Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Bill

My Lords, noble Lords will be aware that we have long called for a regulatory body. We welcome the Government’s agreement on this matter and are delighted that they have taken our views on board, bringing forward the Bill to put Ofqual on a statutory footing. Concerns about the standards of education in our country have occupied reams of newspaper coverage and hours of parental concern, and have caused disquiet in the public sphere. We have therefore called for a body to be in charge of regulating those standards to ensure that, as standards rise, the public can be assured about the quality and rigour of our exam system. We welcome the Government’s agreement on that point and look forward to enshrining Ofqual in legislation. We believe, however, that there are improvements to be made to the structure of Ofqual in the Bill. That is why we have tabled Amendment 220A, which would ensure that an ordinary member of the Ofqual board should not have any financial or occupational interests that would give rise to a conflict in Ofqual’s objectives. We on these Benches think that it is important to ensure that Ofqual is fully independent of educational bureaucrats. So that we are not misunderstood, I would like to make it clear that this does not preclude the participation of those involved in academia and industry. On the contrary, we would actively encourage the involvement of these people. They would be able to provide the help and expertise to form a truly rigorous and effective exam system. However, those involved should be entirely independent of those in the educational establishment who have a vested interest in portraying standards as being maintained or even rising. The public’s perception of exam results has been tarnished by successive years of Ministers assuring the public that standards are rising, despite more and more evidence to the contrary. We need a regulator that will provide honest and impartial assessments of standards. I look forward to the Minister’s response.