Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education (Transfer of Functions etc) Bill [HL]

Commons Amendments

Motion on Amendment 1

Moved by

That the House do agree with the Commons in their Amendment 1.

1: Clause 12, page 5, line 6, leave out from “force” to end of line 7 and insert “on such day as the Secretary of State may by regulations appoint”.

My Lords, I will also speak briefly to the procedural Amendment 2. It is a pleasure to present the amended Bill to this House. The passage of the Bill has benefited from scrutiny from your Lordships and from the other place. I am heartened to have seen the clear commitment to addressing the challenges of our current skills system. By paving the way for Skills England and empowering it with the functions currently exercised by IfATE, the Bill will ensure that Skills England is the single authoritative voice in the skills landscape. The changes the Bill makes will enable Skills England to identify and help address the skills gaps that hamper growth and opportunity in this country.

Skills England is not just ready but raring to go. That is why the substantive change made to the Bill in the other place was to remove the amendment that would have delayed the commencement of provisions in the Bill for a year after the creation of Skills England. The Skills England leadership is in place, the work is already ongoing and staff are ready to transfer. Delay to the commencement of the provisions in the Bill would not have been needed or helpful.

In addition to the substantive amendment on commencement, a procedural amendment was made in the other place to remove the Lords privilege amendment, in line with convention. This amendment makes no substantive change to the Bill. I am grateful to noble Lords for all their energy and collaboration as this House has considered the Bill and I beg to move.

My Lords, I have no intention of opposing the amendments sent to us by the House of Commons. I regret the removal of the sole amendment passed by this House, which would, in my view, have given more time for Skills England to get its strategic work fully up and running before taking on the functions to be transferred from IfATE. Having said that, I greatly welcome the establishment of Skills England. I am impressed by the leadership appointments that have been made, with Phil Smith as chair and Sir David Bell as vice-chair. This body has a vital role in meeting the UK’s skills needs, which are fundamental to virtually every objective we and the Government have set for ourselves, and I wish it every success.

I would like to restate my two major concerns, and I will be more than happy if they prove unfounded in the fullness of time. First, will Skills England be able to effectively co-ordinate the work of all the different bodies that need to be involved if we are to deliver a successful skills system overall? That is across government departments, across regions and nations, across industries and sectors and across education and training institutions. Skills England will have to be a pretty effective and tough body with some teeth to make sure that all those bodies fulfil their particular roles in the overall system. My second, more specific question is, how will that successful skills system be defined, measured, monitored and assessed? What will the Government come back to tell us in a few years’ time to demonstrate that it has been successful?

I welcome the Bill as an important first step towards a successful skills system, and I very much hope that the concerns I have expressed will indeed prove to have been unfounded.

My Lords, it is not often that you are involved in a Bill and everyone agrees what the outcome should be and realises that the issue is more important than anything else. I commend the Government for coming into office and realising straightaway that, if we are to get economic growth, we need the skills to provide it. The noble Lord, Lord Aberdare, was quite right to say that it is not only about having a set of skills and saying that this is what we as a nation need; we need it regionally as well. The needs of the north-east will be very different from those of, for example, the north-west or the south-east.

I hope we can now get on with the job of delivering this. I thank those with whom we have worked closely: the noble Baroness, who has jetted back from Australia, where she has picked up some ideas on skills; and the noble Lord, Lord Aberdare, who has been stalwart in bringing us together. I particularly thank the Minister for always giving of her time to listen to us—to both disagree and agree. Finally, I must not forget to thank the Bill team for their work, and Adam Bull in the Lib Dem Whips’ Office.

My Lords, I thank the Minister and all noble Lords who have been involved in the passage of the Bill. His Majesty’s Official Opposition remain concerned that the Government have removed the amendments in the name of my noble friend Lady Barran. Other noble Lords also expressed concerns that Skills England will be overly focused on administration, resulting in it being unable to prioritise its central strategic tasks. By allowing a year to pass between the creation of Skills England and the abolition of IfATE, we would create sufficient time for the effective transfer of functions and ensure that Skills England could take on its role successfully.

