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Education and Inspections Bill

I add my congratulations to the Secretary of State on his appointment. He is a sure pair of hands as well as a former higher education Minister and will be adept at resisting pressure from the Labour rebels on the left. On the Opposition Benches at least, we wish him well in his appointment and his new responsibilities. We had a good and interesting Committee; it was an unusual one for such a controversial and high-profile Bill, as its broad principles were supported by the Opposition. Nevertheless, some significant differences of view were brought out, on which we tried to amend the Bill, tabling about 219 amendments. As well as fundamental differences over the admissions code, the ban on interviews, home-school contracts, charging for school travel and special schools, some of which we shall debate later, we also had differences of view even about the Bill’s broad principles. In short, the Opposition are more Government than the Government in respect of the Bill. The new clause and Government amendment No. 42 both relate to the use of the Secretary of State’s veto on whether a local authority can propose a new community school in a competition for a new primary or secondary school. It was of course never part of the Government’s original vision that a local authority could propose a new community school, which is why, in a speech on the day before the White Paper was published last October, the Prime Minister said:"““We need to see every local authority moving from provider to commissioner, so that the system acquires a local dynamism responsive to the needs of their communities and open to change and new forms of school provision.""This will liberate local authorities from too often feeling the need to defend the status quo, so that instead they become the champions of innovation and diversity.””" That was the vision: more diversity among providers of education. But with 63 per cent. of schools already community schools, how will it help to create that diversity if we simply pile on more community schools?