The Technical and
Further Education Bill 2016-17 was introduced in
the House of Commons on 27 October 2016. Among other things,
the Bill implements proposals set out in the
Government’s Post – 16 Skills
Plan, published in July 2016, which were developed in
response to recommendations in the Report of the
Independent Panel on Technical Education chaired
by .
The Bill will:
- rename the Institute for Apprenticeships and extend its
remit to cover college-based technical education in addition to
apprenticeships;
- create an insolvency framework for the further education
(FE) sector and establish a new special administration regime
for FE corporations, sixth form corporations, and companies
which run designated institutions in England and Wales; and
- ensure that the provision of information to the Government
by FE providers will continue following any devolution of the
Adult Skills Budget to combined authorities.
Further background information on the Bill (as introduced to
the Commons) is provided in Library Briefing
7752, Technical and
Further Education Bill.
This briefing paper provides information on amendments made to
the Bill during its progress through the House of Lords. The
paper has been updated to additionally include a summary of
consideration of Lords amendments by the House of Commons on
19 April 2017.
The Bill was presented in the House of Lords on 10 January 2017
and the Second Reading debate took place on 1 February 2017.
The Lords Committee Stage of the Bill took place over three
days between 22 February 2017 and 1 March 2017. The Report
Stage took place on the 27 March 2017 and
the Third Reading was on 4 April 2017.
Lords Amendments
Three Opposition new clauses were agreed relating
to technical education:
- To ensure that providers of technical education will have a
right to go into schools to inform pupils about technical
education qualifications and apprenticeships. The new clause
was accepted by the Government and had cross-party support. It
was agreed without a division.
- A requirement for Ofsted to take into account the careers
advice available to students when inspecting FE providers. The
new clause was agreed following a division.
- To make Child Benefit payable in respect of young people
under 20 undertaking statutory apprenticeships, and to extend
the Higher Education Bursary to care leavers taking
apprenticeships. The new clause was agreed following a
division.
Government amendments were also agreed to ensure that data
sharing arrangements “remain fit for purpose” given that the
bodies that the Institute for Apprenticeships is likely to need
to share information with are expected to change over time.
In relation to part two of the Bill on
the insolvency framework, a number of
Government amendments were agreed at Committee Stage without
divisions, including:
- To provide that there is an accessible public record of
documents relating to an FE body’s insolvency.
- To ensure that the “needs of care leavers are provided for
in the event that the FE body they attend enters educational
administration.”
- To close a potential loophole in the Bill relating to the
disqualification of governors of FE corporations or sixth form
college corporations.
- To ensure that courts in the different parts of the UK can
cooperate if needed in the event of an FE body’s insolvency or
the disqualification of a governor of an FE body.
A non-government amendment was also agreed at Report Stage
relating to the functions of the Education Administrator. The
amendment was intended to remove perceived doubts concerning
the operation of the special objective, under which the primary
focus of an Education Administrator will be on the studies of
existing students. This is in contrast to an ordinary
administration where the administrator’s primary focus is on
rescuing the company or obtaining a better result for the
creditors as a whole. The Government accepted the amendment and
it was agreed without a division.
No amendments were made to the part of the Bill relating to the
provision of information by FE providers to the Government.
Ping Pong
When the Bill returned to the Commons on 19 April 2017 the
House accepted all but two of the Lords amendments without
division.
The Lords amendment providing for Child Benefit to be payable
to apprentices was disagreed to following a division. The
amendment concerning Ofsted taking into account careers advice
when inspecting FE providers was disagreed to but a Government
amendment in lieu was agreed. The Minister, , stated that the
Government’s amendment contained drafting changes to make sure
that the amendment proposed by the Lords achieves its intended
effect.
The House of Lords is scheduled to consider the Commons
amendments to the Bill on 25 April 2017.
