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Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Bill

My Lords, we support these amendments. The clause in its original form would unnecessarily and artificially restrict the number of qualifications available, minimising innovation and distorting the market to the detriment of the learner, as noble Lords on the Conservative Benches have pointed out. It is also interesting to note that, while currently there are only approximately 6,600 accredited vocational options, some 50,000 different options are available in higher education, a figure that does not include part-time degrees. One way to avoid confusion in the multiplicity of qualifications might be for the Government to resist the temptation to create new ones. I think of the diploma, for instance, or the introduction of AS-levels. While we welcome the establishment of an independent regulator, we have strong concerns about its independence from the Secretary of State and its ability to interfere in the qualifications marketplace in this way. We support the amendments.