Group 7. The Education Tribunal (Amendments 11, 19, 20, 42, 46, 21)

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 6:00 pm on 21 November 2017.

Alert me about debates like this

Photo of Kirsty Williams Kirsty Williams Liberal Democrat 6:00, 21 November 2017

As the Minister said during Stage 2, we have sought to re-engineer the relationship between health and education through the provision of the Bill because of testimony that has been brought forward and the experience that Assembly Members will have had here on behalf of their constituents. The next stage will be delivering this on the ground, and that's where the activities of the wider transformation programme come in.

Turning to the specific amendments, we do not support Darren Millar's amendment 11. It seeks to remove subsection (9) from section 19. This subsection makes it clear our policy that the orders of the tribunal are not binding on the NHS. I do not accept that it should be removed, and so cannot support the amendment. 

Amendment 19 and amendment 20 with its consequentials to amendment 19 would completely undermine our position on the remit of the tribunal when it comes to NHS bodies. They would effectively mean that the recommendations of the tribunal under section 72 were binding on the NHS, and for the reasons I've already explained, I cannot support them. The position now provided for in the Bill makes clear that the tribunal can make recommendations that the NHS must consider and that the NHS is required to provide a report to the tribunal on the outcomes of its considerations, and this requirement to report back to the tribunal will require a detailed consideration of the matter and an explanation of the action taken to respond to it. On that basis, I would urge Members to oppose amendments 11, 19 and 20.

I also cannot support amendment 21 as I do not consider it to be necessary. The Special Educational Needs Tribunal for Wales already publishes an annual report, and this is available publicly on their website. Darren Millar's amendment would introduce a different reporting requirement for the reports of the tribunal when compared to most of the other Welsh tribunals. Now, I take Darren's point about accessibility, and about the annual report being user-friendly, but we have to recognise that the tribunal is an independent judicial body and its annual report is a matter entirely for them. But, having said that, I would welcome the inclusion of more information on lessons learned from the tribunal cases in the annual report so that other delivery partners can learn those lessons. Given the individual nature of cases, it may not always be possible to draw broader conclusions, but I will write, Darren, to the president to ask whether it would be feasible to provide more commentary in future annual reports. Moves in this direction would have my full support if the tribunal decided to do so, but, ultimately, it is a matter for the tribunal and the president to consider, and I would urge Members to resist amendment 21. 

Turning to Government amendment 42, this builds on amendments agreed at Stage 2 relating to compliance with orders of the tribunal, now section 73 of the Bill. This amendment will enable the tribunal to share with Welsh Ministers reports received from local authorities, FEIs and health bodies about their compliance with orders and on action taken to respond to recommendations along with other related information. Information about failure to comply with orders, or of health bodies' failure to take action in response to recommendations, could also be shared. It is with this information that Welsh Ministers can monitor how the system is working and also take action where appropriate in response to non-compliance, for example through the Welsh Ministers' various powers of intervention. The monitoring and evaluation of the system facilitated by this amendment applies in relation to compliance with orders by local authorities and FEIs, and it will also be useful in establishing whether tribunal recommendations on health bodies and subsequent reports of health bodies to the tribunal have the desired effect. The president of the tribunal has noted the usefulness of the Stage 2 amendments, and this further amendment would ensure that the full potential of section 73 is realised.

Government amendment 46 creates a new 'deputy president of the tribunal' role. The former Minister made clear our intention to introduce amendments to create a deputy president at earlier stages in the Bill, and this was done in direct response to the strong operational case made for it by the current president of the tribunal. The president has said that a deputy president of the tribunal would—and, again, I quote—'significantly enhance the operational efficiency, business continuity and sustainability of the tribunal.' In practical terms, the deputy president will be designated by the president from a pool of existing legal chairs. I have heard from the president on this matter, and she is very pleased that we have tabled the amendment. Given the operational benefits it presents, I would urge Members to support it.