My Lords, Amendment 137 is tabled in my name and those of my noble friends Lady Hughes of Stretford and Lady Jones of Whitchurch, and the noble Lord, Lord Low of Dalston. I shall speak also to Amendments 145, 165, 173 and 175 in this group. Amendments 137, 145, 165 and 173 seek to amend various clauses, including Clause 36, “Assessment of education, health and care needs”; Clause 37, “Education, health and care plans”; Clause 44, “Reviews and Re-assessments”; and Clause 45, “Ceasing to maintain an EHC plan”. All these clauses refer to a local authority “having regard” to a young person’s age when making a determination. Examples include the review of a plan or the decision to cease to support a plan. Similar amendments to these were tabled in the other place seeking to replace the reference to age with a reference to having regard to “educational outcomes”, but these amendments go further and would simply remove the references to age altogether. This is something that I am sure colleagues in the Committee know that the sector is much exercised about. These amendments seek to ensure that children or young people with
education, health and care plans are supported to achieve qualifications similar to other children and young people regardless of their age, so long as they are under 25.
The provisions as currently outlined are restrictive and there is a lot more that should be taken into account by local authorities when deciding whether a young person needs a plan or remains in need of one. Many young people have specific circumstances such as spending periods of time not in education or training, the reasons already discussed in relation to previous amendments, or they may lag behind because of their specific learning difficulties. It is therefore essential that decisions should be based primarily on educational outcomes rather than a young person’s age.
These are probing amendments, and removing the reference to age is not an argument for support to go on indefinitely. Indeed, I think that the age of 25 is a sensible and proper target, but it is also wrong that age should be the overriding factor that is considered by local authorities, as the clauses currently suggest. The Minister in the other place agreed that age should not be the only factor considered when determinations are made, but he did say that the Government,
“want the clause to prompt local authorities, once a young person is aged over 18 … to take a thorough look at whether outcomes have been achieved and the young person has made a successful transition to adulthood”,
and went on to say that:
“The relevant regulation in the draft plan assessment regulations sets out that, when undertaking reviews, local authorities must consider the child or young person’s progress towards achieving the outcomes specified in the EHC plan”.—[Official Report, Commons, Children and Families Public Bill Committee, 16/4/13; col. 562.]
However, Clause 45(3) already requires a local authority,
“to have regard to whether the educational outcomes specified in the plan have been achieved”,
when it is considering whether to cease maintaining a plan. I therefore argue that the emphasis currently placed on age in the legislation is a complicating factor, causing entirely unnecessary ambiguity and potentially undermining the attainment of young people.
For 20 years I served as a councillor in a local authority and I know that colleagues on all sides of the Committee have also served at different times. I can tell the Minister that, from that experience and knowledge, the legislation as drafted will allow cash-strapped councils to drive a coach and horses through it—and they will certainly do so. It is a local council’s great escape and this will rival the film “The Great Escape” if we are not careful. Surely we do not want that to happen. I fear that the emphasis on age will work against what we are seeking to do in the Bill as a whole.
I turn to Amendment 175 tabled in the name of my noble friends Lady Hughes of Stretford and Lady Jones of Whitchurch. Clause 46 states that:
“A local authority may continue to maintain an EHC plan for a young person until the end of the academic year during which the young person attains the age of 25”.
As with previous clauses and amendments that we have already discussed, there is a concern that too much emphasis is again being placed on age as opposed to the educational outcomes of a young person. There
is serious concern that such references to age could lead to local authorities cutting support part way through apprenticeships or other training courses. As I have stated previously, while support cannot continue indefinitely and 25 is a good cut-off point, we have to be careful about using age as a determining factor.
I welcome the fact that apprenticeships are now included in the Bill, and we are all grateful to the Government for listening to the representations made by noble Lords on all sides. However, age or the academic year should not be the only factor. The overwhelming factor should be the educational outcome for the young person. I am pleased that the Government, following an undertaking given by the Minister in the other place, have looked at this and have included the objectives of this amendment in the regulations. I thank the Government for listening because it leads to good and sensible dialogue and we then make better law than would otherwise be the case. In those circumstances, I beg to move.
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