I have now found the relevant clauses to which I refer the hon. Gentleman. Clause 24(2) states that:

“The employer must permit the employee to participate in training or education in accordance with those appropriate arrangements.”

The appropriate arrangements are defined in clause 20. With regard to subsequent notification, clause 25(2) states that:

“The employer must, so far as is reasonable having regard to the matters mentioned in subsection (3), permit the person to participate in training or education in accordance with those appropriate arrangements.”

Therefore, there are clearly obligations on the employer. They cannot simply be unreasonable in that respect.

Obviously, there are working time regulations that also protect young workers from being exploited, which was a concern of the hon. Gentleman’s. Young workers may not work or attend relevant training in the restricted period, which is normally between 10 pm and 6 am. I hope that there are not too many young workers working in the Palace tonight. If the amendment tabled by the hon. Member for Yeovil is intended to stop young people being compelled to work in the evening or at the weekend against the terms of their contract, it is unnecessary.

One course of action under the clause would be to allow the young person time off in normal working hours. If those hours did not already include evenings and weekends, that course of action could not have the effect of requiring them to work then. The other course of action would be for the young person and their employer to agree to vary the terms of the contract so that the course times were outside the normal working hours. If that course was taken, there would be a new contract, with new terms and conditions and the working hours would be within those.

If, on the other hand, the intention of the amendment is to prevent any changes from being made to the original contract, even by mutual agreement, that result in a young person working in the evening or at the weekend when they have not before, I would resist that, as it seems an unnecessarily restrictive amendment to the arrangements that employers and employees can make. It is certainly not the intention of the policy to encourage or require young people to work evenings and weekends if they do not want to, as I have stated. It is important that we retain the flexibility in the clause.

If necessary, and if the employer of the young person agrees, any contract that does not already cover evening and weekend working could be varied by mutual agreement. The clause does not require that, but we think that it is a necessary flexibility. We hope, on that basis, that the hon. Gentleman will withdraw his amendment.