Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Bill

I thank the noble Lord, Lord Elton, for initiating this interesting debate. During his initial contribution, I was ruminating on whether to declare an interest. I am a school governor at my local primary school, where we are addressing the very problem that he talked about, where English is the second language. We have 29 languages spoken at our school, which, compared to some inner London schools, is not many. We take a number of special steps, including bringing parents in with the children to help the parent—it is usually mothers who attend the classes, not men. We also have our specifically trained SEN teacher. From my experience, one impressive thing is how quickly many of those young people pick up a basic command of English. Some of the nuances take time, but they are assessed not just for their ability to speak the language but for any underlying problems. That does not mean that I do not recognise the importance of the issue. We fully recognise the importance of good communication skills for all young people and adults so that they are better placed to succeed in learning, work and life. That is why in England we are developing functional skills in English which, along with functional skills in mathematics and information and communication technology, form the core of all learning routes for 14 to 19 year-olds. Pilots on that include young people in custody. Functional skills in English contain a range of communication skills and have been developed in consultation with employers and other stakeholders to ensure that they meet the skill needs of our modern world, to ensure that everyone in England who needs them has access to those functional skills qualifications. Through Clause 44, we are legislating to place responsibility on local authorities in England to secure the core entitlement for 16 to 19 year-olds. The core entitlement is to a course of study in English, mathematics and information and communication technology. It is intended to ensure that no young person misses out on the opportunity to develop vital functional skills to level 2 in English, mathematics and ICT. Employers and higher education institutions have told us that young people need those skills to succeed in the workplace and in further learning. I am sure that we all concur with that. Clause 47 places new duties on local education authorities in England and Wales to ensure that enough suitable education and training is provided to meet the reasonable needs of persons subject to detention in relevant youth accommodation. In doing so, the Bill provides that local authorities must have regard to any special educational needs or learning difficulties that those persons may have. It also provides that local authorities in England must have regard to the desirability of the core entitlement being satisfied for those subject to youth detention. We will make it clear in statutory guidance that we expect the core entitlement to be delivered in juvenile custody. We will also be clear in the guidance on the need for support to meet young people's needs where they speak English as an additional language. To address some of the specific points made, I was asked: why not cover English as a second language under Clause 40? Because we believe that all 16 to 18 year-olds will be developing functional skills in English to level 2 anyway. That is their core entitlement, as I have already explained. We have a new approach to teaching English for speakers of other languages. I am happy to send the noble Lord, Lord Elton, a copy of that document. Does the core entitlement apply in Wales? No. The additional entitlement duties for 14 to 19 year-olds apply only to local education authorities in England. Will the offender clauses apply in Wales? Yes, they will. I hope the noble Lord will agree that legislating for the core entitlement for post-16s through Clause 44, along with the general duties in Clauses 40 and 47, will mean that this amendment, while well intentioned, is unnecessary, and that he feels able to withdraw it.