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Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Bill

My Lords, I listened very carefully to what the noble Lord, Lord Lucas, said about the idea that any drugs that are found should be handed over to the police: that that would result in tipping young people into the criminal justice system in some way. I find that suggestion particularly worrying. The noble Lord said a lot of the things that I have often said myself in other contexts. The suggestion is not necessarily what I would want to happen if drugs were found—it might be the right thing to do or it might not—but I remain concerned about the potential for suspicion falling on a teacher who chooses not to hand the drugs over to the police. Perhaps we can have a word about that between now and Report. The noble Lord, Lord Lucas, has completely changed my opinion that drugs should always be handed over to the police. Maybe I am naive, but I had not really thought about the fact that that would necessarily tip a young person into the criminal justice system. That would not be the right thing at all. Perhaps we can talk about that issue between now and Report and see whether there is some way in which we can make sure that staff are protected should they make that judgment.