Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Bill

First, I should like to say how much I enjoyed the speech of the noble Baroness, Lady Sharp of Guildford. As always, she has given me a lot to think about. I realise that she was delving into the history books for debates that have gone before, but I should like to reflect on the points she raised because I did sense—this may come as a shock to her—that we were heading in the same direction. However, I need to think a little more carefully about exactly where we are going to end up. The noble Baroness, Lady Perry of Southwark, made an important point which I am not sure the Minister answered. The noble Viscount, Lord Eccles, asked some quite penetrating questions, as did my noble friend Lord Elton. The sum of all this is that I hope the Minister will take time to reflect on the debate because she gave a number of assurances. The noble Baroness, Lady Sharp of Guildford, obviously feels that the Government have given a commitment to consider bringing forward amendments. I did not hear the Minister say the word "amendments", but, if that is the case, I would greatly welcome it because we need clarification. The Minister got so bound up in the whole, if I may say so, quixotic verbosity and chivalrousness of the speech she had been given that she said it was in no way her intention to increase "democracy"; I think she meant "bureaucracy".