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First, I offer some congratulations. Like others, I am particularly glad to see that responsibility for all 16 to 19 year-old education, but particularly young offenders’ education, will eventually be passed to local authorities. Every figure published illustrates that those who have been failed by our education system are far more likely to end up in custody. For that reason alone, concentrating on trying to remedy that must be the number one priority. Many young offenders with diagnosed or undiagnosed special needs will have been out of education for a number of years—excluded or anyhow unable to cope. The Social Exclusion Unit’s survey of adult prisoners further underlines the problem, showing that 30 per cent truanted regularly from school; that 49 per cent of male and 33 per cent of female prisoners had been excluded from school; and that 52 per cent of male and a horrendous 71 per cent of female prisoners had no qualifications at all.
All that serves to underline yet again—as the noble Lord, Lord Elton, and my noble friend Lord Ramsbotham, and many others rightly pushed for during last year's debates—that there should be compulsory special needs tests for every UK child of primary school age. The earlier that that is done, the better. That remains crucial so that at least some of the failure that those figures graphically illustrate can be prevented.
There is another issue that the Bill needs to address. There must be no postcode lottery about the quality of special needs education provision by different local authorities. As I understand it, Clause 49 was amended in the other place at Report requiring LEAs to use,
- “best endeavours to secure that appropriate special educational provision is made for the detained person ... whilst detained in relevant youth accommodation”.
I take note of the fact that that is worrying because sometimes the period for which young offenders are there is very short, but, nevertheless, it is a start. I hope that the Minister will be able to reassure us when she replies that that means that each offender’s individual special needs will be met, and that the level of such provision will be of the same standard and quality throughout the UK.
It is of course welcome news that extra safeguarding provisions incorporating the recommendations of the noble Lord, Lord Laming, have now been added to the Bill, and it is encouraging that behaviour and attendance partnerships between schools in the same LA area are already making sense—although, as the NUT points out, as 98 per cent of secondary schools have entered into that voluntarily, is it really necessary for the Bill to make it a statutory requirement?
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However, the Bill contains interesting proposals for further developing children's well-being through children's trusts—again, by putting them on a statutory board basis with duties within their local area to prepare, publish and monitor a strategic children and young person’s plan. I am sure that in Committee we will want to hear more details of how that will work. Certainly welcome is the continuingly ambitious plan for Sure Start centres—also to be put on a statutory setting. Sure Start, from its beginning 10 years ago, has been the jewel in the Government’s crown for early education, and the establishment already of almost 3,000 centres, towards their 2020 goal of ensuring that there is a centre in every community, is to their considerable credit. If, as the Minister in another place, Ed Balls, said on Second Reading, it is intended to ensure that parents, the local community and the voluntary sector are all well represented on each advisory committee, then its continued success is assured.
Turning to apprenticeships, a major part of the Bill, I hope that the issue discussed last year of the need for careers advice to encourage children, particularly girls, to think in terms of non-traditional jobs and careers, is still on the agenda. The noble Baroness, Lady Wall, made exactly that point. Far too few girls have previously shown an interest in apprenticeships. I remember a recent visit that our Communications Select Committee made to Pinewood film studios, where the brilliant sets for the latest Harry Potter film were being made and assembled. I believe that Pinewood is part of the proposed apprenticeship plans, and an apprenticeship there might be rather more likely to appeal to girls as well as boys. Anyway, as Barry Sheerman said in another place, again on Second Reading, apprenticeships should be brought to the attention of all children and will suit some children, regardless of their level of education, better than higher education.
Returning to young offenders, who may well want to begin apprenticeship training while in custody, there remains concern that those with learning difficulties, if aged under 25, may not be able to get resources from the chief executive of skills funding if they do not have the core English, maths and ICT units. They are even more unlikely to have the qualifications for level 2 and 3 apprenticeship training. If that is so, what other forms of funded vocational training would they be eligible for, given that their failure within the UK education system is almost certainly our—not their—responsibility? I should very much like an answer on that if possible.
