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Further Education and Training Bill [HL]

We agree with the noble Baroness that it is vital that both the national and the regional learning and skills councils have an efficient and effective membership which secures the strong engagement of all key stakeholders. This requires the membership to be balanced and diverse to reflect the sector which it funds. I can confirm that we would expect all LSC regional councils to be business-led, drawing employers from the priority skills sectors in the region concerned. This will help ensure that the councils have a good understanding of the skills needs of the local communities they serve. Membership should include a further education college principal and one ““other”” provider, either a work-based learning provider, a voluntary community-sector provider or a school. We would also expect all LSC regional councils to include a representative from the regional development agency, a trade union member and a member of the local authority. One or more members must be able to bring a good understanding of higher education, and there would be two observer members, one from Jobcentre Plus and one from the government office. So most of the groups mentioned by the noble Baroness are covered by the requirements we intend to impose on the regional councils, on a non-statutory but none the less binding basis. I reassure the Committee that all appointments will be open and fair, in line with the recommendations of the Office of the Commissioner for Public Appointments. We want the very best people to be appointed to the regional LSCs, and to ensure that all members serve the interests of the LSC as a whole rather than speaking on behalf of individual organisations. We intend that the recruitment process should bring about that end. On Amendment No. 8, the provision is not about micromanaging the LSC; rather it is about working with it to deliver our shared goals, to advise on the Government’s priorities and their wider context, and to add value to the deliberations of the proposed regional councils. It allows regulations about regional councils to make provision entitling a representative of the Secretary of State to attend and participate in discussions, but not in decisions. In this respect it mirrors the current arrangements at national level, which are felt to work well. Meetings of the national council are always attended by an observer appointed by the Secretary of State. Noble Lords will also recall that we have proposed that the first set of regulations, including the provisions to be made under new Section 18A(3)(j), should be subject to affirmative resolution. In the light of those assurances, I hope that the noble Baroness will feel that I have met most of the points she raised.