Clause 54 - Applications for registration: other later years providers
Childcare Bill
9:00 am
Maria Eagle (Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Children and Families), Department for Education and Skills; Liverpool, Garston, Labour)
I am grateful for the hon. Gentleman’s brief explanation of the purpose of the amendment. I have been tearing my hair out trying to work out what on earth it means. He has assisted me slightly, but he seems to be suggesting that the chief inspector has the capacity to make changes to the registration requirements, when that is of course a matter for regulation. The effect of the amendment is therefore unclear because the phrase
“the Chief Inspector reasonably thinks fit”
would suddenly be brought into a set of arrangements made by regulations. I am mystified about the effect the amendment would have.
If I were being kind—I feel that I ought to be this morning—I would say that the amendment was ambiguous, and as the Committee knows, ambiguity in legislation is never good. I agree with the import that the hon. Gentleman’s amendment places on the fact that when the chief inspector has discretion, he ought to have flexibility in the application of his powers. However, I fear that the hon. Gentleman has chosen the wrong clause for such an amendment.
In the spirit of Christmas and of making the legislation as clear as it can be, I therefore invite the hon. Gentleman to withdraw his amendment. I can assure him, however, that we agree on providing the chief inspector with flexibility in exercising his judgment, which is of course always reasonable.