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Education and Inspections Bill

That would not be possible within the framework of the new clause that we propose, as it relates only to educational establishments. There is an argument for wider protection for teachers, which would require provisions under criminal justice legislation that go beyond the Bill. If it could be shown that there had been a leak from the police contrary to the Government’s existing guidance, I hope that that would be an offence and that people would have some redress. Unfortunately, it has not been possible for us, with our advisers, to put that in a new clause that would be in order. We have not been able to crack that within the framework of the Bill. Perhaps the Minister has better advice. We are suggesting that the current guidance should have greater legal force. It should have full statutory force, and people who breach the provisions on confidentiality in the guidance should be committing an offence. That is what we are trying to achieve. If I may say so, I think the arguments in favour of our approach would be widely appreciated across the House. We all know that in terms of a balance of rights and responsibilities, many people in the teaching profession feel that they are on the receiving end of a rights culture which is sometimes skilfully understood by extremely young children, but that the rights of teachers are not properly protected. There is a strong case for giving teachers at least a right to anonymity similar to that which those who accuse them often enjoy.