We would suggest that it is a mistake for the Government to ignore these concerns. In both your Lordships’ House and the other place, there has been cross-party support on this issue, and we cannot hide our disappointment that the Government remain unconvinced on this focal point. We on these Benches are worried that the transition period as planned will have a damaging impact on apprentices.

At the same time, we recognise that this is a manifesto commitment. We will, of course, while challenging constructively, work with His Majesty’s Government to progress their skills programme, and we do not intend to push this issue any further. We will continue to remain vigilant on the transition to Skills England and ensure that it is working for the very people it aims to help. Should our concerns increase, we will endeavour to raise them in your Lordships’ House. It is now up to the Government to ensure that Skills England is able to run effectively and does not become overwhelmed with the weight of the accreditation and assurance process.

We are indeed grateful that His Majesty’s Government have listened to some of the key points that have been raised across your Lordships’ House, and the Bill has been strengthened accordingly. A report on the exercise of functions conferred or imposed on the Secretary of State has now been included, which is important for accountability. The Government have listened to the concerns about the Secretary of State preparing apprenticeship plans and assessments, and will, as such, publish information about the relevant matters that have been taken into account.

My Lords, I am grateful for the support of noble Lords and the continued challenge of those who have made the Bill better during its passage through this House.

On whether Skills England is ready, I reassure noble Lords that it is ready to take on the functions currently exercised by IfATE, where appropriate. Detailed transition plans are in place to ensure continuity throughout the transition. There will be continuity in staff and team structures, which will ensure a smooth operational transition and maintain vital links to employers. Staff are eager to contribute their expertise and valuable insights, to feed into Skills England’s broader purpose from day one.

The Government have been clear that employers need a fully formed Skills England now; they cannot wait. That is the reason why the Prime Minister announced this within our first month in government, and why I am pleased that we will meet the commitment to ensuring that Skills England is up and fully operational within 12 months of that announcement. Skills gaps in our economy are holding back growth and opportunity. We need this Bill to give Skills England some of the key tools it needs to tackle them now, not 12 months in the future.

In response to the noble Lord, Lord Aberdare, the test of Skills England will be whether we can turn around the skills gaps which, in a variety of different sectors, are currently preventing the growth that this economy so desperately needs and the demand of employers for the skilled labour that is necessary in order for them to succeed.

I remind noble Lords that, as the noble Earl, Lord Effingham, touched on, we agreed during the course of the passage of the Bill in this House to a report to this House, after six months, on the operation of the functions moved to the Secretary of State and to Skills England. I made it clear that Skills England will publish an annual report and through the sponsoring Minister—me—will be accountable to this House. Skills England has been operating in shadow form since July of last year. Due to that extensive transition planning over recent months, it is ready to move fast to deliver the functions made possible through this Bill.

In response to the point made by the noble Lord, Lord Aberdare, about co-ordination, the appointment of the leadership team and Phil Smith the chair—whom noble Lords were able to meet and question—shows the quality of the leadership. With Sir David Bell as the deputy chair, this is an organisation which has enormous credibility and experience in cross-government work, supported by the emphasis the Prime Minister has placed on the significance of skills and Skills England. I hope that, through my efforts as Skills Minister, we will ensure that Skills England takes its place as the authoritative voice for skills, not just across government but across the country, in partnership with employers and trade unions and in every region of the country.

I thank noble Lords for their contributions to this Bill. As other noble Lords have, I also thank the Bill team who have worked enormously hard to get us to this point. I am pleased that we have reached, if not quite an agreement, then an accommodation on the way forward, and the support of this House in acknowledging the urgency of the task at hand. I thank noble Lords once more for their efforts on the Bill and I beg to move.

Motion on Amendment 1 agreed.

That the House do agree with the Commons in their Amendment 2.