3rd reading in the Lords
The Lords passed the Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill at Third Reading, accepting seven tidying amendments and receiving valedictory tributes from all three Front Benches.
T(opened the debateThe Minister of State, Department for Education and Department for Work and Pensions (Baroness Smith of Malvern) (Lab)Lab15:47 HansardBefore we deal with the amendments, a word on legislative consent. The Scottish Parliament has agreed its legislative consent motion, and the Welsh Government have recommended the Senedd gives consent to the Report amendments — a supplementary LCM will follow as swiftly as possible. The timing of those late Report amendments made it impossible to secure consent before today, but the collaborative approach from Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast has been positive throughout.My Lords, before dealing formally with the amendments at Third Reading of the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill, I will make a brief statement regarding legislative consent on this Bill. During its development and parliamentary passage, the Secretary of State for Education has regularly corresponded and engaged with her devolved government counterparts, and this has been supported by continued engagement between officials. As a result, I can confirm that a legislative consent Motion has been successfully agreed in the Scottish Parliament and that the Senedd is in the process of agreeing a suitable date for the debate. This is to ensure that there is time to consider and discuss amendments that have been tabled and accepted by Your Lordships’ House on Report that also engage the consent process. Owing to the date that these amendments were tabled, it has not been possible for a further supplementary legislative consent Motion to be secured by the time of this statement. However, the Welsh Government have recommended that the Senedd gives consent to the Report amendments, and are committed to progressing the supplementary LCM as swiftly as possible. More broadly, I am grateful to Ministers and officials in the Scottish Government, the Welsh Government and the Northern Ireland Executive for their positive and collaborative approach towards this legislation. We remain committed to sustained engagement with the devolved Governments for the remainder of the Bill’s passage as we look forward to its implementation. I beg to move that this Bill now be read a third time. Clause 38: School uniforms: limits on branded items Amendment 1
- Amendment 1 — moved by Lord Storey on behalf of Lord Mohammed — is a tidying-up amendment consequential to his earlier change on school uniforms, correcting a now-redundant reference; we accept it so both amendments can be considered together in the Commons. Amendments 2 and 3 correct the Welsh framework: Amendment 2 makes regulations by Welsh Ministers on the mandatory meeting scheme for home-education withdrawals subject to the Senedd's affirmative procedure (closing a gap that left them with no parliamentary procedure at all); Amendment 3 adds Welsh definitions of "child" and "carer" so local authorities can record young carers on children-not-in-school registers. Amendments 4–7 move the parliamentary procedure for regulations under new Chapter 2A of the Education and Inspections Act 2006 to Section 182 of that Act, resolving a drafting conflict with the existing procedure provision — no policy change, no change in scrutiny level.
My Lords, I recognise that Amendment 1, moved by the noble Lord, Lord Storey, on behalf of the noble Lord, Lord Mohammed, is a tidying-up amendment, consequential to his previous amendment on school uniform. While I am sure that the debate on the wider issue of school uniform will continue in the other place, we recognise that this amendment simply corrects a now redundant reference created by his prior amendment. For this reason, we are prepared to accept it at this stage, so that his proposed amendments can be considered together at the next stage. I turn to the government amendments. Amendment 2 provides that regulations made by Welsh Ministers in relation to the mandatory meeting scheme for parents wishing to withdraw their child from school for home education will be subject to the Senedd’s approval procedure. This is an important and necessary correction which brings Wales into alignment with the position in England, where regulations made by the Secretary of State are subject to the affirmative procedure. As the Bill currently stands, no parliamentary procedure is attached to the Welsh regulations, and it is essential that this gap is addressed to ensure proper scrutiny and accountability. Amendment 3 introduces legal definitions of “child” and “carer” for Wales. This is a small but important correction to ensure clarity in the provision and enable Welsh Ministers and the Secretary of State to require local authorities to record whether a child is a young carer on children not in school registers. As we discussed, young carers can shoulder responsibilities that impact their education. Understanding when a child is in that position could enable authorities to provide the right support. This amendment does not alter the policy intent of the Bill; it simply ensures that the Welsh legislative framework is complete and coherent. I trust that the House will agree that correcting this oversight strengthens the Bill and supports young carers. Amendments 4, 5, 6 and 7…
We understand and accept these amendments.My Lords, we understand and accept these amendments.
- This Bill delivers once-in-a-generation reform: free breakfast clubs in primary schools, limits on branded uniform items, raised classroom standards, fair access to good local schools, and stronger support for the most vulnerable children. Over Second Reading, 12 Committee days and 5 Report days, with 875 amendments debated, every part of the House brought expertise in education, children's social care, health and local government, and that scrutiny has genuinely strengthened the legislation. My particular thanks go to Lady Blake for taking the Bill through alongside me, to Lady Anderson and Lady Twycross, to the Bill team and parliamentary counsel, and to the clerks and doorkeepers who worked with us through many late nights — including until 1.30 in the morning on Report.
