Education and Skills Bill

Our amendments in this group complement those of the noble Baroness, Lady Sharp. Clause 10 establishes the duty on local education authorities to promote the participation of young people in education or training in their area who are subject to the duty to participate. We of course do not wish those young people to be under a duty, so have tabled amendments with alternative wordings. Our problem with Clause 10 is the apparent imbalance between the responsibilities of young people to comply with the obligations established by the Bill and the much looser duties placed on local authorities. These concerns have been raised in another place and by the Special Educational Consortium. As currently drafted the Bill imposes sanctions which can include criminal penalties for individual pupils who are not in appropriate full-time education or training, but imposes only a general duty through Clause 10 on LEAs to promote participation in such education or training. Young people can benefit from the Bill only if a range of appropriate, high-quality provision is available to them. The duty set out in this amendment is intended to rebalance those responsibilities. It would place an explicit duty on LEAs to secure sufficient and appropriate provision for their population of 16 to 18 year-olds. Currently, responsibility for provision for 16 to 18 year-olds rests with the Learning and Skills Council. When responsibility is transferred to local authorities, a stronger duty should be imposed. As my colleague John Hayes said on this subject in another place, "““the more insistent that we can be and the Bill can be on these matters, the better. We must not be found wanting in any way, shape or form when it comes to people who are the most challenged””.—[Official Report, Commons, 7/2/08; col. 446.]" I wholeheartedly agree with him. Amendment No. 58 was inspired by the National Union of Teachers. We share its concerns that local authorities might not take into account all the changes that the Bill makes. There will be an increase in the number of pupils staying on at school to complete A-levels. The amendment would require local authorities to have regard to the duties imposed on schools by this legislation when they are deciding on their budgets, so that they are not caught short if more pupils have to be provided for. The Liberal Democrats have tabled Amendment No. 67, which would identify the failing with reference to any special educational needs. I entirely endorse that. It is deeply worrying that many young people who are labelled as disruptive, or who are falling behind, actually have special needs that simply are not being picked up. There must be protection written into the Bill so that those who are left behind because they have special needs are not then penalised because nothing has been done to identify their problem and to help them. Amendment No. 110 would ensure that if the Secretary of State issued guidance to local authorities, that guidance would be placed in the House of Commons Library. I am sure that the Government will have no problem accepting this straightforward accountability measure.