Presiding Officer, I recognise that a proportion of young people with ALN will go on to receive work-based learning after they leave school or further education. We must ensure that these young people continue to receive appropriate support for their needs. And we will ensure that the appropriate connections are made between the new ALN system and work-based learning providers.

Exploring the opportunities for appropriate connections offered by contractual arrangements is, I believe, a potentially more powerful lever than the amendment. If action is not taken, there will be a financial consequence for providers, and this is likely to be a more effective tool to ensure compliance. The Government’s position throughout the passage of this Bill is that it would be disproportionate to impose statutory duties on providers in this respect.

In any event, the power included in these amendments is unlikely to be wide enough to be effective. It will not, for example, provide for appeals or for the imposition of requirements through the code. Nor could we police the system under the proposed amendment, as there are no powers of direction for work-based learning providers. Contractual agreements, on the other hand, can potentially provide an effective mechanism to require compliance.

There are also likely to be other issues with relying on the power. For example, in terms of operational effectiveness, there might be an issue with how this provision would fit with what happens on the ground. Specifically, there is a question as to whether subcontractors, for instance, providing work-based learning, would be caught by the wording of the amendment. On the face of it, there does not appear to be anything that this power would allow for that we could not achieve through a contract with providers. Current contractual requirements for work-based learning already make provision for additional learning support for off-the-job training, with funding available to contractors to cover the associated costs of that. I'm happy—very happy—to repeat the previous commitment of the Government to consider what improvements can be made to the current arrangements as part of the move to Working Wales from 2019. IDPs will be a fundamental resource for providers in determining how to support young people with additional learning needs, and a key consideration here is that it must be with the consent of the young person. But I want to ensure that the opportunities are fully exploited for integration with the tools Working Wales will use to identify barriers to employment and subsequent provision delivery. And for all the reasons I have outlined, I would urge Members to oppose these amendments.