Accessible Education

The Parliamentary Information Office of the Parliamentary Yearbook has been monitoring progress in Government policy relating to education for major features in the next edition on both our education system and diversity and inclusiveness

Members of the House of Lords debated the accessible education and training available to those with 'hidden' disabilities, such as dyslexia and autism yesterday (Thursday 28 June).

Members with an interest in education and issues affecting young people were listed to speak during the debate which lasted around two and a half hours.

These include Baroness Jones of Whitchurch (Labour), the opposition spokesperson for education, and Lord Ramsbotham (Crossbench) an adviser for the Helen Hamlyn Trust, a foundation supporting young people through arts and education.

Lord Addington (Liberal Democrat) has a special interest in the topic being dyslexic himself and Vice President of the British Dyslexia Association and patron of the Adult Dyslexia Organisation. He said:

“In society, we have a tendency to ignore those who need just a little bit of help and concentrate on those who need a lot.

“Unfortunately, these hidden disabilities - such as dyslexia, for example - tend to be vastly over-represented among the long-term unemployed and within our prison service and other areas.

“I hope that this debate will bring some of these issues to the fore and encourage the government to help people affected by hidden disabilities aware of the opportunities for education and training that are available to them.”

In opening the debate Lord Addington called for more training to allow those working in the education and training sectors to spot hidden disabilities. He said:

“When I linked autism and dyslexia and included them in hidden disabilities, the main point that I was trying to make was that anything that is not easily spotted at the start of the educational process, whenever someone chooses to take that, leads to problems if it impedes one's learning or classroom situation. How early one gets in and identifies the problem is crucial.”

Vice president of the National Autistic Society, Baroness Browning (Conservative), followed and spoke of her 'battle' to bring autism to the top of the agenda. She highlighted the need to address issues in the classroom and look at each individual case of autism.

She said “Of course, autistic children are different. It is a danger to just lump them all together. Their needs will be different. They are individuals. Their teaching needs will be best addressed by an environment and a teaching process that recognises what those needs are - which needs to be put together after very careful assessment.”

Lord Ramsbotham declared an interest in the subject as chairman of the All-Party Group on Speech and Language Difficulties and an adviser for the Helen Hamlyn Trust, a foundation supporting young people through arts and education. He explained:

“I am very concerned that people with hidden difficulties and disabilities which could be identified early must have them identified, so that the talents and the treasure can be nurtured and developed not just for their benefit, but for the benefit of the nation as a whole.”

Lord Hill of Oareford (Conservative) Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Schools and government spokesperson, Department for Education, responded on behalf of the government saying:

“The government are introducing their children and families bill, which in a way, I hope, sets the framework for much of what we have discussed this afternoon and how we hope to be able to improve things in future, because that bill seeks to put into legislation a new framework for the education and training of disabled children, young people and those with special educational needs.”

The Parliamentary Information Office of the Parliamentary Year book will continue to report on inclusiveness within our education system as we go through the months ahead.

Progress In The Uk’s Green Economy

The Parliamentary Information Office of the Parliamentary Yearbook is currently gathering news items for major features on environment, sustainable energy and climate change in the next edition

The Prime Minister made the case for clean energy in the UK and heralded the rapid progress of the UK's green economy as he addressed delegates at the Clean Energy Ministerial being held in Central London on 26^th April.

The Prime Minister said:

"There are huge challenges facing governments across the world today, and one of the most important of all is how we meet our growing energy demands in a way that protects our planet for our children and grandchildren.

"With global demand forecast to increase by more than 40 per cent in the next two decades, we urgently need a more diverse, cleaner mix of energy sources that will give us energy security without causing irreparable damage to the planet.

"Renewables are now the fastest growing energy source on the planet. And I am proud that Britain has played a leading role at the forefront of this green energy revolution.

"Britain has gone from virtually no capacity for renewables, to seeing them provide almost 10 per cent of our total electricity needs last year. And we’ve added more capacity for renewables in the last two years than at any time in the last decade.

"Our commitment and investment in renewable energy has helped to make renewable energy possible. Now we have a different challenge. We need to make it financially sustainable."

Dedicating much of his remarks to how renewable energy can move from its strong position today to become a truly global industry, the Prime Minister spoke about collaboration between government and business to drive down costs, the need to develop a global carbon price and the importance of enhanced international trading.

