Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Bill
6:31 pm
Mike Creswell: I think that Ofqual should simply have a power to direct, for a particular qualification, a particular standard on a particular occasion. It would be used rarely, if ever, but it would prevent Ofqual, at a time when urgent action might be needed—certainly for GCSEs and A-levels—from finding itself in negotiation with awarding bodies about a change in the standards that they are proposing to set. It would ensure that Ofqual had the authority to do that. I have to say that that requires the clarity that I talked about earlier about precisely how we define consistent standards. That is why part of our submission to the Committee is about the need for Ofqual to establish clear and measurable criteria for assessing whether our standards are consistent.