Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Bill

I have some sympathy with the amendments that the noble Baroness, Lady Sharp of Guilford, has just proposed. As it stands, the Bill introduces a statutory right to an apprenticeship. We very much share the desire to increase the number of apprentices. Nevertheless, as my noble friend Lord De Mauley said at Second Reading, one cannot simply legislate for improvements; one has to make them happen. Once we get into the nitty-gritty of attempting to provide the mechanics, we see, as the noble Baroness has just pointed out, the complex intricacies of the relationships between the Government’s many institutions. My fear is that this can only have a damaging impact on the growth of an apprenticeship system, which I hope and expect all noble Lords right across the Chamber are keen to see develop. As the Bill stands, it is clear that the English certifying authority will be the chief executive of skills funding. Nevertheless, the Explanatory Notes state that it is expected that the chief executive will delegate the responsibility to the chief executive of the National Apprenticeship Service. I am not sure that the NAS needs a separate status, but given that the NAS will be responsible for the day-to-day running of the apprenticeship scheme, could the Minister please explain to us why it has been decided that the English certifying authority will be the chief executive of the SFA? This may be a sensible position for the NAS, but I should be grateful if the Minister could expand on the theory behind it for the benefit of us all. In discussions in another place, my colleague Mr John Hayes talked about the sector skills councils as the issuing authority at the moment and as the bodies that, according to the Explanatory Notes to this Bill, are expected to help to develop frameworks for apprenticeships in conjunction with the standard-setting bodies. The argument is that it would not make sense for the sector skills councils to translate into the certifying authority, because then there would be too many different certificates, rather than just one produced by the NAS. Nevertheless, this need not prevent the NAS from being held accountable to the chief executive of skills funding. At the moment, the issuing authorities are the sector skills councils. After the Bill becomes an Act, the chief executive of the SFA will be the certifying authority who will then delegate the function to the NAS, which will sit inside the body of the SFA. I understand from the Minister in another place that none of this will mean any "diminution" of the role of sector skills councils. I reflect for a moment that the Government are creating a complex web. I am not averse to the NAS remaining under the aegis of the chief executive of skills funding, but I very much look forward to hearing the Minister’s response. I hope that he will untangle it all for us with a clear explanation of the accountability and reporting functions of all these bodies. It is in that expectation that I await his reply.