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Education and Skills Bill

My Lords, I welcome these amendments but want to ask the Minister a few questions, which were suggested to me by Barnardo’s. I think that she has been briefed about these. Barnardo’s welcomes the Government’s amendment to impose an upper limit on the fines that can be imposed, but seeks assurances on a number of issues. First, any penalty should be set at a level that reflects the financial support available to the poorest young people. Can the Minister reassure us on that? Secondly, could we be assured that young people would be able to make payment of any penalties in instalments, and would not be financially penalised for doing so? That should really be an option at the first issue of the penalty; the young person should not have to come back later to make an extra appeal to be able to pay by instalments. We also need assurance, thirdly, that the amount payable will not escalate like a congestion charge penalty if the notice is not paid within a certain period—especially where there is evidence of financial hardship. Fourthly, will the department work closely with voluntary organisations like Barnardo’s to review financial support for 16 to 18 year-olds and in developing financial incentives to encourage participation? The EMA is helpful for a number of young people, but a lot of organisations hope that the Government will be able to go somewhat further than that.