Education and Skills Bill

moved Amendment No. 118: 118: Clause 34, page 18, line 35, at end insert— ““( ) Prior to entering into a parenting contract, the local education authority shall ensure that parents’ needs are assessed by the appropriate local authority adult services.”” The noble Baroness said: Parenting contracts are designed as another means of enforcing the duty to participate in education or training. I shall use this opportunity to explore, with the Minister’s assistance, how the Government think the provisions will work in practice. Clauses 34 and 35 create parenting contracts and orders, so that parents of 16 to 18 year-olds who are failing to fulfil their Clause 2 duties have a responsibility to get their children to participate. I worry that the Bill envisages ideal family circumstances, when we all realise that the young people at whom the provisions are directed are most likely, alas, to come from—the Minister used the phrase, too—chaotic family backgrounds. The young people in question are in their late teens. They may no longer live with their parents or even have any contact with them. They may even, quite properly in the eyes of the law, be parents themselves. In the former instance, where there is little or no contact with parents, let alone an element of parental control, the contracts and orders will simply be unenforceable. Parenting problems may have been a contributing factor to the decision to drop out of education or training in the first place. In the second instance, where a 16 or 17 year-old is already a parent, is it not rather incongruous for them to be subject to an order involving their own parents? How does the Minister see the provisions working in practice? Our Amendment No. 118 would add a new subsection to Clause 34 requiring local authorities to ensure that the particular needs of the parents are assessed by the adult services department before a parenting contract is proposed or entered into. The amendment was inspired by the Princess Royal Trust for Carers, which is concerned that young people who are carers, carrying a heavy responsibility for sick parents or siblings, may find themselves in breach of the duties to participate in education or training because of the burden of their own responsibilities. Local authorities would be under a duty to assess whether family circumstances made it a good idea to launch into contract proceedings. Amendment No. 119 would simply postpone the operation of Clause 34 until any recommendations for carers had been implemented. Amendment No. 120 would allow appeals against parenting orders where insufficient provisions were in place to enable a young person to participate. The amendment came from the National Union of Teachers. I hope that it is clear that the amendments are a genuine attempt to help iron out potential problems before they arise. My noble friend has tabled clause-stand-part Questions, and I shall follow the debate on them with interest. I have already articulated my concerns about parenting contracts and orders. I hope that the Minister will be able to reassure the Committee. I beg to move.