Can I thank Sioned Williams for her supportive remarks in relation to the amendments? I think matters have rather moved on since Laura Anne Jones first expressed the concerns that she has repeated in this debate today, and the concept of rationalisation, to which you referred in the question, has already been entirely removed from the legislation. So, I think that sets a hare running that doesn't reflect the reality of the Bill coming into Stage 3. And I hope I can offer Darren Millar the assurance that the concerns that he has expressed have no bearing on the proposals in the debate today, because they in fact protect the kinds of arrangements that he's talking about, rather than put them at risk.

I'll speak first, if I may, to the amendment tabled in my name, amendment 76, which removes provision amending the School Standards and Organisation (Wales) Act 2013 that would have enabled the commission to refer any proposals made by a local authority or the governing body of a voluntary or foundation school that affect sixth-form education as defined and are subject to a valid objection to the Welsh Ministers for a decision. As all such proposals subject to a valid objection will now require approval by the Welsh Ministers, as a result of an amendment I made at Stage 2, this provision is unnecessary.

Turning to the other amendments in this group, I reject amendments 163 and 164 and also amendments 161 and 165, which are consequential on those amendments. These are all repeats of amendments tabled and rejected at Stage 2, and my reasons for their rejection remain the same. To recap for the record today, these amendments remove the new Chapter 3A that the Bill currently inserts into Part 3 of the 2013 Act, and instead retain the existing powers of the Welsh Ministers to reorganise sixth-form education, and extends those powers to the commission.

The Bill inserts a new Chapter 3A into the 2013 Act, rather than amending the existing provision, to better reflect the changes to the regulatory landscape brought about by the establishment of the commission. The provisions in this new Chapter will enable the commission to take a more strategic approach, offering a wider perspective to school sixth-form provision. Through the provisions, a legislative framework is established that enables the commission to adopt this strategic view and direct local authorities to bring forward proposals, ensuring the link back to the local level. By removing the amendment to the 2013 Act that I inserted into the Bill at Stage 2, amendment 162, tabled in the name of Laura Anne Jones, requires the Welsh Ministers to approve all proposals that affect sixth-form education, even when no objection has been made. This adds unnecessary bureaucracy. If there are no valid objections to the proposal, I do not see what benefit is added by Welsh Ministers needing to approve such a proposal, and so I call on Members to support amendment 76, tabled in my name, and to reject all the other amendments in the group.