I shall end by raising a number of concerns. First, there is the very complexity of the Bill before us, which others have mentioned, and the number of issues that it covers. Can we be assured that the Government are prepared to give your Lordships' House, with its considerable educational expertise—it is considerable even without Lord Dearing, who is so sadly missed by us all—adequate time to debate and, where necessary, amend the Bill? As noble Lords will understand, I ask that particularly as we are already well towards the end of this Parliament.
Secondly, as other noble Lords have said—notably and amusingly the noble Lord, Lord Baker of Dorking—the Bill sets up an almost horrifying number of new
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Finally, I must confess that I remain uneasy about the large number of children out there who have already opted out of education before the current school leaving age of 16 years is raised. What explanation can the Minister give us for her belief that such children will want to and be able to stay with us from the age of 16 to 19 years—and indeed, in some cases, beyond that point?
5.59 pm
Baroness Garden of Frognal: My Lords, like other noble Lords, I am grateful to the Ministers and the Bill team for their initial briefings on this monumental piece of legislation. Even with their explanations, I cannot but agree with my noble friend Lady Walmsley that it is difficult to find a holistic vision, a common theme or a coherent policy in its 262 clauses. How much of this Bill is necessary, one wonders, let alone desirable? We also express the concern that, as has happened with other recent large Bills, it has come to your Lordships’ House after too little time for proper scrutiny in the other place.
Like the curate and his egg, we shall look for the good parts while being dubious about the whole. We welcome the measures that will lead to better regulation, consistent standards in our education system, support for apprenticeships and opportunities for all learners to reach their potential. However, many of the provisions suggest greater centralisation and increased levels of bureaucracy, which could be a recipe for disaster.
Any Government should be cautious about making major changes in education without full evaluation of the expected benefits. Young people caught in the transition phase can be seriously disadvantaged while teaching, assessment and funding arrangements are disputed and the credibility of qualifications is established. The estimated transition costs for this Bill are put at “less than £40 million”, to be offset by savings, but inevitably when bodies are abolished, as the noble Baroness, Lady Howe, has just said, and new ones are created, there are additional burdens for providers: new remits, procedures, forms and glossaries of terms, to which we keep returning in this debate—and what an extensive glossary this Bill requires. One cannot help but feel that Gilbert and Sullivan might have made rather a jolly ditty out of it, but that is not necessarily a good criterion for legislation. Providers have to divert resources—people, time and money—from front-line services, and these costs are always more difficult to quantify. I therefore hope that during our debate the many areas of complexity will be shaped into something that is both simpler and more effective for practitioners.
As my noble friend Lady Walmsley indicated, I shall focus on certain parts of the Bill—the clauses that deal with careers advice, provision for young
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My noble friend Lady Sharp has long argued from these Benches that careers information, advice and guidance have not been given due priority. Teachers, and particularly careers advisers, need not only to give information but to have interest and enthusiasm in order to set out to young people the myriad opportunities that are opened up by learning in all its forms. This section of the Bill as it stands undermines the value of apprenticeships. It also implies that adults in effect make choices for young people by including or denying information. The Bill is an opportunity to encourage young people to follow their interests and aptitudes and not to be channelled into limited options, but the current clauses fall short of that.
The section on youth detention, Clauses 47 to 51, calls for much closer attention. The Bercow report quotes figures of more than 60 per cent of juvenile offenders with speech, language and communication difficulties. When young people find themselves in custody, society has an unrepeatable opportunity to address their skills gap and to encourage them to gain confidence and self-respect as they master basic and more advanced skills. It should be possible to enable young people to stay in one institution for long enough to follow an intensive and coherent programme, with teachers and trainers who can analyse their strengths and weaknesses, giving particular attention to those with special educational needs. I echo the comments made about the need for that assessment to be made at the earliest possible stage.
The Bill imposes duties on host and home authorities to inform each other. As has already been mentioned, this is not always as simple as it sounds. It has not, for example, always been effectively implemented for children in care. Will the Minister explain how those channels of communication will work in practice, how they will be monitored and how the outcomes will be measured? With unemployment set to rise, it will be even more of a competition for young offenders to find work. To offset their disadvantage, time spent in detention must be used as effectively as possible, with careers advice and guidance made available to them, too. This Bill could help to ensure that there is provision in young offender institutions for learning and assessment as well as for accreditation to help them to make their way productively in the world. As Barnardo’s, among others, has highlighted, there is also a duty to ensure that young people can continue their education after release.
