Lords amendments to Apprenticeships Bill
12 November 2009 (updated on 22 April 2010)
The Commons debated Lords amendments to the Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Bill, which introduces a wide range of measures covering apprenticeships, learning and skills and educational provision
- Commons Hansard: Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Bill
- Video and audio: Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Bill
- Bills before Parliament: Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Bill
- About Parliament: Passage of a Bill
The key provisions of the Bill:
- provides for a statutory framework for apprenticeships and creates a right to an apprenticeship for suitably qualified 16-18 year olds
- introduces a right for employees to request time away from their duties to undertake training, and places a corresponding duty on employers to consider such requests seriously and to be able to refuse them only for specified business reasons
- dissolves the Learning and Skills Council
- transfers the responsibility for funding education and training for 16-18 year olds to local authorities
- makes provisions with respect to the education of offenders
- creates the Young Person’s Learning Agency, the Skills Funding Agency, a new regulatory body for qualifications (Ofqual), and a new agency to carry out the non-regulatory functions currently performed by the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority
- strengthens the accountability of children’s services
- amends intervention powers in respect of schools which are causing concern
- establishes a new parental complaints service
- changes the school inspection arrangements
- creates a new negotiating body for pay and conditions for school support staff
- makes provisions in respect of pupil and student behaviour