Clause 47
Education and Skills Bill
4:00 pm
Nick Gibb (Shadow Minister, Children, Schools and Families; Bognor Regis and Littlehampton, Conservative)
The interaction between clauses 45, 46 and 47 seems to be rather complicated. I may well not have understood it properly, in which case I hope that the Committee will forgive me. My understanding is that clause 45 states that a person who fails to comply with an attendance notice is guilty of an offence and is liable to a fine not exceeding level 1 on the standard scale, which is £200. Clause 46 prevents a local authority from taking action under clause 45 until a penalty notice under clause 47 has been issued and not paid. It states that the amount that can be imposed by a penalty notice is to be determined by regulation. Clause 47(4)(b) states that regulations may make
“provision as to the amount of any penalty and the time by which it is to be paid”.
Therefore, the restriction of the fine to £200—level 1 on the standard scale—that applies to clause 45 appears not to apply to clause 47. It would therefore be helpful if the Minister could set out his intentions for the amount and the time allowed to make the payment that will be put in the regulations made under clause 47(4)(b).
Barnardo’s has raised its concern about the amount of any penalty under clause 47 and wants there to be safeguards. In its briefing to the Committee, it stated that it wanted safeguards that the
“level of the penalty notice...is set at an amount that reflects the level of financial support available to the poorest young people...and that the fine will not increase if not paid within the specified time limit.”
Barnardo’s said that it
“is concerned that escalations in fines for non-payment are most likely to be incurred by those least able to pay.”
Assurances from the Minster on both points—the level of the fine and an assurance that fines will not escalate for non-payment—would be helpful.
Amendment No. 40 would set the level of the fine at £200 as a probing amendment to extract the Minister’s intentions. The Children’s Rights Alliance said that fines can be counter-productive and might lead many young people “into debt and crime.” It also stated that this will be
“yet another trap door through which the most alienated children may be brought into contact with the criminal justice system and spiral into debt.”
Finally, the Local Government Association has expressed its concern about clause 47, saying:
“From a practical enforcement perspective, this provision assumes ability and/or willingness to pay, apart from other matters, notably costs to local authorities pursuing the payment of penalties.”
It would be helpful to the Committee if the Minister answered those concerns in his response.