---

Further Education and Training Bill [HL]

Before I speak to the question whether Clause 2 should stand part of the Bill, I should like to set the record straight. It seems that there was some misunderstanding at Second Reading. I mentioned that we understood why my much-lamented late friend Lady Blatch had said that the Bill was a recipe for disaster and excessive bureaucracy. Then, when my noble friend Lord Baker of Dorking said he did not think that regionalisation was the way forward, the noble Baroness, Lady Blackstone, responded that there was a difference between myself and my noble friend. I said that there was not and thus sowed even more confusion. We agree absolutely that the way the 2000 Bill was constructed led to the confusion and bureaucracy mentioned by Lady Blatch and we share the concerns expressed by my noble friend Lord Baker that moving to regions may not be the answer the Government seek. However, we welcome anything that eases the burden on and cuts the costs of the educational sector. I have now probably caused even more confusion. Members on these Benches are very glad to see that the Government appear to be trying to reduce the crushing weight of regulation, interference and micromanagement that has descended on both the private and the public spheres during their time in office. That is why we welcome any attempt on their part to reduce the amount of money intended for education being wasted on bureaucracy. It is unacceptable that £1.1 billion of the LSC’s annual budget of £10.5 billion fails to be spent on education or training matters, and I hope that this figure will fall considerably after these changes. However, I too am interested in the point made by my noble friend Lord Eccles about the sum of £55 million that has been earmarked to pay for the reorganisation. I should like to hear how that figure has been justified. We feel that the initial construction of the LSC, with a prescribed number of local councils, was a mistake. I cannot help but think that if at the time the Government had trusted further education more, right from the start, we would have seen a responsive and flexible system of councils grow from the ground up. For instance, in some areas more local councils might have been needed, particularly in a large region with plenty of diversity like my own in the north-west. In other areas such as Cornwall, a more regional council might have been the answer. Instead we have another reorganisation from the top down. At least the Government are being consistent: one new LSC initiative every year. I seek reassurance that the move from local councils to regional councils working in conjunction with local partnerships will not merely add another layer of bureaucracy while simultaneously moving decision-making powers away from the local level, where it would be most effective. I hope that the Minister will be able to explain which duties will be handled by the regional councils rather than the local partnerships, or preferably—as we would like to see—by the colleges themselves. I would have thought that most decisions would be most effectively taken at the local or national level, especially on engagement with employers. Most businesses operate on a national or local level, not a regional one. How will colleges be able to respond flexibly to local demand for certain skills and target their courses to a local job market if they have to go for approval to a regional body, which may not understand their local requirements? I look forward to hearing the Minister’s response and can hope only that this clause will not fall between two stools. Tackling bureaucratic waste and inefficiency is certainly to be welcomed and I hope that this can be achieved without sacrificing the flexibility that we were hoping for with the use of local councils.