My Lords, I begin by expressing my gratitude to your Lordships’ House for the careful and constructive scrutiny of the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill. This Bill brings forward once-in-a-generation and much-needed reforms to our children’s social care and education systems, and will deliver tangible changes for young people. It delivers on manifesto commitments, including free breakfast clubs in primary schools and limits on branded uniform items, as well as raising standards in every classroom, ensuring fair access to good local schools and strengthening support for the most vulnerable children. The opportunity to bring about meaningful, lasting change in the lives of children and families through legislation of this kind is rare and it has been a privilege to take this Bill through. I am grateful to all Members who brought their significant expertise to debates, with contributions drawing on backgrounds in education, children’s social care, health, data and local government, which have enriched our discussions and strengthened the legislation. Over Second Reading, 12 days in Committee and 5 days on Report, many noble Lords have spoken powerfully on behalf of children, as well as parents, carers, teachers and professionals working on the front lines, and that perspective has played a key role in refining the legislation. I thank all noble Lords with whom I have engaged inside and outside the Chamber. Over the course of the Bill’s passage through this House, the Government had over 60 engagements with Peers and many more with external bodies. Noble Lords, including the Opposition Front Benches, have been exceptionally generous with their time, expertise and scrutiny, and those contributions have been valuable. I express my thanks in particular to my noble friend Lady Blake for taking the Bill through this House alongside me. Her support, expertise and unwavering dedication to children’s social care and education have been evident at every stage. I am thankful…
If this Bill were a weather forecast it would have been for the west coast of Scotland in November — a lot of rain and clouds, with only rare glimpses of sunshine. In Part 1, the Government never went to the root of the real problem: the shortage of foster and kinship carers. In Part 2, we kept asking what problem the Government were actually trying to solve — centralising and micromanaging rather than learning from the successes of free schools and academies. The bright spots were real, though: tightening health's role in commissioning for children subject to deprivation-of-liberty orders, strengthening the regional commissioning co-operatives, and requiring clear evidence of impact before rolling out multi-agency child protection teams nationally. Working across all Benches in this House has been an absolute privilege — and if the Government want this to be meaningful, lasting change, they should accept our amendments when the Bill reaches the Commons.My Lords, I echo the Minister’s words in thanking all Members of the House who have been involved—some more than others—in the passage of this Bill and for the quality of scrutiny it received. I also thank the Ministers, their private offices and the Bill team for their time and engagement over the course of the Bill and the very detailed correspondence they sent us. I thank Beatrice Hughes and Dan Cohen in our research team for their support throughout the course of the Bill, which feels like quite a long time, and of course my noble friend the Earl of Effingham for his invaluable support. However, if this Bill had been a weather forecast, I think it might have been for the west coast of Scotland in November. It has felt at times quite depressing, with a lot of rain and clouds, and only rare glimpses of sunshine. I say that because I fear that, in Part 1 of the Bill, the Government never really went to the root of the very real problem they were seeking to address. Conversely, in Part 2, we heard again and again the question of what problem the Government were actually trying to solve. The Minister talks about meaningful and lasting change. All of us in your Lordships’ House hope that she right, but I gently suggest that that is much more likely to be the case if the Government accept our amendments when it reaches the other place. When we think about our debates on this Bill, Part 1, rather than trying fundamentally to address the shortage of foster and kinship carers in this country, focuses on reorganisation and regulation. Also, in Part 2, rather than learning from the successes of our free schools and academies and embedding those in the school system, the Government have sought to centralise and micromanage. We had some glimpses of sunshine in the Bill. Certainly, working together across all Benches in this House has been an absolute privilege and a pleasure, and has unquestionably improved the Bill. For me, bright spots in Part 1 included tightening the invo…
- The Minister was always fully on her brief, always prepared to listen and to meet us — a model of how Ministers should take the House with them. For me the real moment of sunshine was on home education: it has taken ten years to reach a proper understanding of its importance and get the register framework right. I was jeered when I first raised it; today it is in the Bill. And the commitment of this House was evident on the fifth Report day — at 11.30 at night, when energy normally flags, everybody sprang to life and we finished at 1.30 in the morning.
My Lords, I will make a few comments and express my thanks to everybody involved in the Bill, particularly the Minister, who was always fully on her brief, who was prepared to listen—always— and to meet quite regularly, and who was a model as to how Ministers should take the House with them. I particularly thank the noble Baroness, Lady Blake, who would look at you as though she agreed with everything you said, making you feel important. She often did not, but she actually looked at you and her eyes bore down on you. I also thank all Members who got involved. It is a joy to be involved in a Bill on which we might have differences of opinion, but through which we all want to make a difference, from wherever we come. If I may say so, it is good to work on a school Bill which actually finishes and is not cut short mid-amendment. Our team was one person, mainly: Ulysse Abbate. Ulysse was recently appointed to our team. He rushed around and was just an absolute joy to work with. In fact, he could have taken my job quite easily: he knew more about it than I did at the end of it. I thank the Bill team and all those Members who spoke. I particularly thank Minister MacAlister for meeting me on two occasions. I also thank Minister Smith’s staff, who made a wonderful, fantastic team. The Bill will make a difference to the lives of children and parents; there are no two ways about that. I found Part 1 to be an amazing change from where we are. As for Part 2, some people might argue that we did not go far enough, particularly on academisation. Some might argue that we went too far. Perhaps, therefore, the Government got it absolutely right. Personally, for me, that moment of sunshine—this is like “The Sound of Music”—was actually after 10 years. When this issue was first raised, I was jeered; I was told I was completely mad. It has taken us 10 years to get the issue of home education addressed; to reach an absolute understanding of how important it is to get home educators in th…