Education and Skills Bill

moved Amendment No. 70: 70: Clause 13, page 7, line 26, at end insert— ““( ) an independent education institution entered in the register of independent education institutions maintained by the Chief Inspector under section 80;”” The noble Baroness said: Amendment No. 70 relates to Clause 13, which puts a duty on education institutions to inform the authorities if a person under the age of 18 stops attending; in other words, if they fail in the duty to participate. However, for some reason, the list of education institutions in the clause does not include independent schools. The purpose of the amendment is to probe why the Government have left them out of the duty. Does the Minister think that, because a young person’s parents are paying for him or her to attend a school after the age of 16, they will make sure that he attends? Not all young people from privileged backgrounds are well motivated. Indeed, not all the young people who attend independent schools could be described as privileged in the usual sense of the word, as some are there on scholarships. A particular issue arises in relation to independent special schools, whose pupils are most likely to be school shy. If the school does not inform the authority—which, after all, has a duty in this matter—who is expected to do so? The authority cannot be expected to carry out its duty to support the young person if it does not know that there is a problem. Is it the duty of the parents? If so, what can you do about parents if they do not comply with that duty? I wonder whether there is an issue in relation to data protection legislation. If so, surely that would affect employers as well. The Government have put a duty on employers to inform the authority if a young person on an apprenticeship or in work-based learning is absent. Presumably this duty lets them off the hook as regards data protection; therefore, why not give the same duty to independent schools? If there is a system designed to ensure that young people in the maintained sectors participate until they are 18, surely the equity principle means that those in the independent sector should be treated in the same way. If Amendment No. 70 were agreed to, independent institutions would also have to comply with the Clause 14 duty to provide information, including all the safeguards that we would like to see in relation to that issue. That is for a later debate. In the mean time, I beg to move.