Baroness Thornton (Lab)

My Lords, there are two important things in this debate. First, as the noble Lord, Lord Sandhurst, acknowledged, the Government have already taken action on many of the amendments he has proposed, which is of course to be welcomed. I would however, like to seek some assurance. Supporting schools to make sure that parents approve of materials is absolutely fine, but how can schools be supported to resist the one or two parents who might object to materials, when doing so risks depriving all pupils of those resources? Those parents of course have every right to remove their children from RSHE, but they should not be able to deprive everybody else of materials that have already been approved and are of a high enough standard. The high standard is something this Government have already mentioned. Turning to Amendment 502YE, we would all agree that schools need clear guidance to support gender-questioning children, but rushing out statutory guidance will help neither those young people nor the schools. I would therefore much prefer to let the Government take the time to get this right. Everybody acknowledges that it is a sensitive issue, particularly right now.