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Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Bill

I thank all noble Lords who have taken part in the discussion. On the basis of what has been said, I am inclined to bring this back at the next stage of the Bill and put down an amendment that questions whether it is wise for the Secretary of State to carry out either subsection (1) or subsection (2) of Clause 37. I cannot see why it is necessary. The pace of change is such that, if he or she is obliged to keep up to date with the full range, he or she will have to submit an order at regular intervals as a result of the advice and deliberations of the sector skills councils and the employers. I end by reiterating what I said when I opened: I fully accept that there is a strong case for training and apprenticeships to be demand-led, but I hope that we will not forget that they can from time to time become supply-driven. In those circumstances, other solutions will be needed. That would be one good reason why we would want to be flexible about the proportion of on-the-job and off-the-job training. As I said at Second Reading, I have a concern that if we rely on demand and do not think at all about supply, we will probably miss a trick. In the mean time, I beg leave to withdraw the amendment, although I will return to the subject at the next stage. Amendment 73 withdrawn. Clause 37 agreed.