2nd Report – Scrutiny of the Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill
Select Committee
Education Committee
HC 732
28 February 2025
Government response
4th Special Report - Scrutiny of the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill: Government Response · published 23 May 2025
Recommendations & Conclusions
4 results
2
Conclusion
Not Addressed
Government's compressed bill timetable obstructs effective select committee scrutiny
Conclusion
The Government did not, in this case, publish the Bill in draft. Nonetheless, the Bill’s timetable could have factored in time for our Committee to come to a considered view on its contents. Although the Minister for School Standards had …
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Government Response Summary
The government defends its decision not to publish the Bill in draft and its compressed timetable, stating it aligns with legislative programme requirements and seeks to progress landmark reforms quickly.
Department for Education
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4
Recommendation
Not Addressed
Require Government to follow legislative guidelines and engage meaningfully with select committees
Recommendation
We recommend that the Government undertakes to follow the Cabinet Office Guide to Making Legislation and engage meaningfully, and in a timely way, with select committees as a way of improving policy making and building consensus on important legislation. We …
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Government Response Summary
The government's response defends its past engagement process for the Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill but does not address the recommendation to commit to following engagement guidelines with select committees more meaningfully in the future or to provide a memorandum to the Liaison Committee.
Department for Education
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5
Conclusion
Not Addressed
Tight government timetable forced selective committee scrutiny of bill contents
Conclusion
We would have liked to dedicate more time to a considered examination of the policy issues in the Bill and the mechanisms by which the Bill seeks to meet its policy aims. However, given the tight timetable the Government has …
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Government Response Summary
The government defends its legislative timetable and decision not to publish the Bill in draft, stating its process was in line with guidance and aimed to progress reforms quickly, rather than directly addressing the Committee's wish for more time.
Department for Education
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12
Conclusion
Not Addressed
Inadequate time and resources prevented detailed scrutiny of Bill's delegated powers.
Conclusion
We have not had the time or resource to comb through the Bill or take evidence on the delegated powers within it, although we note that the published Delegated Powers Memorandum for the Bill is 75 pages long. We stated …
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Government Response Summary
The government thanks the Committee for reviewing the published documents and defends the detailed nature and justification of the Bill's delegated powers, without addressing the Committee's lack of time for detailed scrutiny.
Department for Education
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