Education Bill [HL]

House of Commons

Session 2004 - 05
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Other Bills before Parliament

Education Bill [HL]

Education Bill [HL]
Part 4 — Miscellaneous
60

(a)
an Act of the Scottish Parliament, or
(b)
any Northern Ireland legislation as defined in section 24(5) of the
Interpretation Act 1978 (c. 30).
110
Supply of information: free school lunches etc.
(1)
This subsection applies to information held for the purposes of functions
5
relating to tax credits—
(a)
by the Commissioners of Inland Revenue, or
(b)
by a person providing services to them, in connection with the
provision of those services.
(2)
This subsection applies to information held for the purposes of functions
10
relating to social security—
(a)
by the Secretary of State, or
(b)
by a person providing services to him, in connection with the provision
of those services.
(3)
Information to which subsection (1) or (2) applies may be supplied—
15
(a)
to the Secretary of State, or any person providing services to him, or
(b)
to the Assembly, or any person providing services to the Assembly,

for use for the purpose of determining eligibility for free school lunches and
milk.
(4)
Information to which subsection (2) applies may be supplied to a local
20
education authority for use for that purpose.
(5)
Information received by virtue of subsection (3) may be supplied—
(a)
to another person to whom it could have been supplied under that
subsection, or
(b)
to a local education authority,
25

for use for that purpose.
(6)
The references in subsections (4) and (5)(b) to a local education authority
include references to any person exercising on behalf of such an authority
functions relating to eligibility for free school lunches and milk.
(7)
For the purposes of this section, a person is eligible for free school lunches and
30
milk if school lunches and milk are required to be provided for him, on request,
free of charge—
(a)
in accordance with section 512ZB(2) and (3) of the Education Act 1996
(c. 56),
(b)
in accordance with regulations under section 342 of that Act (non-
35
maintained special schools), or
(c)
in accordance with an agreement under section 482 of that Act
(Academies, etc.).
(8)
In this section, “school lunch” has the same meaning as in section 512 of the
Education Act 1996.
40
(9)
This section does not limit the circumstances in which information may be
supplied apart from this section.

Education Bill [HL]
Part 4 — Miscellaneous
61

111
Unauthorised disclosure of information received under section 110
(1)
A person (“X”) who discloses information which he has received by virtue of
any of subsections (3) to (5) of section 110 and which relates to a particular
person commits an offence unless the information is disclosed—
(a)
in the case of information received by virtue of subsection (3) of that
5
section, in accordance with subsection (5) of that section,
(b)
in the course of any duty X has in connection with the exercise of
functions relating to eligibility for free school lunches and milk,
(c)
in accordance with an enactment or an order of a court, or
(d)
with consent given by or on behalf of the person to whom the
10
information relates.
(2)
In subsection (1)(b), “eligibility for free school lunches and milk” is to be read
in accordance with section 110(7).
(3)
It is a defence for a person charged with an offence under subsection (1) to
prove that he reasonably believed that his disclosure was lawful.
15
(4)
A person guilty of an offence under subsection (1) is liable—
(a)
on conviction on indictment, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding
two years, to a fine or to both, or
(b)
on summary conviction, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12
months, to a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum or to both.
20
(5)
In relation to an offence committed before the commencement of section 154(1)
of the Criminal Justice Act 2003 (c. 44), the reference in subsection (4)(b) to 12
months is to be read as a reference to 6 months.
112
Power to provide that function of determining eligibility remains with LEA
In section 512A of the Education Act 1996 (c. 56) (transfer of functions under
25
section 512 of that Act to governing bodies), in subsection (4) for paragraph (b)
substitute—
“(b)
if the duty corresponds to the one mentioned in subsection
(2)(b) or (c)—
(i)
the order may provide that, notwithstanding the other
30
provisions of the order, the function of determining
whether pupils at the school fall within section 512ZB(4)
is to be exercisable by the local education authority, and
(ii)
section 533(3) shall not apply to school lunches or milk
provided by the governing body in pursuance of the
35
order.”
113
Information about the school workforce: introductory
(1)
Subsections (2) and (3) apply for the purposes of section 114.
(2)
“Qualifying worker” means any person who—
(a)
is employed at, or otherwise engaged to work at, a school,
40
(b)
does not fall within paragraph (a) but provides, or assists in the
provision of, education under a contract of employment or for services
where the other party to the contract is—
(i)
a children’s services authority in England or Wales, or

