House of Lords House of Commons Joint Committee on Human Rights Legislative Scrutiny: Education and Skills Bill Nineteenth Report of Session 2007-08 Drawing special attention to: Education and Skills Bill HL Paper 107 HC 553 House of Lords House of Commons Joint Committee on Human Rights Legislative Scrutiny: Education and Skills Bill Nineteenth Report of Session 2007-08 Report, together with formal minutes and written evidence Ordered by The House of Lords to be printed 12 May 2008 Ordered by The House of Commons to be printed 12 May 2008 HL Paper 107 HC 553 Published on 13 May 2008 by authority of the House of Lords and the House of Commons London: The Stationery Office Limited £0.00 Joint Committee on Human Rights The Joint Committee on Human Rights is appointed by the House of Lords and the House of Commons to consider matters relating to human rights in the United Kingdom (but excluding consideration of individual cases); proposals for remedial orders, draft remedial orders and remedial orders. The Joint Committee has a maximum of six Members appointed by each House, of whom the quorum for any formal proceedings is two from each House. Current membership HOUSE OF LORDS HOUSE OF COMMONS Lord Bowness John Austin MP (Labour, Erith & Thamesmead) Lord Dubs Mr Douglas Carswell MP (Conservative, Harwich) Lord Lester of Herne Hill Mr Andrew Dismore MP (Labour, Hendon) (Chairman) Lord Morris of Handsworth OJ Dr Evan Harris MP (Liberal Democrat, Oxford West & The Earl of Onslow Abingdon) Baroness Stern Mr Virendra Sharma MP (Labour, Ealing, Southall) Mr Richard Shepherd MP (Conservative, Aldridge-Brownhills) Powers The Committee has the power to require the submission of written evidence and documents, to examine witnesses, to meet at any time (except when Parliament is prorogued or dissolved), to adjourn from place to place, to appoint specialist advisers, and to make Reports to both Houses. The Lords Committee has power to agree with the Commons in the appointment of a Chairman. Publications The Reports and evidence of the Joint Committee are published by The Stationery Office by Order of the two Houses. All publications of the Committee (including press notices) are on the internet at www.parliament.uk/commons/selcom/hrhome.htm. Current Staff The current staff of the Committee are: Mark Egan (Commons Clerk), Bill Sinton (Lords Clerk), Murray Hunt (Legal Adviser), Angela Patrick and Joanne Sawyer (Committee Specialists), James Clarke (Committee Assistant), and Karen Barrett (Committee Secretary). Contacts All correspondence should be addressed to The Clerk of the Joint Committee on Human Rights, Committee Office, House of Commons, 7 Millbank, London SW1P 3JA. The telephone number for general inquiries is: 020 7219 2467; the Committee’s e-mail address is [email protected] Legislative Scrutiny: Education and Skills Bill 1 Contents Report Page Summary 3 Bill drawn to the special attention of both Houses 5 1 Education and Skills Bill 5 Background 5 The effect of the Bill 5 Duty to participate in education or training 6 Information sharing 9 Legitimate aim 10 Information which may be disclosed 11 Safeguards 11 Independent educational institutions 14 Religious worship in schools 15 Conclusions and recommendations 18 Formal Minutes 20 Appendices 21 Appendix 1: Letter to Jim Knight MP, Minister of State for Schools and Learners, Department for Children, Schools and Families, dated 20 December 2007 21 Appendix 2: Letter from Jim Knight MP, Minister of State for Schools and Learners, Department for Children, Schools and Families, dated 10 January 2008 24 Appendix 3: Memorandum from Jack Lewars, National Student Support Officer of the English Secondary Students' Association, dated 25 March 2008 44 Reports from the Joint Committee on Human Rights in this Parliament 45 Legislative Scrutiny: Education and Skills Bill 3 Summary The Joint Committee on Human Rights examines the human rights implications of Government Bills. In this Report the Committee draws the special attention of both Houses to aspects of the Education and Skills Bill which in its view have significant human rights implications. The Bill’s main provision requires many young people aged 16-18 to participate in education or training or potentially face criminal sanctions. In the Committee’s view, this reliance on coercion is a potentially disproportionate interference with the right to respect for private life under Article 8 ECHR (paragraphs 1.1-1.15). The Explanatory Notes which accompany the Bill do not explain how each of its provisions would comply with the right to respect for private and family life under Article 8 ECHR. The Committee recommends that the Bill should be amended to define more closely what information may be disclosed and for what purposes. Recalling its Report on Data Protection and Human Rights, it again calls for legislation which permits information sharing to include safeguards against arbitrary use. It recommends that guidance should be issued to clarify