Clause 48
Education and Skills Bill
4:15 pm
Jim Knight (Minister of State (Schools and Learners), Department for Children, Schools and Families; South Dorset, Labour)
I shall try to be brief, in the hope that that does not cause me any trouble. In essence, the argument that I would put to the hon. Gentleman is that it is almost without precedent for the Government to put into law a requirement that the Secretary of State “must” use regulations. It is standard practices that regulations “may” be made by the Secretary of State. I can reassure the hon. Gentleman that it is absolutely the Government’s policy and intention to issue regulations in this case. Changing the text to make the Secretary of State responsible for the regulations would make no difference to the current situation in which he is clearly responsible and will make the regulations.