Clause 25
Education and Skills Bill
7:00 pm
David Laws (Shadow Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families, Children, Schools and Families; Yeovil, Liberal Democrat)
I beg to move amendment No. 174, in clause 25, page 14, line 5, at end add—
‘(8) This section shall not come into force until the Secretary of State has published guidance.’.
I think that I can also deal with this amendment in a short time. The clause is quite significant. Subsection (3) specifies some elements that must be taken into account by the employer in relation to the needs of the person who is required
“to fulfil the duty imposed by section 2”.
They may also take into account
“the circumstances of the employer’s business”
and
“the effect of the person’s absence from work on the running of that business.”
Those matters are all potentially complex in terms of making judgments and it is not obvious to me how those judgments would be made.
Amendment No. 174 would require that the subsection shall not come into force until guidance has been published in relation to the clause. That would also give us a better clue to answering some of the questions posed by subsection (3). I wanted to find out from the Minister whether there is a plan to publish such guidance or whether it is already available somewhere and I have missed it.