Briefly, on qualifications, we welcome the establishment of Ofqual as an independent regulator, but seek assurances about the mechanisms by which it will retain its independence. It seems that its focus will be on the
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The Qualifications and Curriculum Development Agency appears to duplicate some of Ofqual’s regulatory powers and adds another layer of complexity and bureaucracy. The QCDA has a proposed role in assessment. I worked for many years for an awarding body, City & Guilds. It, and other well established bodies like it, such as the OCR and Edexcel, have proven experience in the research and development of academic and vocational qualifications at all levels, as well as in assessment technologies. It would be a foolish extravagance to set up a new agency without paying due regard to existing organisations and systems.
Many parts of this Bill call for detailed discussion and scrutiny. As we proceed to Committee, we shall aim through amendments to clarify, shape, and I hope shorten, this legislation so that it will be of real benefit to practitioners, providers and learners. We look forward to the discussions ahead.
6.06 pm
Lord Sheikh: My Lords, I welcome this Bill, which covers so many issues of great importance, but I aim to raise issues which I feel are salient.
Apprenticeships are crucial to preparing our nation’s workforce for the competitive global market. My understanding of an apprenticeship is that it provides a route to building technical skills that are relevant to the requirements of industry through practical learning. It appears that apprenticeships have been serving alternative purposes, such as helping individuals to achieve basic numeracy and literacy. These skills should be provided in schools and community learning centres, but certainly not as part of apprenticeships. As a result, the definition of an apprenticeship has become distorted, which has resulted in the reluctance of a number of employers to sponsor them. It is therefore important for us to consider legislation on apprenticeships and allied subjects.
I welcome Chapter 2 of Part 1 of the Bill, as I share the belief that an employer needs to promote the training of staff, which will maintain and enhance their standards. This will provide the staff with satisfaction and assist in making our businesses and industries more productive. Professional bodies, employers, individuals and government all have a role to play in the provision of these skills.
I have been a visiting lecturer on insurance and financial services, and I am the chairman of an insurance broking organisation. As an employer, I have fully supported the training of our employees and giving them every assistance. I therefore endorse the provisions in the Bill pertaining to these matters. For us to maintain our premium position in the world in financial services, we need to ensure that the knowledge and expertise of our staff are continuously kept at a high level.
I avidly support Clause 41, as it requires local education authorities to encourage school leavers to remain in education after the age of 16, and I register my support for the measures in the Bill that give
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I welcome the provisions to improve the academic prospects of young people in custody. Although I am in favour of new Section 562B(3) of the Education Act 1996, to be inserted under Clause 49, I am concerned about its use in practice. It would place the onus on the local authority where a young offender was resident prior to being taken into custody to make educational provisions for them during and after their period of detention. One can argue that new subsection (3) provides local authorities with reasons to abstain from fulfilling this duty. Young offenders will find it increasingly difficult to integrate back into society if these powers of omission are enforced.
I also welcome Clauses 188, 189 and 190, which will support the implementation of the recommendations made by the noble Lord, Lord Laming, in his report. Clause 188 will ensure that child safety and protection remain the central priorities for all children’s service authorities. It will provide children with additional protection as all local authorities will be bound by this clause to meet all safeguarding targets. I would be grateful if the Minister would elaborate on these targets. Clause 189 requires all local authorities to appoint two members of the general public to all local safeguarding children boards, which would promote transparency and guarantee civic contribution in the general scrutiny of the boards’ proceedings.
It is crucial that all stakeholders in society are encouraged to put themselves forward in order to reinforce the idea that child protection is not the duty of only a select few but all of us. Clause 190 will ensure that all local safeguarding children boards publish annual reports about their efforts to provide child safety and welfare in their communities. The requirement that these reports may be submitted to respective children’s trusts is welcome as it will provide efficient scrutiny. This clause can be strengthened further by ensuring that all serious case reviews are published. We must do everything in our power to prevent the tragic suffering that befell Baby Peter and Victoria Climbié in their short lives.