Announced alongside the Prime Minister’s speech:

Commercial investment

The Prime Minister highlighted the scale of renewable investment in the UK over the past year. Between April 2011 and February 2012, announcements to the value of £4.7 billion and supporting 15,000 jobs have been made in UK renewable projects across a wide range of sectors, including onshore and offshore wind, bioenergy and marine, and throughout their supply chains.

New industry partnership shaping a second energy revolution for the North Sea

The Prime Minister announced a new industry partnership bringing together key players with an interest in making the most of the North Sea’s renewable energy resource. More than twenty firms based in several different countries have signed up to a shared vision to create a major new renewable energy power centre in the North Sea and to maximise the significant opportunities that come with it. Early signatories include major offshore wind developers, manufacturers, as well as a wide range of supply chain companies.

Offshore wind cost reduction

The Prime Minister also welcomed continuing efforts to reduce technology costs. In the offshore wind sector, the Crown Estate and the industry through the Cost Reduction Task Force, is taking a detailed look at how we can reduce the cost of offshore wind to £100/MWh by 2020, for example, considering the impact of technology, finance and supply chain developments.

Two announcements aimed at reducing the costs of offshore wind were made. A second round of offshore innovation funding – of up to £5m - targeted straight at technologies that can cut costs, is set to open for bids in May. Existing projects are already leading to jobs and investment – for example David Brown is using a £1.2m government grant to support the development of a lower weight, lower cost gear system for the next generation of offshore wind.

Renewables trading

DECC today published a Call for Evidence to identify the potential for and better understand the potential benefits and risks to the UK of renewables trading and inform how we may choose to move forward.

Recent analysis demonstrates that the UK has the capacity to deliver its ambition of 15% of energy from renewable sources by 2020 through domestic action, and the Government remains fully committed to that approach. At the same time, as recognised in the UK Renewable Energy Roadmap published last summer, there is the potential for the UK to work with our European partners on renewable energy deployment. This would allow the UK a commercial opportunity to export energy if there is a surplus of domestic generation, or to import renewable energy if required.

Bioenergy strategy

The Bioenergy strategy, published on 26^th April, sets out an important framework for ensuring that biomass powering our homes, businesses and transport delivers benefits to businesses and consumers while also maximising the environmental benefits. It shows that by the middle of the century, sustainable bioenergy could contribute around 12% to the UK’s total primary energy demand across heat, transport and electricity. This deployment will offer economic opportunities, which we cannot afford to miss.

At the same time a new report by the UK’s National Centre for Biorenewable Energy, Fuels and Materials was also published. This set out that an increase in energy sourced from biomass resources for electricity and heat could support around 35,000 to 50,000 jobs by 2020.

Other UK announcements made during the Clean Energy Ministerial include:

Landmark green investment decision

Announcement yesterday by Vince Cable of the first landmark green infrastructure investment decision. A total of £80 million has been committed to two specialist fund managers - who will make and manage investments in the small scale waste infrastructure sector - by a specialist team within the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills. All BIS investments made by the fund managers will be match-funded, leveraging in at least £80 million more to the projects. The Government is investing directly, on fully commercial terms, ahead of obtaining state aid approval for the UK Green Investment Bank. The fund managers will be responsible for generating and managing investments in areas such as waste recycling and reprocessing facilities, pre-treatment projects and energy-from-waste projects.

Bilateral international agreements to collaborate on energy issues

Signing this week of two new collaborative agreements:

UK/US Memorandum of Understanding: There has been a series of MOUs between the UK and US energy departments dating back to the mid 1980s, the most recent of which expired last year. A renewed MOU has been signed by Ed Davey and Steven Chu encompassing potential collaboration across the energy spectrum and extends to government agencies, universities, science and research centres and the private sector. Initial collaboration will focus on the development of floating wind technology.

In addition the UK and the Republic of Korea are signing an enhanced Memorandum of Understanding extending existing collaboration in science, technology and innovation into the field of energy.

Support for eco innovators

Announcement of an Energy Entrepreneurs Fund with a budget of up to £35 million over the next 3 years.
This will provide financial support for SMEs to develop and demonstrate their ideas. DECC will also shortly launch a £3 million competition to assess the performance of advanced heat storage technologies suitable for integration with domestic heating systems.

