Clause 2 - Power to suspend statutory requirements etc.
[Part I]Education Bill
5:00 pm
Mr Stephen Timms (Minister of State (School Standards), Department for Education and Skills; East Ham, Labour)
The purpose of the clause is to provide for innovative projects that would contribute to the improvement of educational standards and that, if successful, would be adopted more widely. I am a little perplexed by the hon. Gentleman's argument. In our discussion this morning, he was keen that local education authorities should be consulted as part of the process. If the LEA does not think that a particular innovation should be granted, presumably he would want the Secretary of State to have the discretion not to grant it. His amendment would require the Secretary of State to grant the innovation regardless of what the LEA or anyone else said on the subject. The amendment is contradictory to his argument this morning and I hope that the Committee will resist it.