In order for these clauses to have the desired effect, action must be taken to tackle the disproportionate number of cases allocated to each social worker. Social workers have a central role in ensuring that children and the most vulnerable members of society are protected. It is only fair that they receive adequate training and resources to enable them to fulfil these duties. A serious problem exists concerning the recruitment and retention of social workers, and these difficulties have had an impact on their ability to carry out their jobs effectively.
The shortage of apprenticeship places in Britain can be attributed to the overwhelming administrative and fiscal burdens inflicted on companies. The Learning and Skills Council has presided over the bureaucratic delivery of apprenticeships. The errors of the apprenticeship system can be attributed to the Government’s decision
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Clause 235 gives teachers the authority to search students for weapons, knives, drugs, alcohol or stolen goods provided the teacher is of the same gender as the student and is supervised by another teacher of the same sex. This requirement will be difficult to satisfy in primary schools because of the limited number of male teachers and the fact that the police may have to be contacted before a search can commence. This is highly impractical and may prevent officers from carrying out more urgent duties. The Bill does not provide any protection to teachers who have false allegations made against them. Teachers do a tremendously difficult job and legislation should support them in their role. I fear that a lack of adequate protection could deter individuals from entering the teaching profession.
This Government were elected on the pledge that they would prioritise education. After 12 years in government, the facts speak for themselves: 40 per cent of children enter secondary school with difficulty in reading, writing and numeracy. The system has failed the most disadvantaged children: 50 per cent of them are unable to achieve a single A* to C grade at GCSE. The number of school leavers without a job or work placement has risen to 860,000, 5 million adults are illiterate and 17 million struggle with basic literacy. This Bill must undoubtedly be strengthened during its passage through this Chamber to ensure that the systematic failure to support the most vulnerable members of society is properly addressed.
6.18 pm
Lord Morris of Handsworth: My Lords, I rise as someone whose working life has been influenced more by the experience of the shop floor than the classroom. First, I declare an interest. I carry the responsibility of chancellor of Staffordshire University. I am a product of one of the excellent FE colleges in Birmingham, about which the noble Lord, Lord Baker of Dorking, spoke earlier. I hasten to add that mine was not Matthew Boulton College; it was Handsworth Technical College, and I am proud of it. It did a lot for my misspent youth.
This Bill has much to commend it and much to be supported. However, there is much about which I need to be convinced. We can all agree that the Bill covers a vast number of areas. My criticism is that it is neither targeted nor focused and, as such, may achieve too
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There are, of course, areas of the Bill that deserve universal support. For example, the statutory right of those in work to request time off for training will, and should, receive a general welcome. However, this right should be extended to part-time and agency workers because they reflect today’s real economy. Temporary and part-time workers sometimes have longer service than full-time workers. Therefore, the exclusion of part-time workers is an anomaly which will be tested in Committee. In light of recent events, any proposal to strengthen the accountability of those responsible for children’s services is to be welcomed. Also welcome is the proposal to establish a new parental complaints service, and the proposal for a new negotiating body for pay and conditions for school support staff is a good idea, whose time has come.
I pause to say a few words as a member of the Joint Committee on Human Rights. In its recently published report on the Bill, the committee welcomed many of its aspects because they enhance human rights. Positive measures include provision for the education of young offenders, guidance on the use of force on young people, the obligation to record the use of force, and a commitment to ensure that children and young people are consulted when plans for their future and interests are being drawn up. The Joint Committee also made one recommendation. We believe that the Bill provides a real opportunity to improve the United Kingdom’s implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. As the noble Baroness, Lady Walmsley, reminded us earlier, the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child recently expressed concern that the United Kingdom has not done enough to realise the principles, values and goals set out in the UN convention. The Joint Committee therefore recognises that this opportunity should be taken. The committee believes that, to embed the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child in UK laws and practices, the children’s trust boards should have a duty, in the development of their plans, to pay due regard to the need to implement the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. Again, we trust that there will be no need to test this principle in Committee.
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