Education and Skills Bill
John Bercow (Buckingham, Conservative)
Before we begin, I have a few preliminary announcements. Members may, if they wish, remove their jackets during Committee sittings. Please would all Members ensure that mobile phones, pagers, and so on are turned off or switched to silent mode during sittings.
I remind the Committee that there is a money resolution in connection with this Bill—copies are available in the room. I also remind Members that adequate notice should be given of amendments. As a general rule, I and my fellow Chairman, Mr. Bayley, do not intend to call starred amendments, including any starred amendments that may be reached during an afternoon sitting of the Committee.
We are still in the early days of taking oral evidence in Public Bill Committees, so it might help if I briefly explain what is proposed, so that we can all be clear. The Committee will first be asked to consider the programme motion that is being circulated in the Committee room, which supersedes the motion on the amendment paper. Debate on the motion is limited to half an hour. We will proceed to a motion to report written evidence a motion to permit the Committee to deliberate in private in advance of the oral evidence sessions, both of which I hope we can take formally.
Assuming that the second of these motions is agreed to, the Committee will then move into private session. Once the Committee has deliberated, the witnesses and members of the public will be invited back into the room and our oral evidence session will commence. If the Committee agrees to the programme motion, the Committee will hear oral evidence today, on Thursday 24 January and on Tuesday 29 January before starting clause-by-clause scrutiny on Thursday 31 January.