Clause 43
Education and Skills Bill
2:00 pm
Nick Gibb (Shadow Minister, Children, Schools and Families; Bognor Regis and Littlehampton, Conservative)
I am grateful for that guidance, Mr. Bercow. I will move swiftly on to focus on the amendment. The right of appeal in the clause is against the issuing of the notice, or against the education or training provisions set out in the attendance notice, or against a variation in a notice.
This is a probing amendment, designed to emphasise the fact that the grounds for appeal can include the suitability of the education or training provision. It was suggested by the NUT, which is more influential by virtue of the fact that it is outside the social partnership with the Government than it would be within it, given the concessions have been made in Committee following its representations. The NUT is seriously concerned about the extent of the grounds for appeal. It says in its briefing:
“It is hoped that the provision for young people to appeal against an attendance notice on wider grounds will help encourage local authorities to identify individual needs.”
It goes on to cite the National Children’s Bureau, which says that
“young people subject to this legal requirement”—
to participate in education and training—
“and its associated enforcement measures should have a right of redress”.
The NUT says:
“One way of doing this would be to give them access to a complaints system that is open to young people; has clear, published criteria for the issues that it is able to address; is easy to access; has a transparent decision-making process, and; has real authority.”
It would be helpful if the Minister set out the grounds for appeal and whether those include the availability of suitable training provision in the area.