Support for CCS in developing markets

Allocation yesterday of UK funding to support the development of new partnerships and capacity building activities around carbon capture and storage in emerging markets. The £60 million contribution is drawn from funding already announced in the Spending Review, and is a contribution to a wider fund of $200 million international fund.

Results-Based Financing Facility

DfID announcement that the UK will help support innovative private companies to bring sustainable energy to some of the poorest countries in Africa and Asia. Under a new fund, a company could receive a top-up for every clean cookstove sold or new customer connected to a local energy grid powered by renewables. It will help accelerate market growth and increase the local provision of clean energy, which can then be offered at a discount to consumers. DFID is expected to help 2.5 million poor people have access to clean energy.

Scaling-Up Renewable Energy Programme

The Deputy Prime Minister and DFID announced increased investment for the Scaling-Up Renewable Energy Programme, which will encourage financial support from the private sector, banks and other governments for low carbon energy projects in poor countries. The UK is already helping 2 million people in some of the world’s poorest countries access clean and reliable energy. Partnering public finance with private investment can help boost economic growth and tackle the global threat of climate change.

This was submitted by the Parliamentary Yearbook. For more information visit Parliamentary Yearbook.

The Future Of Agriculture And Farming

The Parliamentary Information Office of the Parliamentary Yearbook is currently gathering news items for major features in the next edition covering the Government’s measures to help farmers become more competitive whilst still maintaining environmental protection 

In January this year the Government announced the creation of new Rural and Farming Networks giving rural business leaders a hotline to the heart of Government and allowing them to be able to directly shape future rural policies.

Fourteen networks representing different areas of England have been set up to identify and feed back local issues and concerns straight to the heart of Government, in order to make policies more rural-friendly.

The Networks bring together people from rural communities, rural businesses and the food and farming industries. They will make a direct link between rural areas and the Government, creating new opportunities to develop better and more targeted policy.

The new networks sit alongside a £165 million package of measures to support rural communities announced in the Rural Economy Growth Review which aims to maximise the economic potential of rural communities and businesses. The Rural Economy Growth Review included:

• £100 million to grow rural businesses through the Rural Development Programme for England;
• Grants totalling £20 million to extend superfast broadband to the remotest areas;
• New Rural Growth Networks to help rural areas overcome barriers to growth such as poor infrastructure, scarcity of business premises and lack of business networks;
• Action to cut red tape on use of farm buildings to address the shortage of rural business premises;
• £25 million to promote rural tourism and supporting its businesses; and
• Loans totalling £20 million for community-owned renewable energy schemes.

Then in February the farming industry became the first to benefit from the Government’s pledge to slash red tape which hinders business efficiency.

A raft of measures to free farmers from the shackles of unnecessary burdens, help their businesses become more competitive and so provide a boost to the economy whilst still ensuring environmental protection were published in February.

Launching the Government’s full response to Farming Regulation Task Force, Mr Paice, the Farming Minister, committed to take action on 86 per cent of the independent panel’s original recommendations made last May.
Key commitments included:

• A pilot to increase data sharing between government agencies that if successful will be extended, leading to less form filling;
• Closer industry involvement in the policy making process to look for non-regulatory approaches wherever possible, and a Defra-NFU staff exchange programme starting in April;
• Simplifying messages to farmers about environmental protection rules so they know exactly what they have to do to comply;
• Offering a potential way forward for removing the six-day livestock standstill rule, as long the livestock industry can develop a workable approach to the use of livestock separation units which will maintain protection against animal disease and that the changes are affordable and enforceable; and
• Fewer inspections for farmers who already meet high environmental and animal welfare standards, as a result of NFU-led regional networks co-ordinating Government agencies, local councils and assurance scheme providers.
• More effective UK lobbying on key EU farming laws, by working closely with industry experts through strategy groups;
• Scheduled meetings between the Department of Transport and the NFU on changing rules restricting tractor and trailer weights;
• Making it easier for farmers to access Government services on-line;
• A fly-tipping summit to bring together organisations across all sectors to galvanise support for regional action; and
• Defra workshops with farmers to look at how paperwork can be reduced.

In March, as the next stage of the £165 million package of support to help unlock the economic potential of our rural areas, this was followed by the launch of a new £20 million scheme to help provide work-based training for rural businesses.

