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Further Education and Training Bill [HL]

We never do anything other than on a sensible basis. I appreciate the point the noble Baroness is making and I shall give a brief statement of our intentions. The clause will enable us to bring in regulations for the mandatory qualification of existing college principals moving to a new post in England and enables Ministers to bring in future regulations for all principals in England if deemed necessary. The reason for this is our belief that strong, effective leadership is required to support the FE reforms which will improve quality in the sector, benefiting all concerned. This will help to address the weaknesses in FE leadership identified by Ofsted in its inspections and Sir Andrew Foster in his independent review of further education. Therefore, requiring the qualification of FE principals is part of our work to professionalise staff in the FE system. Following the passage of the Bill, we intend to lay regulations covering principals who move to a new principal’s post. These will apply from April 2009. However, we do not intend at this stage to make this leadership qualification mandatory for serving principals who remain in post, which is the group I believe the noble Baroness has in mind. However, there is a clear expectation that serving principals should undertake the new principals’ qualifying programme on a voluntary basis. In cases where the serving principal is on the verge of retirement, that may not be appropriate and I am sure that commonsense will apply in this matter, as in all others under the Bill.