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Education and Skills Bill

I will not take any interventions. We will do so in consultation with Barnardo's and Rainer. This is my final point. I have also studied in detail what Barnardo's and Rainer said on the more general point, which is made by the hon. Member for Surrey Heath (Michael Gove), about whether compulsion is the right way to go in the Bill. It is absolutely at the heart of the Bill. Martin Narey said:"““I think it was Michael Gove who said on Second Reading that you cannot take a horse to water, but my experience is that you can.””" Barnardo's said:"““If you use compulsion simply to force a 16 or 17-year-old back into the same classroom environment from which he has been truanting since year 11, it will fail. But, if you use compulsion to open his or her eyes to a different form of education or training, it can work.””" That is the approach we are taking. We are not compelling young people to go into school; we are providing opportunities for work with training or apprenticeships. Another expert who gave evidence to the Committee, Paul Head—