Violent Crime Reduction Bill

My Lords, the noble Lord makes an important point. Yes, it would certainly be my expectation that there would be a proper record of the events surrounding a search of that nature. It may also be helpful to say a little more on the planned scope of this guidance, which has already benefited extensively from suggestions from stakeholders—a term that, although I do not like it, we all understand. It will cover the context and practicalities—the sort of points that the noble Lord raised—and the consequences of searching. The context is likely to involve a school statement of policy, and options that staff should consider before embarking upon a search. Practical aspects, to which I have already alluded, will include training for staff, the use of security firms, factors to take into account in suspicion, and being sensitive to issues of race, culture and religion arising from items of outer clothing—headgear, veils and so on. The consequences section will cover keeping records—the point raised by the noble Lord, Lord Thomas—informing parents and dealing with complaints. I hope it is clear from this that the guidance will be thorough. It is certainly our intention that it should be. If noble Lords feel that other things, which we have missed or not dealt with, should be put into the guidance, then we will be open to listening to those concerns as part of the consultation. While it is unnecessary to detail the contents of the guidance in the Bill, since the Secretary of State for Education and Skills will be issuing guidance following what I hope noble Lords will now realise is a full consultation process, I can also assure the noble Baroness, Lady Anelay, that we will note all issues raised during these debates and try to ensure thatthey are taken into account properly during the consultation process. The guidance will be national and issued by the DfES. What is outer clothing is, apparently, a matter of law, but non-statutory guidance can give indications, and it will. Questions such as, ““Can a search ever be carried out in front of a male when a female is involved?”” have been asked. Our guidance will certainly recommend that only in exceptional circumstances should a school allow more staff to be present at a search than the two who must be present, and that any other person present should be of the same sex as the pupil. I have now covered the points raised by the noble Baroness, Lady Anelay, and the noble Lord, Lord Thomas, unless there are other questions.