There will be training opportunities in business management and computer skills (ICT), improving resource efficiency, developing leadership qualities, and improving animal health and welfare. Businesses will also be able to apply for training to improve traditional rural and farming skills and take new business opportunities in rural tourism.

Around one thousand rural farms and businesses will soon turn business plans into reality as the first grants from the new £20 million Farming and Forestry Improvement Scheme are approved by Defra, Farming Minister, Jim Paice announced in April.

Farmers, foresters and horticulturalists will receive grants of up to £25,000 to invest in green projects and new machinery so their businesses can grow in a more sustainable way.

The Farming and Forestry Improvement Scheme will fund new profit-boosting green schemes that:

• save energy and reduce carbon emissions;
• reduce dependence on artificial fertilizers through better use of manures;
• improve soil quality;
• improve animal health and welfare;
• save and recycle water; and
• promote woodland management by processing timber more efficiently.

These schemes are part of Defra’s £100 million package of investments through the Rural Development Programme for England that was announced in the Rural Economy Growth Review in November 2011.

The Parliamentary Information Office of the Parliamentary Yearbook will continue to report on the progress of the measures as we go through the months ahead.

Teach First Funding

The Parliamentary Information Office of the Parliamentary Yearbook has been monitoring progress in Government policy relating to higher education for a major feature in the next edition on further and higher education

Education Secretary Michael Gove announced earlier this month that the Government will provide further funding to accelerate the expansion of Teach First – the successful charity which recruits top graduates to work in the most challenging schools.

The charity Teach First is a powerful movement founded to directly address the problem of educational disadvantage. Founded in 2002, Teach First has already changed the lives of thousands of young people.

Teach First harnesses the energy, enthusiasm and drive of exceptional graduates to provide leadership, motivation and, above all, inspirational teaching in schools in challenging circumstances across England.

Since its founding in 2002, Teach First has placed over 2,520 teachers in schools in challenging circumstances to work with students to raise their achievement, access and aspirations. It has also been voted 7th in the The Times Top 100 Graduate Employers, positioning it as the highest ranking charity in the history of the survey.

The Prime Minister said of the charity

"Teach First is a programme that recognises our shared responsibility for raising standards in schools, combining business, the voluntary sector and schools themselves. Fast tracking exceptional graduates into challenging inner city schools is a great idea and one that should be expanded nationwide."

This month’s announcement means that tens of thousands of children across England will benefit from a £32.4million Government investment in the programme next year – an increase of more than £3million. The majority of this funding goes to Teach First’s 14 university training partners.

The funding will help the charity train 1,250 top graduates, from 70 different universities, next year before they go on to join schools in the most challenging circumstances – double the number who took part in the charity’s Leadership Development Programme in 2010.

The Government has also announced its support of Teach First’s goal to train 1,500 participants in 2014/15 – triple the number who took part in the Leadership Development Programme in 2010.

Education Secretary Michael Gove said:

“The countries which give their children the best education in the world are those which value their teachers most highly and where the profession attracts the brightest graduates.

“Our priority is to deliver robust standards and high quality teaching to all pupils, whatever their background.
To do this we must attract highly talented people into education because the quality of teachers has a greater influence on children's achievement than any other aspect of their education.

“By expanding Teach First, the Government is delivering on this commitment.

“Teach First works in primary and secondary schools where more than half of pupils come from the poorest 30 per cent of families in the UK.

“This expansion will mean that Teach First would be able to reach 90 per cent of eligible schools by 2016, boosting the Government’s commitment to recruit more top teachers across England.

“It will also make Teach First the largest graduate recruiter in the country. It recruits exceptional graduates – those having at least a 2.1 degree – who go through a thorough assessment process and intensive two-year training programme.”

The announcement comes as part of the Coalition Government’s drive to raise standards in our schools, by making it a highly attractive career for top graduates.

Welcoming the additional Government support, Brett Wigdortz, CEO and Founder of Teach First, said:

“I’m delighted that in our 10th anniversary year the Coalition Government has confirmed this significant contribution to support the growth of Teach First.

“We have always been extremely grateful for the cross party support Teach First has received from governments over the past decade, as well as the support of our other partners, including schools, universities and businesses, who collectively ensure that we can achieve our goals.

