Education and Skills Bill

moved Amendment No. 209A: 209A: Clause 71, page 42, line 18, at beginning insert ““co-operate where appropriate with local education authorities and”” The noble Baroness said: This is an unassuming little amendment. The need for it in the Bill is so clear that I have a faint hope that the Minister will accept it. Clause 71 specifies many duties that we very much welcome, although some of us feel that it does not go far enough, as the Committee will hear from the noble Baroness, Lady Howe of Idlicote, in the next two groups. The Learning and Skills Council must take into account a number of issues. New Section 4A(5)(d) states that it must, "““act with a view to encouraging diversity of education and training available to individuals””." FE colleges will supply the majority of the post-19 market, and there will of course need to be close co-operation between them, the 14-to-19 partnerships, local authorities and the Learning and Skills Council to ensure effective planning and commissioning and that there is enough capacity throughout pre- and post-19 provision. We know that next year the duties of the Learning and Skills Council will be devolved elsewhere. However, for the moment, it is the organisation with responsibility for post-19. It is blindingly obvious that if the LSC and its successors are to have regard, as it says in new paragraph (d), to, "““act with a view to encouraging diversity of education and training available to individuals””," it will need to co-operate where appropriate with the local authority. That is the unassuming little amendment that we have added to the new section in Clause 71. I look forward to hearing the Minister accept it or, if not, justifying not accepting it. I beg to move.