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Further Education and Training Bill [HL]

My Lords, I promise to talk about something other than disability one of these days, but I hope that your Lordships will forgiveme if I talk about it just once more and focus onthe disability aspects of the Bill, in view of thecrucial importance of education in combating the disadvantage that disabled people experience in our society. Consider for a moment, if you will, the following facts. At 16, young disabled people are twice as likely not to be in any form of education, employment or training as their non-disabled peers—the figure is15 per cent for disabled people as against 7 per cent for non-disabled people. This gap increases to three times as likely by the age of 19—27 per cent as against 9 per cent. Apparently things are getting worse, not better. According to a DfES study published last year, the number of young disabled people not in any form of education, employment or training increased from 11 per cent to 15 per cent between 2000 and 2004. Disabled people are around twice as likelyas non-disabled people to have no recognised qualifications. The Fabian Commission on Life Chances and Child Poverty found that young people aged between 16 and 18 who are not in education, employment or training are at a much higher risk of experiencing poor outcomes in adult life and passing on this disadvantage to the next generation as they themselves become parents. The Equalities Review, which was set up to identify the deepest and most persistent causes of disadvantage, found that not being in education, employment or training for six months between 16 and 18 was the single most powerful predictor of unemployment at age 21. That is a dire situation for disabled people to be in. In today's society, anyone who wishes to secure sustainable employment and so enjoy an independent life requires at least basic skills in literacy, numeracy and information technology, some form of formal qualification and effective informal skills such as social and interpersonal skills. Research indicates that the number of jobs requiring no qualification has almost halved in recent years from about 18 per cent in 1994 to 11 per cent in 2004. We have also heard the Minister’s figures. This trend is set to continue, with the prediction that in 2020 almost half of all employment will be in higher-skilled occupations. No wonder, then, the recent emphasis in the Leitch report on the paramount need to upskill the British workforce, something that the Chancellor underscored in his Pre-Budget Statement last week and the Minister further stressed today. Yet in 2005 the Labour Force Survey found that 35 per cent of disabled people had no formal qualifications at all. As a result, they are more likely to be either unemployed or in low-paid, low-skilled jobs. At a national strategic level, the Government have outlined, in a Cabinet Office report that was published at the beginning of last year, an ambitious vision for improving the life chances of disabled people. The report states that by 2025 disabled people should have full opportunities and choices to improve their quality of life and should be respected and included as equal members of society. The further education system has a vital role to play in achieving this vision. Appropriate and accessible further education can empower disabled people with the skills and knowledge that they need to help them to bridge the skills gap and to get into work. However, earlier this year, the Adult Learning Inspectorate reported that, "““the current provision for adult learners with disabilities is costly and does not provide value for money””." In the introduction to the report, David Sherlock, the Chief Inspector of Adult Learning in England, was even more damning when he wrote of the post-16 education system, "““compassion is seen as not only sufficient, but as a justification for restricting ambition and growth””." This is all extremely gloomy when one thought that things were getting steadily better following the publication of the Tomlinson report a decade ago. To tackle this state of affairs, the Learning and Skills Council recently launched its first national strategy for learners with a learning difficulty and/or disability within the further education system, which seeks to implement the recommendations of the Little review, Through Inclusion to Excellence. Against that background, the present Bill is to be welcomed for the quest for excellence that it seeks to underpin through the establishment of an effective intervention regime by transferring to the LSC the Secretary of State's power to intervene where provision is unsatisfactory or not improving. In such circumstances, all that is needed here is an assurance that the needs of disabled learners will receive due consideration in any transition arrangements. I very much support the inclusion agenda for all those who can effectively access mainstream colleges. Indeed, my own organisation, RNIB, has been proactive in seeking to establish college partnerships in all the English regions, in order to mobilise our specialist expertise in support of blind and partially sighted learners in mainstream colleges. At the same time, there is a need to retain some specialist college provision, particularly for those who have multiple disabilities and may be less able to cope in the mainstream, and while mainstream colleges are not yet fully geared up for meeting the needs of all learners with learning difficulties and disabilities, especially the most complex. In that connection, I am concerned that regional planning, funding and placement are placing excessive pressure on the viability of specialist colleges—pressure that it may sometimes be impossible to withstand. RNIB—and here I declare my interest as chairman—has recently had to withdraw from the provision of further education at its Redhill College in the face of the twin pressures of the funding regime, which failed to cover the cost of providing its specialist service, and regionalisation, which effectively forced a specialist college reliant on an inter-regional or national catchment because it catered for a minority impairment group to become more generic, thus losing the attraction of its specialist expertise. In the recognition that the voluntary sector has an important part to play in partnership with the FE sector in delivering further education and training tailored to the needs of those with learning difficulties and disabilities, there are just three specific areas in which I would welcome some further clarification or reassurance from the Minister. I hope that he will not find it difficult to make a positive response to these modest requests, in comparison with the onslaught that his Bill has sustained from the previous two speakers. First, with regard to Clause 2 of the Bill, regionalisation of the LSC will undoubtedly help voluntary bodies in working with the sector andmake it more manageable for national providers to influence LSC strategy. Until now, it has been necessary to liaise with up to 47 different local learning and skills councils, with the variation in response that this inevitably entails. Now it will be possible to have a more strategic regional dialogue, which will make it possible to have a greater impact on a larger number of learners. As regards the future composition of the new regional councils, it would be good to have some clarification on the categories of membership in order to ensure that the voluntary sector is fully represented and that due regard is paid to the representation of learners who have learning difficulties and or disabilities. Secondly, as regards Clause 6, on the functions of the council and in particular its duty in relation to diversity and choice, I would welcome an assurance that the opportunity for individuals to exercise choice will extend to the full continuum of provision encompassing, as now, national residential as well as local mainstream colleges. Thirdly, on Clause 7, which concerns consultation by the council, I welcome the requirement for consultation with learners and employers in order to ensure that provision meets their needs, but would I like some reassurance that any consultation process will take account of the accessibility needs ofpersons with learning difficulties and disabilities. Furthermore, it would be helpful to have some clarification of whether consultation will be confined to learners and employers or whether it would be reasonable to expect a wider consultation process involving voluntary bodies with a relevant interest, and to know that the outcomes of such consultation will be acted on. I think that I heard the Minister say that charities could be involved, but it would be helpful to have his confirmation. Finally, I refer to the fact that under the framework of the new disability equality duty, which came into force on 4 December, all prospective government legislation must undergo a rigorous disability equality impact assessment. This will show the impact of the changes on disabled people and highlight areas where adjustments are required to ensure that disabled people are not disadvantaged. I trust that, duringthe Bill’s passage, the Government will publish the disability equality impact assessment so that its findings can be properly considered and debated.