Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Bill

I, too, support my noble friend’s amendments, which are very much in line with the spirit of our Amendment 27, the purpose of which is to guard against the risk of inaction by a body in authority, causing the whole process to grind to a halt. I share my noble friend’s concern that the Bill may be too prescriptive in its regulations for apprenticeship frameworks. Amendments 28 and 33 would ensure that if a local authority failed to produce a requested apprenticeship framework the employer could still carry out the training as per the draft. It is vital that the Bill supports employers who submit a draft apprenticeship framework, as their involvement is the crucial factor in raising quality. The CBI argues that the process for employers wanting to develop their own qualification must be simple and that new legislation must encourage the participation of employers in apprenticeships. Do this Government intend to stop people carrying out training while frameworks are still in draft form? One feels that this might be a rather retrograde step.