Source · Select Committees · Education Committee
Recommendation 3
3
Rejected
Government disregarded guidelines and hindered scrutiny of Bill through poor engagement
Conclusion
The Government has neither followed its own guidelines, nor engaged as productively as we would have liked with our Committee over this Bill. The interval between introduction and Second Reading was not long enough for proper preparation by Members of the House. The publication of the Impact Assessment over a month after the Bill was introduced and halfway through the consideration of the Bill in Committee, shows scant regard for the House. The decision not to involve our Committee in pre-legislative scrutiny, or even to give us prior notice of the Bill’s publication, has made it more difficult for us to conduct proper scrutiny of the Bill. Had we been involved at an earlier stage, we could have fed our findings into the Bill itself and this process would also have allowed the Government to respond to issues raised by stakeholders in advance of Second Reading. (Conclusion, Paragraph 11)
Government Response Summary
The government rejects the Committee's criticisms of its engagement and adherence to guidelines, stating it gave due consideration to the legislative process, provided briefings, and that the Bill's timing was in line with guidance for progressing manifesto commitments quickly.
Government Response
Rejected
HM Government
Rejected
Government response to Conclusions one, two, three and four and Recommendation one: We are grateful for the Committee’s recognition of the wide-reaching ambition that this Bill seeks to deliver across the Children’s Social Care and schools sectors. The Government gives consideration to which bills will be published in draft, taking into account the overall requirements of the legislative programme and how to ensure that time is used as efficiently as possible. The Government did not consider the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill necessary for pre-legislative scrutiny and therefore did not publish it in draft. Instead, we wrote to the Committee upon introduction of the Bill in the House of Commons and provided the Committee with a briefing opportunity with officials before Second Reading. Many of the landmark reforms in the Bill are manifesto commitments - for example, the commitment to introduce free breakfast clubs in every primary school and ensuring any new teacher entering the classroom has, or is working towards, Qualified Teacher Status. The introduction of the Bill early in the session is reflective of the government’s ambition to progress these landmark reforms quickly. The Bill’s passage and timing between intervals is in line with the government’s guidance on making legislation. We have published detailed Impact Assessments on the Bill’s provisions, both regulatory and non-regulatory and welcome that, following its scrutiny, the independent Regulatory Policy Committee has given the Bill’s Impact Assessments a ‘green’ rating. The Impact Assessments can be viewed, alongside a Child Right’s Impact Assessment and an equalities impact assessment here: Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill: impact assessments - GOV.UK.