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Education and Inspections Bill

I can assure the noble Lord that we will continue to refer to it as Ofsted, and the reports will be called Ofsted reports. There will be minimal change in that regard. The amendment of the noble Baroness, Lady Sharp, seeks to ensure that a member of the new Ofsted board has knowledge and experience of post-16 learning. The primary criteria for board members are good corporate governance, experience and credibility. Board members will not be appointed as sectoral representatives. However, the Government will be looking to appoint board members witha range of expertise, skills and professional backgrounds, including some with direct experience of education, children’s services and skills and some from business and other walks of life so as best to fulfil the role of the board to provide strategic direction and effective corporate governance. I hope that I can give similar reassurance on the amendments tabled by the noble Baroness, Lady Buscombe, on post-16 learning. In expanding Ofsted’s remit, the knowledge and experience built up by the Adult Learning Inspectorate will not be lost and, furthermore, we do not expect there to be any drive towards uniformity. Different sectors have different needs, different approaches will remain, and we shall expect these to be reflected in the new Ofsted arrangements. I hope that that gives the noble Baroness the reassurance that she is seeking.