Education and Skills Bill

moved Amendment No. 228A: 228A: Clause 137, page 90, line 24, at end insert— ““(2) In relation to a code for school admissions issued under section 84(1) of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998 (c.31) after the passing of this Act, the requirement to consult which is imposed by section 85(2) of that Act may be satisfied by consultation undertaken before the passing of this Act, even though the code takes account (to any extent) of any provision made by this Act.”” The noble Lord said: I shall speak also to Amendments Nos. 231C, 233A, 233AA, 233AB, 238 and 239. Government Amendment No. 228A provides that the requirement to consult on the draft statutory codes relating to school admissions or appeals will be satisfied by consulting on a draft code that refers to provisions in this Bill which are not yet law. This will allow the codes to remain current and relevant, and reduce the overall burden of consultation on audiences such as schools and local authorities. Government Amendments Nos. 233A, 233AA and 233AB relate to the commencement of the school admissions provisions in the Bill by Welsh Ministers. The amendments make a slight change to the power of Welsh Ministers to commence paragraph 58 of Schedule 1 so that it is in line with the remainder of their commencement powers, and my noble friend Lady Morgan stands ready to wax eloquent on Welsh provisions if there is a further requirement for explanation. Government Amendment No. 231C is a technical amendment that makes the meaning of ““prescribed”” and ““regulations”” clearer throughout the Bill. For the avoidance of any doubt, it is better for these terms to be set out in the Bill. Amendments Nos. 238 and 239 refer to the Welfare Reform and Pensions Act 1999. They ensure that social security information may be shared between the Department for Work and Pensions and a county council where that county council is exercising social security functions in respect of a young person for whom it is required to provide support via the Connexions service under Clause 54. Regulations made under this social security legislation define a local authority by reference to the Social Security Administration Act 1992. This definition of ““local authority”” does not include a county council of England. Therefore, but for these amendments, the current data sharing would not be able to continue where a county council is exercising its Connexions functions. These are purely technical amendments resulting from the transfer of the Connexions service to local authorities under Clause 54 and enables current practices to continue. I beg to move.