ANNUAL PLAN OF THE CHIEF INSPECTOR FOR WALES (Hansard, 18 July 2000)

§ Baroness Blackstone

My Lords, I beg to move that the House do agree with the Commons in their Amendments Nos. 51 to 116. I shall speak also to Amendments Nos. 184, 185, 205 to 209, 262, 263 and 276.

I should like to explain a few of the more important amendments in this group. Amendment No. 51 and the majority of the others in the group are minor or drafting amendments with little real effect in substance and I shall take up the time of the House on such amendments only if noble Lords would like any further explanation.

I turn first to Amendments Nos. 52 and 53, which are linked. Under Clause 54, a private employer may enter into a contract with the Adult Learning Inspectorate (ALI) to evaluate the quality of its training provision—that is, training which is paid for privately by the company itself, without government support. In these circumstances, we do not want the ALI to have a duty to publish the report. Such inspections will be a private matter between the employer and the ALI and it would be quite inappropriate for the ALI to be under a duty to publish the results of the inspection, especially where the employer might be reluctant for the results to be published. But the important issue is that the ALI may 797 do so under arrangements it reaches with employers—for example, to publicise and promote good practice. Amendments Nos. 52 and 53 achieve this position.

Amendments Nos. 56 and 57 also need to be considered together. Although technical, they are important in reflecting our policy of promoting collaboration between schools and FE colleges in the provision of secondary education. Such collaboration can only be of benefit to those young people for whom learning solely in schools may not be the best option. Clause 58(a), as originally drafted, did not allow for the inspection by Ofsted of 16 to 18 year-olds undertaking such collaboratively provided secondary education within an FE college.

Clearly, all such education must be inspected and secondary education should be a matter for Ofsted. Amendment No. 56 provides that secondary education offered at an FE sector institution will fall within Ofsted's remit both for those of compulsory school age and those over 16 but under 19. Amendment No. 57 defines the terms "secondary education" and "further education" by reference to the Education Act 1996. Noble Lords will also wish to note that this Act's definition of "secondary education" is extended by Clause 99 of the Bill to include provision made partly at a school and partly at another institution, such as an FE college.

Amendment No. 116 introduces a new provision at the request of the National Assembly. It places a duty on the chief inspector for Wales to prepare an annual plan for the forthcoming financial year and submit it to the National Assembly. The plan has to be submitted before the beginning of each financial year to which it relates. The plan must set out the chief inspector's proposals as to how she intends to use the funds made available to her to carry out her inspection and other functions. It should also set out her expected budget and contain proposals as to her spending plans for that year. The chief inspector will have the power to publish the plan as she considers appropriate.

Amendment No. 115 introduces a new clause but it is not a new policy direction for the Bill. It ensures that the report of an area inspection is carried through to its logical conclusion by requiring a plan to be prepared detailing the action to be taken and in a specified time period. The action plan should either be prepared by the CETW or an LEA, as necessary, and the person preparing the statement must consult such persons as the Assembly may direct.

Finally, Amendment No. 263 is needed in order to provide a short-lived but vital transitional arrangement for the Adult Learning Inspectorate. The key insertion will be within Schedule 9 to the Bill.

Under Clause 50 of the Bill, the Adult Learning Inspectorate will consist of nine members. We have already appointed the chairman and the chief inspector will be appointed soon after Royal Assent. But all nine members of ALI may not be appointed until much later in the year, and meanwhile certain key tasks will need to be carried out. For instance, the common inspection framework will need to be agreed 798 with Ofsted before it is put out to consultation for three months. The inspectorate will need to secure premises in September and to start recruiting and training staff. There will be significant planning arrangements which will need executive decisions—for example, agreeing with Ofsted a programme of area and joint inspections.

Amendment No. 263 will therefore allow ALI to function with as few as two members—in practice, the chairman and the chief inspector—during the transitional period. A similar approach in respect of the LSC was agreed by this House in the earlier stages of the Bill. Noble Lords will note that once all the other members have been appointed, the provision will expire automatically.

With this group of largely technical amendments the Government complete their provisions for the new inspection regime. The preparations for a successful implementation are already under way. The draft common inspection framework produced by the three current inspectorates is a demonstration of how inspection can be conducted under shared principles. With the appointment of Nick Reilly to be the chairman designate of ALI we have an experienced, dynamic leader to help build the new organisation. These provisions will help us in our mission to drive up standards and quality across the post-16 sector and I commend them to the House.

Moved, That the House do agree with the Commons in their Amendments Nos. 51 to 116.—(Baroness Blackstone.)

On Question, Motion agreed to.