My Lords, we now come to an issue that has taken up a great deal of my time and this House’s time over the past three or four years. We have found that, through a variety of unfortunate events, people with dyslexia taking apprenticeships have been unable to obtain the final qualification because they could not take the necessary English or maths test. It is an absurd situation about which I have bent the ear of numerous Ministers over the past few years. Indeed, numerous Ministers have given me a series of responses, such as “This should not be happening. Oh! It is happening”, and then they have read out briefs which have stated that.
After Committee stage, I was rather surprised when I got a letter from the Minister which stated quite clearly that this situation is not lawful, effectively. I do not know whether that is exactly the correct term, but under the Equality Act, this should not have happened, and the Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Act did not preclude it taking place. We have come to a situation that should not have happened. My noble friend rather took the wind out of my sails for a few minutes when I received his letter because I just did not expect that something that definitive would arrive. A series of emotions went through me and I asked myself what I had I been wasting my time on and why.
This amendment is to ask my noble friend what should happen now. If it does not happen, what will be done about it? We have a situation in which practice has been established. Providers of apprenticeships do not have to get people with dyslexia through this. They do not have to make the adaptation provided here. The examining bodies and colleges have not been doing it, so if we are changing this now, which I believe will be the case—I hope it will be the case—
I would like to know exactly what will happen. Indeed, if these people do not do this, what will happen to them? What is the legal framework? What is the duty involved?
Having established this, the need for Amendment 46D became apparent to me when I had the first meeting with officials on this. Indeed, when I asked about an appeal, the expression “no good deed goes unpunished” must have been running through their heads because there is now another issue. There are people who have been failed because people have been saying it is a legal requirement. What happens to them? Potentially, there is a legal challenge here. If we do not do something about it, there will be a legal challenge about loss of earnings or lower earnings for life because of not being qualified. Are we going to employ the plumber, the carpenter or so on who has the apprenticeship or the one who does not? If you do not get some form of redress here, somebody has let you down. There is a challenge. I suggest that a reassessment or an appeal of some sort is the most sensible thing to do. I look forward to what my noble friend will say about this.
On the process and criteria, there will be some cases that will be easy to assess. If you have completed the course but failed the English test and you are dyslexic, it is not that difficult. There are problems because we have changed the name of the English test and have slightly changed its nature—it has gone from “key skills” to “functional skills”—but it should not be beyond the wit of man. It has been going on for less than four years and there are records. We should be able to follow them up. I owe my noble friend a great deal of thanks for making sure of and correcting the legal situation—unless there has been another bolt from the blue over this—and I hope he will be able to give me some assurance that this will take place because it should. I beg to move.
7.45 pm