Childcare Bill

I sympathise with hon. Members who are anxious about new clauses that have been tabled late in the proceedings, and I shall try to deal with their concerns. Government new clause 2 reflects provisions in the Education and Inspections Bill on individual child data in schools. Those are based on provisions in section 537A of the Education Act 1996, which was passed under the previous Administration. The powers in the new clause are almost identical to those provisions because, as I have tried to outline, we have made a big push on early-years provision, so they need to apply to that sector too. The power is an enabling one, based on the long-standing provisions in the 1996 Act. Hon. Members are understandably anxious to probe the nature of the information that will be provided. That will be dealt with in detailed regulations, which will define the nature of the data collected and identify those who can collect it. Information collators may be local authority officers, civil service statisticians or anyone who has the right to collate information on behalf of Government. There is therefore a circumscribed group of people who can collect that information.