Academies Bill [Lords]

I will be brief as well. Many would have liked to speak in this debate, but time is short. I pay tribute to today's maiden speeches, particularly that of my neighbour, my hon. Friend the Member for Penrith and The Border (Rory Stewart). Together, the two of us represent 2,500 square miles—it would cover several countries. He has walked across his, I have attempted to ride across mine, and I can assure hon. Members that I prefer my form of transport. Anyway, he is making great steps and it is great to have him as my neighbour. I also pay tribute to the hon. Member for North West Durham (Pat Glass), who is also my neighbour—we cover so much of the north! She and I have worked for many years in special educational needs, and she spoke eloquently and with great force about the issues. I look at things from a different angle, having represented local authorities and individual applicants for some 15 to 20 years in special educational needs tribunals and SENDISTs—special educational needs and disability tribunals. I have seen all manner of proposals put forward. In particular, I have represented the Hillingdon association of secondary heads, which is known by the acronym HASH, which is appropriate for all the 1960s head teachers. I want to make three points. First, I welcome the fact that the Minister indicated at the outset that the code of practice would be revised and, as I understood it, that that would be legislated for in this House. I hope that that will take place in September, or at the earlier possible opportunity, because the whole problem with this debate is that, as far as an assessment of special educational needs is concerned, there is a parallel process. In that respect, I urge hon. Members to read the comments of Lord Baker of Dorking, who said in another place:"““What is left for the LEA to do…? I will be even more ambitious…about special education, because I think that it is the one role that should be left quite specifically to LEAs.””—[Official Report, House of Lords, 7 June 2010; Vol. 719, c. 519.]" The proposal at present is that the LEA will not be taking over, and that the matter will go first to the Young People's Learning Agency and then, in theory, to the Secretary of State.