“This decision will help us to get one step closer to our ambitious aim to ensure that no child's educational success is limited by their socio-economic background.”

The additional Government grant, which accounts for a significant amount of Teach First’s overall funding, will help them to expand into two new regions – Kent & Medway in 2012 and the South West in 2013.

It will also help support the growth of its Teach On programme, which accelerates Teach First teachers to become senior leaders and head teachers.

The Parliamentary Information Office of the Parliamentary Yearbook will continue to report on the progress of the Teach First and Teach On programmes as we go through the months ahead.

£56 Million To Help Cultural Organisations Build Endowments

In these times of austerity, the Parliamentary Information Office of the Parliamentary Yearbook is currently following closely the arrangements for the funding of arts and heritage organisations for a  major feature  in the next edition

In July last year Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt announced the creation of a new £55 million scheme, chaired by former Cabinet Minister Michael Portillo, to help arts and heritage organisations secure their future financial stability by building endowment funds.

Organisations will be able to bid for grants of up to £5 million to support endowment fundraising from the Endowment Fund, which will be available to match funds raised from private donors. Bids will be reviewed by an independent advisory panel chaired by Michael Portillo. Around 50 organisations were expected to benefit from the grants which start at £500,000.

Endowments are typically large funds held in perpetuity by organisations, helping to provide long term financial security by contributing to annual running costs through the interest earned by the fund. They are often used in the United States by large cultural organisations but are currently less common in the UK.

Then last week it was announced that 34 arts and heritage organisations across England, after successfully applying for a share of the new £56 million scheme, are set to get a £162 million funding boost. The successful projects are expected to attract an additional £106 million from private and corporate donors as a result of the scheme.

The Catalyst: Endowments programme is a joint initiative between the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), Arts Council England and the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF).

The successful organisations will use the grants of between £500,000 and £5 million to attract money from private philanthropic sources.

Applications were assessed by an independent panel chaired by Michael Portillo, and final awards made by the National Council of Arts Council England and the Board of Trustees of the Heritage Lottery Fund. Many of the successful applicants have already secured pledges from donors or are in productive discussions with prospective corporate and individual sponsors.

Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport Jeremy Hunt said:

“Long term financial stability is an essential part of a successful cultural sector. With these grants, and the additional money they are bringing in, I’m delighted that we’ve been able to get a significant number of organisations on the road to long-lasting and sustainable endowments which will continue to support their work for years to come.”

Michael Portillo said:

“The Advisory Panel was impressed with the calibre of the applications we saw. I believe those we recommended for approval are well-placed to secure match funding from donors, and to build endowments which should strengthen their future financial resilience.”

Dame Jenny Abramsky, Chair of the Heritage Lottery Fund, said:

“The Catalyst: Endowments Programme is part of our response to helping boost private giving across the heritage sector. Alongside our plans to build the fundraising capacity of smaller groups, we expect the programme to form part of a shift in approach to philanthropic giving that will help build financial resilience and attract new money to heritage groups of every size.”

Dame Liz Forgan, Chair of Arts Council England said:

“Public funding of the arts in this country is at the heart of their success. It enables organisations to attract private investors, and gives them the confidence to continue to take the bold artistic leaps that keep audiences coming.

“Catalyst Endowments and Catalyst Arts will help support that public investment, increasing the sustainability of our world class arts organisations who bring delight to millions and play such an important part in our national economy.”

Other members of the panel, chaired by Michael Portillo, were:

Dame Liz Forgan, Chair, Arts Council England; Dame Jenny Abramsky, Chair, Heritage Lottery Fund; Veronica Wadley, member of National Council for Arts Council England and Chair, London Regional Arts Council; Hilary Lade, Trustee, Heritage Lottery Fund; David Verey CBE, Chairman of the Trustees of the Art Fund and DCMS lead non-executive director; John Studzinski CBE, investor, philanthropist and senior director at private equity firm Blackstone; and Roger De Haan CBE, philanthropist and creator of Saga group of companies.

We shall be adding to the article as there are further developments and any changes to the plans will be reflected in the content. The full report will be published in print and online in the next edition of the Parliamentary Yearbook.

Women In Business

The Parliamentary Information Office of the Parliamentary Yearbook has been following closely the Government’s drive to increase the proportion of women in British boardrooms and will be publishing the results in the next edition

In February this year David Cameron warned that the lack of women in Britain's boardrooms is holding back the country's economic recovery. The Prime Minister said there was clear evidence to signal that ending Britain's male-dominated business culture would improve economic performance.

