Background
The Skills and Post-16 Education Bill [HL] was introduced in the House of Lords on 18 May 2021 and received its first reading in the House of Commons on 26 October 2021. It passed its report stage and third reading in the Commons on 21 February 2022. Consideration of amendments took place between 24 March and 7 April 2022. The Bill received royal assent on 28 April 2022 and became the Skills and Post-16 Education Act 2022.
The Bill aims to improve how the skills and post-16 education system functions in England. It supports the Lifetime Skills Guarantee, announced by the Prime Minister in September 2020.
The Bill would implement reforms set out in the Department for Education (DfE) White Paper, Skills for Jobs: Lifelong Learning for Opportunity and Growth (January 2021). These included giving employers a greater say in skills development and introducing a Lifelong Loan Entitlement.
The Bill also includes measures to address some of the recommendations of the Independent Panel Report to the Review of Post-18 Education and Funding (the Augar report), published in May 2019, particularly around increasing opportunities for flexible, lifetime learning.
What the Bill does
The Bill would allow Local Skills Improvement Plans (LSIPs) to be created by Employer Representative Bodies (ERBs). LSIPs would take account of local skills needs to help shape what courses further education providers offer.
The Bill would also increase the role of the Institute for Apprenticeships and Training when it comes to approving and regulating qualifications. It would also give the Secretary of State for Education powers to introduce a Lifelong Loan Entitlement, which would provide students with four years of funding for post-18 education.
Other provisions seek to improve further education teacher training, increase the amount of information pupils receive about technical education and training, and to criminalise services that help post-16 students in England cheat on assessments.
Commons second reading debate
MPs passed the Bill at its second reading on 15 November without a vote. During the debate, the Secretary of State for Education, Nadhim Zahawi, announced policy changes and proposed amendments to address concerns raised in the House of Lords. These included:
- committing to amend the Bill to include combined authorities in the development of LSIPs;
- delaying the defunding of some BTEC qualifications by a year;
- removing the requirement to get a level 2 English and maths qualification as part of a T level (new, two-year technical courses equivalent to three A Levels);
- committing to consult on proposals to reform level 2 qualifications (a GCSE pass or equivalent).
Labour said the Bill had been improved by the Lords and would not oppose it. However, it raised concerns about the timetable for introducing the Lifelong Loan Entitlement, the exclusion of level 2 qualifications from the Bill, and the effect of funding restrictions for students wanting to take an equivalent or lower-level qualification to the ones they hold.
Commons committee stage debate
The Bill’s committee stage comprised six sessions of line-by-line scrutiny between 30 November and 7 December 2021. In addition to the promised amendment to include the views of combined authorities in creating LSIPs, the Government removed amendments and new clauses added at report stage in the House of Lords. Among other things, the Government reversed changes that would have:
- required LSIPs to be developed by a “partnership” between ERBs, local authorities, and further education providers;
- given learners a legal right to take BTECs and other applied general qualifications, rather than simply the opportunity where they are offered;
- allowed students to keep their Universal Credit entitlement while studying.
No Opposition amendments were accepted, but in response to several issues they raised, the Minister for Skills said relevant details would be set out in statutory guidance.
Commons report stage and third reading debate
17 new clauses and 18 amendments were tabled at report stage on 21 February 2022, but only one, tabled by the Government, was successfully added to the Bill. It would give the Office for Students (OfS), which regulates higher education in England, powers to publish regulatory reports and decisions, as well as protection from defamation claims relating to these reports and decisions.
Many of the issues raised during the Bill’s committee stage were once again highlighted through amendments tabled during report stage. These included sharia-compliant student finance, access to universal credit while studying, careers guidance, and the removal of funding from BTECs.
Commons consideration of amendments
On 24 March, the Lords agreed to the 27 amendments made to the Bill in the House of Commons (PDF), but added new words to amendments 15 and 17.
These changes would have amended the Bill to allow funding to be withdrawn from level 3 qualifications that overlap with A Levels and T Levels only after three years, and in some cases four years. This amendment was made against the wishes of the Government, who had previously announced a one-year delay to their initial timetable for withdrawing public funding for some level 3 qualifications.
The second change would have required education and training providers to have access to pupils on at least six occasions, from years 8 to 13, to inform them about their technical education options. This amendment was tabled by the Government and was an increase from the Bill’s previous requirement of at least three encounters.
The Bill returned to the House of Commons on 28 March 2022. The Commons rejected the Lords amendment to delay the withdrawal of public funding from level 3 qualifications for at least three years. It agreed with the Government-backed amendment to require six encounters between school and college pupils and providers of technical education and apprenticeships.
The Bill returned to the Lords on 7 April 2022. Baroness Barran revealed the Government expects public funding to be removed for less than half of the total number of level 3 qualifications currently funded that overlap with T Levels. She also confirmed qualifications that overlap with T Levels introduced in 2020/21 and 2022/23 will not have funding approval removed until the 2024/25 and 2025/26 academic years respectively. As a result, the Lords did not insist on their amendment about delaying the withdrawal of public funding from some level 3 qualifications.
Royal assent
The Bill received royal assent on 28 April 2022 and became the Skills and Post-16 Education Act 2022.
Further reading
Background to the Bill, commentary on its provisions, and responses from the further education and skills sector can be found in the Commons Library briefing Skills and Post-16 Education Bill.