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Education and Skills Bill

It is with great pleasure—for me, anyway—that we return to a debate about framework powers. I am almost starting to feel at home, getting closer to Wales every day. As the noble Lord is well aware, the UK Government’s White Paper, Better Governance for Wales, which was published in June 2005, confirmed that, "““the Government intends for the future to draft Parliamentary Bills in a way which gives the Assembly wider and more permissive powers to determine the detail of how the provisions should be implemented in Wales””." Framework powers of this kind were included, as we know, in the Education and Inspections Act 2006 and the NHS Redress Act 2006. This approach recognised that delegating legislative powers to an elected National Assembly for Wales was different from delegating to a Minister, and gave the National Assembly for Wales more discretion to implement Wales-specific policies. We are talking about the difference between delegating to an elected Welsh Assembly the power to make its own measures under the Government of Wales Act and delegating to an Executive. I think I am right on that—I am getting nods from my officials. The framework clauses are therefore about giving the Welsh Assembly the legislative authority to create made-in-Wales laws. I know that the noble Lord is well aware of that, so I hope he will forgive me for labouring that point. The new clause will provide the National Assembly with the legislative competence to take forward its policies in the identified areas at the appropriate time and in the light of specific needs and circumstances in Wales. There are two new framework powers in Clause 133. The first is the regulation of independent schools in Wales. This will enable the National Assembly for Wales, by way of Assembly measures, to define the arrangements for the registration of independent schools, including rights of appeal, and to define and regulate the conduct of an independent school both in its educational provision and in its more general provision for pupils’ welfare. In light of the possible changes to Part 4 concerning independent educational institutions outlined by my noble friend, we will have to consider whether any consequential amendments are required to this framework power. If there are, we will bring them back on Report. The second framework power concerns the inspection of the education and training of those aged 16 and under. This will include the inspection of independent schools, and will enable the National Assembly for Wales, by way of the Assembly measures that we talk about so much, to make provision for the inspection of education and training in maintained schools and in other settings, such as in the case of children with illnesses who cannot attend school. It would also allow the National Assembly for Wales to determine the inspection regime for the 60 to 70 independent schools in Wales. I am reminded that any Assembly measures brought forward will be subject to full consultation. It is proposed that the two new framework powers will be facilitated by introducing a new framework power in respect of the regulation of independent schools and in amending matter 5.15 so that it will encompass the inspection of education and training for those aged 16 and under. It amends a competency that already exists. The policy areas of the proposed framework powers have been devolved and the functions conferred upon the Welsh Ministers. Functions are already exercised by the Executive. We are giving them the legislative competency as well so that they can make the laws that go alongside it. As such, there is already a distinctive approach to the inspection of education and training in Wales in relation to pre-16 inspection. For example, Estyn and Ofsted already have different remits, as the noble Lord has highlighted. Responsibility for the inspection of childcare and children’s social services taken on board by Ofsted is discharged in Wales by the Care and Social Services Inspectorate Wales, with Estyn focusing squarely on education and training. At the operational level, inspection in Wales is based on the template provided by the common inspection framework which was developed in consultation with partners in Wales and implemented in 2004. While similarities with England remain, there are already significant differences in the overall approach. I hope that I have answered a number of the noble Lord’s questions. Of course, any measures that come forward as a result of these framework powers will be subject to scrutiny and consultation by the Welsh Assembly. I believe that it has the competency to do that. The noble Lord asked important questions about cost, provision in the Welsh Assembly budget and what kind of offences might be created. All of that will be defined in the proposed measures and consulted on in Cardiff. The question is whether we should devolve this legislative competence, and I think that we should. This is an area where the Welsh Assembly Government have operated for some time with executive functions, and it is consistent with education being highly devolved. The noble Lord is right to give the Committee an opportunity to scrutinise this. I hope that he will feel able to support the clause.