At present, just 15% of FTSE 100 directors are women.

In the last year, 27% of board-level appointments at FTSE 100 companies have gone to female applicants, but one in ten of Britain's biggest firms still have all-male boards.

A Government-commissioned report last year said quotas should be imposed unless top firms acted to increase the number of women on their boards to at least one in four by 2015.

Mr Cameron pledged to learn lessons from Nordic and Baltic countries as he joined eight of their leaders for a summit in the Swedish capital, Stockholm. He said:

"The drive for more women in business is not simply about equal opportunity, it's about effectiveness.

"It's about quality, not just equality. That's why one of the things we'll be discussing in Sweden is what other countries are doing to help women become entrepreneurs and take up leading positions in business.

"Women now make up nearly half the workforce across Europe and the majority of university degrees. But they are still not sufficiently represented at the senior boardroom level.

"The evidence is that there is a positive link between women in leadership and business performance, so if we fail to unlock the potential of women in the labour market, we're not only failing those individuals, we're failing our whole economy.

"We're already helping women to set up and grow their own business in the UK. But the Nordic and Baltic countries are leading the way in Europe, with female representation on boards far above the EU average.

"So I want to get ideas in Stockholm that we can take back to London to explore if they could help us get more women into British boardrooms, boosting profits and contributing to the economic growth we all urgently need".

Last November the Home Secretary announced funding to recruit and train 5,000 mentors as part of a package of support for women in business. The Department for Business revealed a further 10,000 mentors would be recruited to support both male and female entrepreneurs.

Today the Home Secretary announced the fact that thousands of successful women have joined the drive to kick-start growth by mentoring other women wanting to succeed in business.

Inspirational mentoring champions include Specsavers founder Dame Mary Perkins and Dawn Russell, who survived cancer and now runs her own foundation aimed at boosting self-worth in young women.

Other high-profile ambassadors promoting mentoring include Hallett Retail founder Wendy Hallett and digital business entrepreneur Penny Power.

Home Secretary and Minister for Women and Equalities Theresa May said:

“Women are vital to Britain's economic future and the support of a mentor will help even more of them fulfil their true potential.

“The Government is working hard to help women make the most of their talents, but we cannot act alone. I'm delighted by these mentors' commitment to helping budding businesswomen succeed - and to making Britain prosper.”

The Home Secretary also announced updates to a range of additional support for women in business:

• Think, Act, Report – case studies are being published today showing how adopting the principles behind the Government's voluntary approach to diversity at work has helped leading firms - including BT, Tesco and Ernst & Young - reap business rewards
• Women's Business Council - the council is today publishing the work programme for its one-year mission to identify and break down the barriers to female success
• Women and banks - the government is revealing the initial findings of its review to ensure women have equal access to the finance they need to start a business

The Home Office also published today details of a £2m programme to help female entrepreneurs in rural areas start or build their own business.

Equalities Minister Lynne Featherstone said:

“'Britain has many talented women who will thrive as these Rural Growth Networks give them the tools they need to launch or develop their own businesses.

“Women are about half as likely as men to become entrepreneurs and we need to harness their untapped skills. Living in a rural area can also present specific challenges that these projects aim to address.”

The Parliamentary Information Office of the Parliamentary Year book will continue to report on the progress of the measures as we go through the months ahead.

Aung San Suu Kyi Addresses Both Houses Of Parliament

The Parliamentary Information Office of the Parliamentary Yearbook adds to the welcome given by Members of both houses when she addressed them yesterday

Nobel prize winner and newly elected parliamentarian Aung San Suu Kyi addressed members of both Houses in Westminster Hall yesterday (Thursday 21 June) at 3pm during her visit to the UK and became the first non-head of State and only the second woman to address both houses. The other is of course Her Majesty the Queen.

Commons Speaker, John Bercow MP, gave a welcome address introducing Aung San Suu Kyi’s speech. Mr Bercow said:

“This Hall has hosted many events over the past 900 years. In recent times only a few international figures - Charles de Gaulle, Nelson Mandela, Pope Benedict XVI and Barack Obama - have spoken here. Today Daw Aung San Suu Kyi will become the first figure other than a Head of State, the first woman from abroad and the first citizen of Asia to do so.

