§ Mr. Jim CunninghamTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what powers(a) will be removed from local government and (b) she will gain under the Education Bill. [25928]
§ Mr. TimmsOur key aim in legislating through the Education Bill is to remove barriers to innovation and free providers to adopt new approaches to the delivery of education. An important part of this is the creation of a legislative framework that can be adapted more easily to changing circumstances so that we can be more responsive to schools and LEAs delivering services. The Bill does not signal any change in our view of the role of local government. We know that LEAs have an important role to play in school improvement and are committed to working with them.
All the measures in the Bill are consistent with our principle of intervention in inverse proportion to success. Where schools and LEAs are delivering good quality services, we will support them to do so. If services should fail the children and young people involved, then intervention will be swift and decisive, so that they receive the quality of education which is their right.
It is not, therefore, our intention to change the balance of powers between central and local government through the Education Bill.