Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Bill

My Lords, I start my brief remarks by saying that we would like to consider Amendment 218 and to accept Amendment 216, so that those who need to prepare can do so. I am grateful for the interest of the noble Lord, Lord De Mauley, in the issue and am pleased to see that there is agreement around the House, taking into account our discussions earlier in Committee, about the strong and distinctive contribution that our sixth-form colleges make in this country. This is a great opportunity for us to put on record the tremendous work that they do. The scrutiny that the amendments have prompted has been extremely valuable in challenging some of our initial assumptions. As we have heard, Amendment 218 would amend new Section 56F, which will give local authorities the power to appoint one or two additional governors to the governing body of a sixth-form college. That is a power that the Learning and Skills Council currently holds. It has used the powers to appoint 51 governors to 33 further education colleges—but always, importantly, as the noble Baroness, Lady Garden, commented, with the agreement of the institution. I recognise the importance of consultation, especially in such an important matter, so I am happy to reflect further on whether a local authority should be required to consult the governing body of a sixth-form college before making an appointment and will return to that on Report. As I said, I am also happy to accept Amendment 216, which will reduce the number of years before redesignation can occur from five to two. In response to the noble Baroness, Lady Garden, the point is that redesignation can occur after two years; it does not mean that it must. I note her comments about the need for experience to bed in before a college makes a decision, but it is an interesting proposition to have a two-year rather than a five-year limit. Still, we maintain that the designation process should not destabilise the college sector. This short debate has been helpful and important. We know that the sixth-form colleges are broadly supportive of the new arrangements. They believe that giving local authorities, which are primarily responsible for the strategic direction of schools, a major responsibility for the strategic direction of colleges will promote coherence. That view has been voiced by the Sixth Form Colleges’ Forum. With that, I am optimistic that noble Lords will accept my approach.