“This is not a break from precedent without a purpose. The courage of our guest is legendary. She has withstood the unimaginable suffering of separation from her family and her people with a dignity, fortitude and resolve which most of us can barely conceive. Her connections with the United Kingdom, reinforced in Oxford yesterday, are intimate. She has been the symbol of resistance to a regime which even in an imperfect world has been exceptional in its barbarity. As the UN has documented, and from three trips to Burma's borders I can myself attest, this is a cabal guilty of rape as a weapon of war, extra-judicial killings, compulsory relocation, forced labour, deployment of child soldiers, use of human minesweepers, incarceration of opponents in unspeakable conditions, destruction of villages, obstruction of aid and excruciating torture. Burma has become a beautiful but benighted land where fear runs through society like blood flowing through veins. One woman has now defied a dictatorship of such depravity for two decades. That is why Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, a leader and a stateswoman, is here with us this afternoon.

“However, there is room for cautious optimism. The recent election to Parliament of our guest, accompanied by 42 of her colleagues, and the release of many political prisoners are welcome signs of reform. We earnestly hope that further, and fundamental, reform will ultimately lead to the freedom, democracy and rule of law which we have so long enjoyed and the people of Burma have too long been denied. There is an Asian saying that a journey of a thousand miles must start with a single step. We are proud that one such step will be taken in this Parliament today.

“Parliamentary colleagues, ladies and gentlemen, it is my privilege to welcome the conscience of a country and a heroine for humanity, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi.”

In her address she said it was important to empower the people of Burma, and now was her country's time of greatest need. Ms Suu Kyi said:

"I am here in part to ask for practical help, help as a friend and an equal, in support of the reforms which can bring better lives, greater opportunities, to the people of Burma who have been for so long deprived of their rights and their place in the world.

"My country today stands at the start of a journey towards, I hope, a better future. So many hills remain to be climbed, chasms to be bridged, obstacles to be breached.

"Our own determination can get us so far. The support of the people of Britain and of peoples around the world can get us so much further."

She stressed that it had been less than 100 days since she was on the campaign trail in Burma and went on to have the electoral success that that has made her opposition leader in parliament.

This remarkable personal transition encourages her in her belief that "before too long" Burma will become a truly democratic society.”

But she warns that Burma's transition will be tough - "the most difficult road we have ever walked", she said in the address.

Vital, in her view, is help in building Burma's democratic institutions and education, and developing a "clean and efficient" civil service.

Ms Suu Kyi concluded her speech by saying there was a lot more work to be done before reform in Burma was complete.

She said: "I would ask that our friends, both here in Britain and beyond, participate in and support Burma's efforts towards the establishment of a truly democratic and just society.”

Lord Speaker, Baroness D’Souza, gave a valedictory address thanking Aung San Suu Kyi following her speech. She said:

“On behalf of the House of Lords, and everyone here today, may I express our collective and heartfelt thanks for your inspiring words.

“We all espouse freedom and democracy but few of us are called upon to pay for and uphold these principles by spending 15 years in detention. Your presence here today is a testament to your courageous approach of steadfast non-violence and reason in the face of an oppressive, powerful and determined regime.

“Your struggle has reverberated around the world. It has forcibly reminded us that free and fair elections, a free press, an independent judiciary, and the institutions of civil society are the cornerstones of democracy and individual freedom. We take these freedoms for granted at our peril. Democracy is never won once and forever – it is a process requiring constant vigilance. Today you have reminded us of the struggle that must continue in Burma and elsewhere.

“In post-war Europe we have seen that it is possible for countries to make the transition from totalitarianism to democracy, and I trust that this will give you hope and encouragement for the journey ahead.

“Your stand against repression has been at the heart of the National League for Democracy’s struggle. I am sure that at times during your long campaign you must have felt unbearably lonely, though as you yourself have said, the Nobel Peace Prize allowed you to feel part of the international community. And indeed, through you, your people and your country were always in our minds.

“Now, together, we must use this occasion of your address to fellow parliamentarians to renew our own determination to be part of the struggle for liberty whenever and wherever it arises.”

The proprietors and staff of the Parliamentary Year book add to those good wishes and will follow closely Burma’s transition to a true democracy.