Education Bill [HL]
Part 4 — Miscellaneous
62

(ii)
a person exercising a function relating to the provision of
education on behalf of such an authority, or
(c)
provides education at a further education institution.
(3)
“Qualifying trainee” means a person (other than a qualifying worker as
defined in subsection (2)) for whom training as a member of the school
5
workforce is being provided.
(4)
In this section—
“contract of employment” has the meaning given by section 230(2) of the
Employment Rights Act 1996 (c. 18);
“further education institution” means an institution which is—
10
(a)
an institution (other than a school) which provides further
education, or
(b)
an institution within the further education sector;
“member of the school workforce” has the same meaning as in Part 3.
(5)
In this section and section 114, “children’s services authority in England” and
15
“children’s services authority in Wales” have the same meaning as in the
Children Act 2004 (c. 31).
114
Supply of information about school workforce
(1)
Regulations may authorise or require—
(a)
the proprietor of a school,
20
(b)
a children’s services authority in England or Wales, or
(c)
any prescribed person,

to supply to the relevant person (as defined by subsection (2)) prescribed
information relating to persons who are or have been qualifying workers or
qualifying trainees, for use by the relevant person for a qualifying purpose.
25
(2)
In subsection (1) “the relevant person” means one or more of the following—
(a)
the Secretary of State,
(b)
the Assembly, or
(c)
any prescribed person.
(3)
Regulations may authorise the Secretary of State or the Assembly to supply to
30
the other or to any prescribed person, for use for a qualifying purpose,
prescribed information relating to persons who are or have been qualifying
workers or qualifying trainees.
(4)
A person may not be prescribed for the purposes of subsection (1)(c), (2)(c) or
(3) unless—
35
(a)
in the case of subsection (1)(c) or (2)(c), he appears to the person making
the regulations to be exercising functions of a public nature, or
(b)
in the case of subsection (3), he appears to the person making the
regulations to be exercising such functions or carrying out research
which relates to education or training and may be expected to be of
40
public benefit.
(5)
For the purposes of this section, information is supplied to a person for use for
a qualifying purpose if it is supplied to him for use for—
(a)
evaluation, planning, research or statistical purposes, or
(b)
any other prescribed purpose.
45

Education Bill [HL]
Part 4 — Miscellaneous
63

(6)
Regulations may authorise a person falling within subsection (7) to supply to
any prescribed person (“the recipient”) any information relating to persons
who are or have been qualifying workers or qualifying trainees which—
(a)
has been lawfully held by the recipient, or
(b)
is information which another person was, or could have been, required
5
(whether by virtue of regulations under this section or otherwise) to
supply to the recipient.
(7)
The following persons fall within this subsection—
(a)
the Secretary of State,
(b)
the Assembly, and
10
(c)
any prescribed person.
(8)
Regulations may—
(a)
prohibit any person to whom information is supplied by virtue of this
section from further disclosing the information otherwise than in
prescribed circumstances, and
15
(b)
provide that section 497 of the Education Act 1996 (c. 56) (default
powers of Secretary of State or Assembly) is, in relation to the duties
imposed by virtue of this section, to have effect as if—
(i)
the reference in subsection (2)(a) of that section to a local
education authority were a reference to a children’s services
20
authority in England or Wales, and
(ii)
any reference to a body to which that section applies included a
reference to a prescribed person.
(9)
This section does not limit the circumstances in which information is
authorised or required to be supplied apart from this section.
25
(10)
In this section—
“prescribed” means prescribed by regulations;
“regulations” means—
(a)
in relation to England, regulations made by the Secretary of
State, and
30
(b)
in relation to Wales, regulations made by the Assembly.
Attendance at alternative educational provision
115
Power of governing body to make alternative provision for excluded pupils
In section 29 of the 2002 Act (additional functions of governing body), in
subsection (3) (power to require pupils to attend at other places for purpose of
35
education) for “pupils in attendance at the school” substitute “registered
pupils”.
116
Failure of parent to secure regular attendance of child at alternative provision
After section 444 of the Education Act 1996 insert—
“444ZA
Application of section 444 to alternative educational provision
40
(1)
Where, in the case of a child of compulsory school age who is not a
registered pupil at any school—

