Clause 15
Education and Skills Bill
12:15 pm
John Hayes (Shadow Minister, Innovation, Universities and Skills; South Holland and The Deepings, Conservative)
That is what the Minister said when he intervened on my hon. Friend the Member for Bognor Regis and Littlehampton half an hour ago. The Minister described the clarity of the guidance that he will offer. However, the amendment would introduce an extra protection to the Bill, and given that he has told us that the vast majority of young people would readily agree to the information being shared because it would be in their interests, and so, given that he is dealing only with a few—those were his words—young people who might be recalcitrant, he is effectively saying that he would resist the amendment, which would check the excessive use of information and power that it might engender, for the sake of a handful of young people who would not agree to have the information shared anyway.
Participation is best ensured by the encouragement, willingness and commitment of young people to engage—to be part of a process. A critical part of that process is advice and guidance, and part of advice and guidance is sharing information properly. Of course, we believe all that, but we are not sure that a degree of commitment is not assisted by an amendment suggesting that if one does not want the information shared, it will not be, and that if one does, one has to give written permission.
That is not such a big deal; it is not an alarming change to the Government’s proposals. It is a modest, sensible and cautious change that the Government might be wise to accept. Unless the Minister can offer to me more than he did to my hon. Friend the Member for Bognor Regis and Littlehampton, which was a fairly woolly pledge of guidance, we shall press amendment No. 22 to a vote, as a means of illustrating that sovereignty in such matters lies with young people, and that their rights must be protected.