Education and Inspections Bill

Before the Minister replies, perhaps I may respond briefly to some points. To the noble Lord, Lord Lucas, yes, the amendment is probably in the wrong place. To the noble Lord, Lord Skidelsky, you have a model of society that is valid in many places, but in others it is less so. There are communities that are static because of the people who live there, the lack of opportunities in the area and the kind of premises in which they live. On the point about a good man trying to help a community and it going wrong, I am very much for government policy. Be impatient. Give him a year and then shut it and start again. I would be ruthless in the interests of the children. So there is nothing between us on that. I am just saying that there is an issue here that should weigh in the scales. I am not saying that it should be mandatory; I am just saying that it is a factor that should be taken into account when decisions are made. To the noble Lord, Lord Judd, who hails from West Cumberland, I say that I have not been to Workington for many years but, when I used to go to West Cumberland and Workington in particular, that was the kind of community that needed a lot of help, for the reasons that I have given. On the policy behind the Bill, I described the White Paper as visionary. The Bill is less so. I am for the Bill. I am just bringing into the calculus another element which has validity in particular circumstances and should be weighed.