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Further Education and Training Bill [HL]

My Lords, I thank the Government, the Minister, and in particular Bill Rammell, for the genuine efforts that they have made over the past few weeks to listen to our concerns and those of interested organisations and for coming forward with amendments to address these points. There is no doubt that the government amendments improve Clause 19 considerably and address many of the concerns of Peers and outside groups. The draft guidance and explanatory material that the Government recently provided has informed and advanced the debate in many areas. We are very happy that the Government have decided to accept our recommendation that a report is laid before Parliament four years after the powers in this clause are implemented. This will give us an opportunity to scrutinise whether these safeguards have been sufficient, and to consider whether more are needed, or whether the proposals we are looking at today are enough. That will also do much to reassure people that the Government’s commitments on secondary legislation, which were given today and at other stages, are being effectively implemented. One of these ensures that the Privy Council will specify that further education institutions may only award foundation degrees for a period of six years before undergoing a comprehensive review by the QAA, prior to being considered suitable for awarding these powers in perpetuity. This review is critical and I would welcome any additional assurances that the Minister can offer on the rigour and thoroughness of the review. It is necessary to maintain the standards of foundation degrees and to ensure their continuing credibility in the eyes of students, employers and the higher education institutions that the students will, I hope, progress on to. Similarly, we are glad that the Government have tabled amendments to allow the Privy Council to restrict the abilities of further education institutions to accredit foundation degrees in other institutions. This franchising of the accrediting power has caused real concern, because of the enormous damage it could do to the foundation degree brand in a short time. Again, the Government’s reassurances that these powers will not be given until an institution has successfully completed its six-year review period will do much to restore faith in this Clause. However, there is still one point on which we do not believe the Government have fully appreciated the strength of feeling. It has already been mentioned in other speeches: the relationship between higher education and further education, and progression from one end to the other of a foundation degree. The Government have assured us that they understand that this is one of the principal motivations for students undertaking a foundation degree, and have given some assurances about the continuing importance of articulation agreements between higher and further education, in order to ensure a good fit between the courses. On these Benches, we do not believe that it is enough. We fully support the principle behind proposed new subsection (6B) in the amendment tabled by the noble Lord, Lord Dearing, in his amendment on this Clause. Putting the continuing progression from foundation degrees to honours degrees in the Billis a necessary step for maintaining important relationships and to ensure the further success of foundation degrees. An unequivocal sign that a foundation degree is a higher-education-level qualification, with commensurate standards of course content, teacher quality and the chance to convert the qualification into a level 6 honours degree, with the equivalent one more year of full-time study, is indispensable. Without this safeguard, this clause could still lead to the eventual development of two tiers of foundation degree, with those awarded by a higher education institution being considered more credible than those awarded by a further education college. This is something that must be guarded against at all costs. To put a requirement for ensuring progression in the Bill will introduce nothing that the Government have not already committed to in secondary legislation, but will address one of the last serious concerns that we on these Benches, and many elsewhere, have. I hope that the Minister will be able to continue in the spirit of engagement with this debate, and will ensure us that he will consider this point and bring back an amendment that encapsulates this principle at Third Reading. One of the great pleasures of debating this Bill has been speaking to many wonderful people whom we have in the further education sector. I have spoken to a number of principals, who say that you have to be aware that people going into foundation degrees are working, and studying part-time. Quite often, they will finish the foundation degree, probably be quite tired and therefore will not continue immediately. Or, because they have a foundation degree and work for a big company, they may be transferred elsewhere and not go back to the university where they had the original articulation agreement. It is important that those points are taken into consideration. I hope that everybody from the universities will recognise that. We are dealing with a very different kind of student, and it is important to encourage them as much as possible to go into higher education. Although I understand the desire to consult students, there is some concern in further education colleges over which students will be consulted. Will it be those who are already doing foundation degrees, or those who are doing other things, but may think about going on to degrees? Will this consultation be binding on the council of governors? It is very important that when a further education college has gone to a great deal of work and effort to put something in place, that it cannot be overturned at a whim by somebody who may not even consider going on to do a foundation degree. I would also like the Minister to clarify something for the Association of Colleges’ sister organisation in Wales, fforwm. There was some confusion during the debate in the Welsh Assembly on this Bill as to whether Clause 26 was sufficient to allow the Welsh Assembly to enact similar legislation to enable Welsh colleges to award their own degrees. Although many Welsh Assembly Members thought that it would be, surely the Welsh Assembly has not been given the power to amend the Further and Higher Education Act 1992, and so has no ability to extend the Privy Council’s remit to cover Welsh further education colleges. Is this the case and, if so, can the Minister explain why the Government have not thought it necessary to extend the same potential to Welsh colleges as they have to English colleges—or, indeed, have they overlooked that?