more contact with their lecturers, but those lecturers have less time, more students and are under pressure to spend all their available time on research rather than teaching. I went to a talk about the relationship between industry and the universities and heard that business is very disappointed with the quality of the graduates whom they are recruiting, and concerned about the low numbers studying science. I took the time to find out about my own college’s fundraising to build a new library and kitchen, and to thank the old member who gives an internship in her firm every summer to a student. Careers help is as useful as money. I enjoyed the break but I am surprised at how half term has expanded. Apparently in some offices colleagues object to fixing meetings during the break, or go abroad for a week. Childcare during half term is a real problem for working parents with no grandparents close by. When I was young, half term was a long weekend, if that.
I was hoping in your report you would have said you’ve met with some of the Home Educators who said they would meet with you and for whom half term has little meaning….
Thanks to Baroness Deech for the details of a few days of her working life. I certainly appreciate the work of somebody dedicated to the cause of Good Law and its administration, and the learning of it.
I always tell a relative of mine that he would have made a good Law Lord such is his excellent judgment of men and their actions.
He was schooled in Sussex where they valued
a regimented discipline of learning, and life. He became a mining engineer from Imperial College, and just off Director of a US 100 company.
I am glad that I have not had such responsibilities, and that I am just starting to extend my garden to provide a half acre Apple Orchard, with wild meadow flowers.
My motto is “always leave things better than you found them” hence the orchard plan.
I am quite certain that Baroness Deech has similar hopes for her life’s work of Good Law, but the paths to law courts will be strewn with tears not flowers, except for those who earn their handsome livings from it, and those too who think that “justice has been done”.
“horrors of commuting on the train and the underground, a two and a quarter hour journey from door to door, and from living out of a suitcase for two or three nights a week”.
We used to call that a holiday ! lol
“Childcare during half term is a real problem for working parents with no grandparents close by.”
Yet the Government insists on more checking even on close friends in the form of CRB`s etc. Do they not realise at all that most child abuse is done by a close family member who wouldn`t be checked ? AND the fact paedophiles are clever enough to get into a position of trust anyway.
My Lady is obviously concerned about education, does it not show that our current education system is not working ? That there are problems that may result in parents taking their child out of the state system ? With school leaving age about to rise, I`m not sure it will have the desired effect, there will be less resources to go around and keeping 17-18 year olds in a place they may not want to be will bring more problems, ask the prison service.
My Lady is busy, nothing more than I would have expected but what does the noble Baroness do for fun, to let off steam a little ? Or are you like Lord Norton a complete workaholic who derives pleasure purely from working and have attained your role in life ?
I am glad to see that an interest in education and a proactive one at that. Universities are at the forefront of funding cuts, but what about the Student Loan Company? Which has essentially failed in its function this year and has placed the future education of hundreds of students in doubt, and has caused undue and unnecessary hardship for both students and families.
This needs to be resolved quickly and substantially, even if it means the company losing their franchise.
The other issue for young people, who are not academically inclined is the lack of prospects of any form of skills training or apprenticeship in an employment, which will equip them for the real life world of work.
The Learning and Skills council has proven a failure and short term initiatives will not resolve the great pool of young people, who are unemployed, without any skills and who are basically unemployable.
I firmly believe that some form of Voluntary National Service is needed, which allows young people to gain work experience in all spheres on commerce and industry, with provision for skills training as part of the package. Even if sending them overseas to work on missions or support to NGO’s working in the undeveloped world – this would provide a solid foundation for their future. They must be paid a living wage while doing it, not a pittance, which leaves them entitled to claim benefits.
For those, who are unemployed with no immediate prospect of employment, there must be some form of work in return for being paid benefits, even if it is manual work under local authority supervision – instilling a work ethic and routine and restoring dignity and pride for them, will be key to getting them back into employment.
This might be regarded as Social Engineering, but the reality is, each person is valuable and has something to contribute, and unless we give them an incentive and the dignity to contribute (not penalties for not complying) than they will remain a lost generation.
As a comment on University Dedgrees, a lecturer at university last week told the running joke of what you would say to graduates:
“For the Science and Engineering Graduate” – come, “Welcome, here is a useful job and a career”.
“For the Business and Law Graduate”,
“Welcome here is a job, prospects are not as good as in the past, but you will make a living”.
“for The Arts, Media or Humanities graduate”
“Mine will be a double cheeseburger with fries”
Ah, tactfully omitting mention of whether travel is first or second class… 😉
It all depends – what time of day, whether I have a suitcase and papers to read or not. First with my senior rail card is sometimes cheaper than a regular second class day return. The real difficulties are with the trains – full of litter even at the start of the journey, often no heating (except on very hot summer days!), no coffee, no ticket inspector, such long queues for tickets that people miss their trains (I cite the Passengers’ Charter, which says that if the queue is more than 5 minutes long, one should be allowed to board without a ticket and buy it on the train – you try); unrepaired ticket machines; broken down lift making the stairs to the other platform impossible with heavy suitcase or for the disabled, no platform staff when you need them, and so on.