Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Bill

Like the noble Baroness, Lady Sharp, I have put my name to Amendment 94 of the noble Lord, Lord Rix, not because I want to see subsection (4)(e) of new Section 15ZA of the 1996 Act removed from the Bill but because it is important to probe the Government’s intention on this point. The paragraph enters the proviso that the LEA must make the best use of its resources and must not provide for anything that would, ""give rise to disproportionate expenditure"." I am curious about how the Government intend to enforce this area of the Bill. While it is admirable, it will be difficult to enforce for two main reasons. First, it will be difficult to measure what the best use would be of an authority’s resources, given that it will have to provide very different services for a range of diverse groups of people. Each group will have its own needs and concerns, and I cannot see how the LEA will decide which service will accord with the best use of its resources. Secondly, and this echoes the concerns expressed by other noble Lords, this provision may provide the get-out clause for local education authorities that are on a tight budget and might therefore seek to reduce spending on providing for those with learning difficulties or other disabilities. I sympathise with the LEAs in this respect; we on these Benches think that the devolution of the duties involved in providing education will stretch resources and put a great deal of strain on already struggling authorities. Nevertheless, it is also vital that those with learning difficulties or any form of disability are not left behind. Subsection (5) of the new section attempts to clarify that expenditure should not be considered disproportionate just because it may be more expensive than comparable provision. However, as the noble Baroness, Lady Sharp, said, more clarity is still needed if we are to ensure that LEAs are able to run educational provision that will include all relevant people while simultaneously making the best use of resources. Amendment 143 seeks to ensure that local authorities have a duty to carry out assessments of the sufficiency of the provision of suitable education for learners with learning difficulties. I will be interested to listen to the Minister’s response to it, given that I am not sure how, without such assessments, it would be possible to ensure that provision for learners with learning difficulties was being adequately provided. If such an assessment cannot be made, how will it be possible to make improvements to the system? I look forward to hearing the Minister’s response.