Clause 1 - Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Schools in England
Education Bill [Lords]
9:25 am
Mr Derek Twigg (Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Schools), Department for Education and Skills; Halton, Labour)
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship today, Mr. Forth. I shall be brief.
Clause 1 re-enacts the provisions of the School Inspections Act 1996, which, in turn, re-enacted the original provisions of the Education (Schools) Act 1992. It includes a requirement for the chief inspector to be appointed by the Queen in Council for a maximum of five years, but places no further restrictions on the reappointment. Those arrangements balance the need to safeguard the integrity of the post, by limiting the length of the term of office, with the need to ensure that the most suitable candidate may be appointed.
We remain committed to making recommendations to Her Majesty about the appointment of the chief inspector on the basis of merit and ministerial accountability. We would not usually reappoint without competition for more than two terms, save in very exceptional circumstances for a short period. However, it is right to retain the flexibility to extend the appointment for a further full term, on the basis of open competition, if the candidate is the very best for the job. I therefore urge that the amendment be withdrawn.