Education Bill — Clause 39 — Parliamentary Scrutiny of Exemptions for Schools from Inspections — 14 Nov 2011 at 19:00

The majority of MPs voted against stronger Parliamentary scrutiny of Ministers' first use of their powers to exempt schools from inspections.

The majority of MPs voted against the first regulations exempting schools from inspections being subject to the affirmative procedure rather than being subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of either House of Parliament.

Without the amendment which was the subject of this vote the Lords' proposal was not to have the first regulations subject to the affirmative procedure, only subsequent ones.

The affirmative procedure involves both Houses of Parliament expressly approving regulations; being subject to annulment means either House of Parliament may vote to repeal regulations after they have been brought in by ministers.

The affirmative procedure provides a stronger check and enables parliamentarians to scrutinise regulations before they take effect.

MPs were considering the Education Bill^[1][2] and voted on:

• Amendment (a) proposed to Lords amendment 27.

the question being:

• That the amendment be made.

The amendment (a) in question stated^[3]

• Line 7, leave out from ‘inspection),’ to end of line 8.

Lords amendment 27 prior to the amendment stated^[4][5]:

Page 36, line 16, at end insert—

• “(9) In section 121 of EA 2005 (parliamentary control of subordinate legislation)—
• (a) in subsection (2)(a), after “subsection” insert “(2A) or”;
• (b) after subsection (2) insert—
• “(2A)
• This subsection applies to regulations under section 5(4A) (power to prescribe schools exempt from inspection), apart from the first regulations to be made under that subsection.
• (2B) A statutory instrument which contains (whether alone or with other provisions) regulations to which subsection (2A) applies may not be made unless a draft of the instrument has been laid before, and approved by a resolution of, each House of Parliament.””

The new subclause would have been added to clause 39^[6] of the Education Bill.

During the debate prior to the vote Nick Gibb MP^[7] stated:

• The amendment made in the other place will allow for appropriate scrutiny by Parliament. It is not necessary for the first set of regulations to be subject to that because it has been fully consulted on.

==

• [1] Parliament's webpage on the Education Bill (now the Education Act 2011)
• [2] Education Bill as of 13 May 2011 (the version to which the amendment applied)
• [3] Amendment sheet for the consideration of the Lords' amendments on 14 November 2011
• [4] Lords Amendments to the Education Bill - 10th of November 2011
• [5] Page containing amendment 27 from Lords Amendments to the Education Bill - 10th of November 2011
• [6] Clause 39 of the Education Bill as of 13 May 2011 (the version to which the amendment applied)
• [7] Nick Gibb MP, (Bognor Regis and Littlehampton, Conservative), House of Commons, 14 November 2011

Debate in Parliament | Source |