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Further Education and Training Bill [HL]

I was rather hoping that the noble Baroness would go on to give my answer for me; alas, she has left me to give the explanation. First, I thank both noble Baronesses for their kind opening remarks. As ever, my policy in dealing with Bills is to deluge noble Lords with as much relevant paper as possible in the hope that that will dissuade them from bringing matters to the Committee. But I appear to have failed comprehensively on that. We all agree with the noble Lord, Lord Dearing. It is vital that the LSC has a strong, efficient and flexible council which secures strong engagement of employers and all other stakeholders engaged in the further education and training sectors. Clause 1 provides the scope for the council to operate with fewer members, if that is considered appropriate, while remaining balanced and diverse. It is part of our move to streamline the whole Learning and Skills Council in line with our commitments in the White Paper. We believe that it is right to have the scope to operate with fewer members, but, to put that in perspective, the proposal is for the national Learning and Skills Council to have between 10 and 16 members. Currently, its membership is between 12 and 16, so we are not talking about seismic changes. By way of comparison, under the relevant statute, the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority—which has huge responsibilities, including a good deal of responsibilities for development of the 14-to-19 age group diplomas that the noble Lord, Lord Dearing, mentioned—has between eight and 13 members, so it operates within a smaller parameter than the Learning and Skills Council. The new Ofsted board serving the enlarged Ofsted, which includes responsibility for all children’s services under the Education and Inspections Act, recently enacted by your Lordships, operates with a board of between five and 10 members. That is potentially half the size of the minimum set out under this Bill, so we believe that it accords with best practice. It will not compromise the capacity of the LSC to operate effectively, but of course it is without prejudice for the need for the council to consult fully all stakeholders in developing all its policies. We take it for granted that the membership, at whatever level between 10 and 16 members, will operate on that basis.