Children, Schools and Families Bill

If the guarantee is a real guarantee, there is a high likelihood that it will give rise to contractual rights. If, however—as is probably the case, which is why I will not be calling for a vote on this issue—the guarantees are not really worth very much and this is merely political posturing, the Minister is right, and it will not be possible to enforce these provisions in the courts, regardless of whether that is explicitly ruled out in the legislation. The guarantees represent an expensive and bureaucratic approach to trying to raise standards in our schools. They are, in effect, the last refuge of a Government who know that they have not delivered. This new clause and amendment go some way towards mitigating the downside of some of the implications of the pupil and parent guarantees, however. For that reason, we will not oppose them—but they will not create one single thing that will help to raise standards in our schools.