To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the Learning and Skills Council has the power to require (a) schools with sixth forms, and (b) academies, to provide specified individuals aged 16 to 18 with full-time education.[HL3293]

To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they plan to give local authorities the power to require (a) schools with sixth forms, and (b) academies, to provide specified individuals aged 16 to 18 with full-time education from April 2010.[HL3294]

The Learning and Skills Council (LSC) has powers under Section 52 of the Further and Higher Education Act 1992 to require institutions within the further education sector to provide education for young people aged 16 to 19. This power does not apply to schools with sixth forms or academies.

Clause 43 of the Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Bill proposes to replicate the LSC’s powers in the 1992 Act for local authorities and through Clause 42 of the Bill, we propose to extend the local authorities’ powers also to require a maintained school with a sixth form to provide a named individual aged 16-19, with education. The position with academies is not affected by these proposals. As now, local authorities can ask an academy, including the academy sixth form, to admit a child in accordance with their published admission arrangements. If the academy refuses, the local authority can refer the matter to the Secretary of State who, through provisions in the academy funding agreement, can require the academy to admit the child.

These clauses enable local authorities to support the small number of young people who may be struggling to find a suitable place in learning, to fulfil their duty to participate. This will be particularly important when considering the needs of our more vulnerable groups of young people, although the expectation is that local authorities, as with the LSC, will need to use them only very sparingly, if at all.