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Further Education and Training Bill [Lords]

There is no doubt that during the Bill’s passage the Minister and other members of the Government have listened, have been reasonable, have conceded several points, and have promoted amendments that have improved the Bill. There is no ideological difference between the two sides of the House. There is no difference between the Liberal Democrat Front Bench and the Government; there is no difference between the comments of my hon. Friend the Member for Daventry (Mr. Boswell) and those of my hon. Friend the Member for Rugby and Kenilworth (Jeremy Wright). This is a noble Bill which heads in the right direction, and we strongly support its overall aim. I listened carefully to the Minister’s explanation of why he had not addressed this issue earlier. It seems that, to a certain degree, he and the Government were dragged kicking and screaming into changing the level of scrutiny given to bodies being granted foundation degree-awarding status by the Privy Council. I thank the hon. Member for Brent, East (Sarah Teather) for encouraging the Minister to take this route, but it strikes me as rather bizarre that all of a sudden, at the eleventh hour, the Minister is going to take a look at the guidance. I do not find that reassuring. There have been plenty of opportunities before now to guarantee progression from foundation courses to further qualifications.