I will not give way to the hon. Gentleman; I will give way only to Back Benchers.
The hon. Member for Harrogate and Knaresborough (Mr. Willis) is absolutely right. There was a strong case for splitting the bodies, and having a separate qualification development agency. Of course, the idea has developed over time, and the development is partly the result of nudging from the Select Committees. The Children, Schools and Families Committee has not yet finalised its report on the national curriculum, but my view is that we have needed a strong, independent voice on the national curriculum and curriculum matters for a long time. Very few people have mentioned the issue today; I am surprised that the Front Benchers did not mention it at all. If we really want a robust curriculum, independence and integrity are needed, and we need the issue to be considered over the long term.
Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Bill
Proceeding contribution from
Barry Sheerman
(Labour)
in the House of Commons on Monday, 23 February 2009.
It occurred during Debate on bills on Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Bill.
About this proceeding contribution
Reference
488 c67 Session
2008-09Chamber / Committee
House of Commons chamberSubjects
Librarians' tools
Timestamp
2024-04-21 09:50:46 +0100
URI
http://data.parliament.uk/pimsdata/hansard/CONTRIBUTION_530407
In Indexing
http://indexing.parliament.uk/Content/Edit/1?uri=http://data.parliament.uk/pimsdata/hansard/CONTRIBUTION_530407
In Solr
https://search.parliament.uk/claw/solr/?id=http://data.parliament.uk/pimsdata/hansard/CONTRIBUTION_530407