My Lords, never again will a pupil with medical conditions be excluded from full or part-time education, school trips, physical education and extra-curricular activities because of their medical condition. I applaud the Government for the stance they have taken in this area, as do the voluntary and charitable sectors. This is light years from where we were before. This document, which is still for consultation—that will be an opportunity to feed in many of the issues—is one of the best things I have seen. It deals in detail with a whole host of issues. A few things are missing from that document, and I look forward to feeding them in during the consultation period.
The important thing for me, which is in the document, is that governing bodies will have the responsibility to ensure that the procedures are followed and that when a school is first notified that a pupil has a medical condition, action will follow. Governing bodies will also ensure that the policies cover the role of individual healthcare plans. I agree with the noble Lord, Lord Kennedy, on this—and I will be interested in the Minister’s reply—as I cannot envisage a situation where a child or young person who has a medical condition would not have a healthcare plan. I cannot get my head around that, as it seems obvious. This is not bureaucratic or about more clerical work, but just plain common sense. I hope that the Minister will respond to that point.
I like the point made in this document that supporting a child is not just the responsibility of the school but a partnership between professionals and the parents themselves. I also like that GPs will have responsibility for notifying schools when a child has a medical condition. That is important, and it has often not happened in the past. I will end by thanking the Minister for taking this important issue forward, and I look forward to his response on the issue of healthcare plans.