Further Education and Training Bill [HL]

Part of the debate – in the House of Lords at 5:00 pm on 27 February 2007.

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Photo of Baroness Morris of Bolton Baroness Morris of Bolton Deputy Chief Whip, Whips, Shadow Minister, Education 5:00, 27 February 2007

My Lords, I shall speak to Amendments Nos. 34 and 40, but first I wish to say how glad we are that the Government have listened to some of our concerns about the accountability and transparency of the powers that the clauses introduce. Their amendments go some way to provide the necessary scrutiny of such potentially draconian powers and they certainly improve Clauses 17 and 18 in many ways.

We do not feel, however, that those amendments go far enough. They do not even begin to address our concern about the effect that the clauses will have on the relationship between the Learning and Skills Council and further education institutions, of which the noble Baroness, Lady Walmsley, so eloquently spoke. More importantly, they do not disguise the fact that the powers given by the clauses would damage the development of the further education sector as a whole and reduce the independence of individual colleges still further. The government amendments do nothing to change that; therefore, although we are glad that the Government are listening to this House and making a genuine effort to find a middle ground, the amendments are not enough.

As my response to the government amendments may have led your Lordships to expect, we are very sympathetic to the amendments tabled by the noble Baroness, Lady Walmsley. They deal with exactly the point that the Government have failed to address: the effect that the clauses will have on the relationship between the Learning and Skills Council and further education institutions. Clause 17 provides for the Learning and Skills Council to take on an enormously powerful role. The Government have made it clear to us that they have no expectation of that power being used at all frequently. As we have heard, it has never been used by the Secretary of State. By their amendments, they have made any use of it much more transparent and accountable not only to Parliament but to the wider public.

None of that makes any difference to the fact that the body that directs much of colleges' funding, issues guidance and is generally a close and constant presence in the running of our colleges is being given the power to go in over the head of the governing body and sack staff, even to dismiss governors. The Liberal Democrat amendments make it considerably more likely that the powers will indeed be used only as a backstop in the most urgent cases. As such, they are very sensible and go a long way to improve the clauses. However, we do not feel that they can be amended sufficiently to guard against the harm we believe they will do. So, despite the best efforts of the Government to address our concerns, we have tabled amendments to leave out Clauses 17 and 18. We believe that these clauses are a step in entirely the wrong direction.

Further education institutions need to be given more, not less, independence. They need to be trusted more by the Government, not hedged around with endless rules, regulations and micromanaged targets. The only way for this sector to gain the status and credibility it deserves, and which we desperately need it to achieve, is for the Government to give colleges and the governing bodies managing them the power to develop their own diverse, innovative and locally responsive strategies and direction. Frankly, the Government should know better than to continue with clauses like these. They have commissioned several reviews and reports, most recently the Leitch review, all of which have told them the same thing: colleges need to be trusted with real independence in order fully to achieve their potential. Yet the Government continue with this unprecedented level of interference. There is no suggestion that this degree of control will be appropriate for schools or universities, so why do the Government think it is appropriate for colleges?

These powers will not only prevent the further education sector developing, they will actively damage it, which is why we propose the outright removal of the clauses rather than their modification. Giving the Learning and Skills Council these powers will erode the position of colleges' governing bodies instead of encouraging governors to continue to maintain a keen and active interest in their colleges. The Government are taking responsibility away from them, for no discernible reason. As I said at Second Reading, the further education sector receives some of the best Ofsted reports. I should, however, make it quite clear that we are not against rigour or driving up standards. We are perfectly happy for these powers to continue to reside where they are at present: with the Secretary of State, who is elected and paid to take difficult decisions and is ultimately accountable to the electorate. In Clause 18 the proposed shift of powers to the Welsh Assembly is at least a shift to another body answerable to the electorate, but Fforwm, the Welsh sister body to the Association of Colleges, reports that colleges want these powers to remain with the Secretary of State.

No doubt the Minister will tell me, as he did in Grand Committee, that these powers are very rarely used and are a last resort, but clearly not everyone sees them in that light. The morning after the Queen's Speech, the "Today" programme said that there was to be a further education Bill to "sack college principals", and in a press release in response to the Government's White Paper that heralded the Bill now before noble Lords, the Learning and Skills Council referred more than once to poor provision being "cut out". You can almost see the Learning and Skills Council salivating at being given this power.

We too want to see the highest standards in our colleges, but if there is a need to intervene to remove a principal or members of the governing body, the power to do so should reside with the Secretary of State. Members on these Benches feel that these clauses are a significant step in the wrong direction and therefore would like to see them removed entirely. When it comes to the appropriate time, I shall seek the opinion of the House.