---

Education and Skills Bill

Mostly I want to listen to what the Minister has to say. Further to what my noble friend said, the crucial part of this Bill is Clause 38(1), which seems too weak. It obliges the local authority to check whether the parent has any effect, good or bad, on decisions made by their child. Often there will be no such effect, no possibility of such an effect and therefore no justification for a parenting order. I should like to see that part of the Bill, possibly combined with my noble friend’s Amendment No. 118, made a condition precedent so that the local authority has to be satisfied that the parent is doing something that they should not be doing, or not doing something that they could be doing, which would make a real difference. Otherwise, there is no justification for harrying parents of children who have exercised their right to independence. If taken too far, such a duty is likely to result in families breaking up before they need to.