Education Bill [HL]
Part 4 — Miscellaneous
64

(a)
a local education authority has made arrangements under
section 19 for the provision of education for him otherwise than
at a school or at his home, and
(b)
notice in writing of the arrangements has been given to the
child’s parent,
5
subsections (1) to (7) of section 444 have effect as if the place at which
the education is provided were a school and the child were a registered
pupil at that school.
(2)
Where—
(a)
a child of compulsory school age has been excluded from a
10
relevant school,
(b)
he remains for the time being a registered pupil at the school,
(c)
he is required by the appropriate authority for the school to
attend at a place outside the school premises for the purpose of
receiving any instruction or training, and
15
(d)
notice in writing of the requirement has been given to the
child’s parent,

subsections (1) to (7) of section 444 have effect as if the place at which
the child is required to attend were a school and the child were a
registered pupil at that school (and not at the school mentioned in
20
paragraph (b)).
(3)
In relation to a maintained school or a pupil referral unit—
(a)
the reference in subsection (2)(a) to exclusion is a reference to
exclusion under section 52 of the Education Act 2002, and
(b)
the requirement referred to in subsection (2)(c) is a requirement
25
imposed under section 29(3) of that Act.
(4)
A child shall not be taken to have failed to attend regularly—
(a)
in a case falling within subsection (1), at the place at which
education is provided for him, or
(b)
in a case falling within subsection (2), at the place at which he is
30
required to attend,
unless he has failed to attend regularly since the giving of the notice
mentioned in subsection (1)(b) or (2)(d).
(5)
Section 572, which provides for the methods by which notices may be
served under this Act, does not preclude the notice mentioned in
35
subsection (1)(b) or (2)(d) from being given to a child’s parent by any
other effective method.
(6)
In proceedings for an offence under section 444 in a case falling within
subsection (1) of this section, the parent shall be acquitted if he proves
that the child is receiving suitable education otherwise than by regular
40
attendance at a school or at the place mentioned in subsection (1).
(7)
In section 444 “leave”—
(a)
in relation to a place at which education is provided as
mentioned in subsection (1) of this section, means leave granted
by any person authorised to do so by the local education
45
authority;
(b)
in relation to a place at which a child is required to attend as
mentioned in subsection (2)(c) of this section, means leave

Education Bill [HL]
Part 5 — General
65

granted by any person authorised to do so by the appropriate
authority for the school.
(8)
In this section—
(a)
“relevant school” means—
(i)
a maintained school,
5
(ii)
a pupil referral unit,
(iii)
an Academy,
(iv)
a city technology college, or
(v)
a city college for the technology of the arts;
(b)
“appropriate authority” means—
10
(i)
in relation to a maintained school, the governing body,
(ii)
in relation to a pupil referral unit, the local education
authority, and
(iii)
in relation to a school falling within paragraph (a)(iii),
(iv) or (v), the proprietor of the school.”
15
Supplementary
117
Further amendments relating to Part 4
Schedule 18 contains further amendments related to the provisions of this Part.
118
Meaning of “the 2002 Act” in Part 4
In this Part “the 2002 Act” means the Education Act 2002 (c. 32).
20
Part 5
General
119
Functions to be exercisable by National Assembly for Wales
(1)
Any function conferred on the Secretary of State by the amendments made by
the provisions mentioned in subsection (2), so far as exercisable in relation to
25
Wales, is to be taken to have been transferred to the Assembly by an Order in
Council under section 22 of the Government of Wales Act 1998 (c. 38).
(2)
Those provisions are—
section 45 (power to direct closure of school);
section 70 (proposals for discontinuance of rural primary school);
30
section 71 (proposals relating to maintained special school);
section 106 (admission arrangements to make special provision for
looked-after children);
Schedule 7 (inspection of child minding, day care and nursery education);
Schedule 16 (funding of maintained schools);
35
Schedule 17 (restrictions on disposal of land);
Schedule 18 (further amendments related to Part 4).