when consent is or is not required before certain disclosures may be made. It also recommends that the Bill should be amended to require that young people or their parents should be notified at least once a year what personal information might be disclosed and that they should decide whether to permit such disclosures (paragraphs 1.16-1.35). In the Committee’s view the Bill’s provisions for the Chief Inspector to enter independent educational institutions and take copies of records may raise several human rights issues. It considers unacceptable the lack of safeguards on the face of the Bill, especially to provide protection for documents subject to legal professional privilege (paragraphs 1.36 -1.39). The Committee again expresses its view that provisions which fail to guarantee children of sufficient maturity, intelligence and understanding the right to withdraw from compulsory religious education and collective worship are incompatible with their human rights and calls for the Bill to be amended accordingly (paragraphs 1.40-1.45). Legislative Scrutiny: Education and Skills Bill 5 Bill drawn to the special attention of both Houses 1 Education and Skills Bill Date introduced to first House 28 November 2007 Date introduced to second House Current Bill Number Bill 81 Previous Reports None Background 1.1 This is a Government Bill introduced in the House of Commons on 28 November 2007. Ed Balls MP, Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families has made a statement of compatibility under s. 19(1)(a) of the Human Rights Act 1998 (HRA). The Explanatory Notes accompanying the Bill set out, in just over two pages, the Government’s view of the Bill’s compatibility with the Convention rights at paragraphs 187-199. The Bill completed its Committee stage in the Commons on 28 February 2008. Report and Third Reading are scheduled for 13 May 2008. 1.2 We wrote to the Minister on 20 December 2007 asking for a fuller explanation of the Government’s view of the compatibility of the Bill with the Convention.1 We received the Minister’s reply on 10 January 2008.2 We are grateful for the Minister’s prompt response. The effect of the Bill 1.3 The Bill follows two Government publications (the Green Paper Raising Expectations: Staying in education and training post-163 and World Class Skills: Implementing the Leitch Review of Skills in England4). According to the Explanatory Notes, the purpose of the Bill is: … first, to change the statutory framework to put a duty on all young people to participate in education or training until the age of 18, with corresponding duties on local education authorities and employers to enable and support participation. Second, it amends legislation about the provision of adult education and training, and support for young people. Third, the Bill changes the regulatory framework for inspection of independent educational institutions, non-maintained special schools and providers of initial teacher training. The Bill also includes a number of miscellaneous provisions in relation to behaviour, the Qualifications and Curriculum 5 Authority (QCA) and schools forms. 1 Appendix 1. 2 Appendix 2. 3 Published in March 2007, this consultation closed in June 2007. It dealt with young people and proposed raising the age until which young people must remain in education or training to 18. This consultation was followed by legislative proposals in Raising Expectations: staying in education and training post-16 – from policy to legislation (published November 2007). 4 Published July 2007. 5 EN, para. 5. 6 Legislative Scrutiny: Education and Skills Bill 1.4 Certain aspects of the Bill have significant human rights implications which we detail below: a) The duty to participate in education or training; b) Information sharing provisions; c) Inspection of independent educational institutions; and d) Religious worship and education in schools. Duty to participate in education or training 1.5 The central focus of the Bill is contained in chapter 1 which requires that young people between the ages of 16 and 18, who have not obtained a level 3 qualification (equivalent to two A-Levels) must participate in education or training (“the clause 2 duty”). The duty to participate in education and training includes full-time education or training, training related to an apprenticeship, or a combination of employment and a minimum number of hours training/education. 1.6 Article 12 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) requires States to give weight to the views of children6 where they are of sufficient maturity. In its most recent conclusions on the UK, the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child stated that the UK must: Ensure that legislation throughout the State party reflects article 12 and respects children’s rights to express their views and have them given due weight in all matters concerning their education.7 1.7 The English Secondary Students’ Association wrote to us to express concerns about the Bill.