Education and Inspections Bill
1:45 pm
Jacqui Smith (Minister of State (Schools and 14-19 Learners), Department for Education and Skills; Redditch, Labour)
Let me gather together the remaining scraps of my career following the words of the hon. Member for Gainsborough (Mr. Leigh). We have had a very good debate on the amendments and clause 7—quite rightly, because the clause and this part of the Bill are fundamental to the development of our overall policy to raise standards by introducing a new relationship between schools, local authorities, parents and central Government.
I agree with my hon. Friend the Member for Bury, North that this is not a debate about centralism versus localism. It is a debate about how we envisage the new role of the local authority, building on the Government’s work in the “Every Child Matters” change for children programme, the 10-year child care strategy, the “Youth Matters” Green Paper and our 14-to-19 reforms. They all reflect the idea of the local authority as strategic planner and commissioner—a role, interestingly enough, that the hon. Member for Brent, East argued strongly for during debate on clause 6.