National Assembly Committee questions scrutiny of bill to improve Welsh apprenticeship schemes
Members of the National Assembly for Wales’ Enterprise and Learning Committee have expressed concern over the Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Bill.
They believe the Welsh Assembly Government and the UK Parliament did not fully scrutinise the Wales-only clauses in the bill.
A draft bill was published in July last year, but it contained no clauses for Wales. The larger Bill will:-
- specify apprenticeship standards in Wales
- authorise bodies to issue apprenticeship frameworks
- allow apprenticeship certificates to be issued
- clarify the meaning and status of apprenticeship agreements.
The committee raised questions about the approach that had been adopted for the inclusion of those Welsh clauses in the bill.
“We have noted the success of the apprenticeships programme in Wales, for which we have commended the Welsh Assembly Government,” said committee chair, Gareth Jones AM.
“However, the legislative process by which the Welsh clauses were incorporated into a major UK bill was far from satisfactory and left little room for thorough scrutiny either at Westminster or by the National Assembly for Wales.”
The committee noted that the Welsh Minister missed the opportunity to call for the provision of measure-making powers to be conferred on the National Assembly in the bill.
And they also expressed a view that the Minister should have been more involved at committee stage.
“We very much regret the fact that the Welsh government did not use this opportunity to seek measure-making powers,” said Gareth Jones..
The committee also wants to see stronger links between apprenticeships and the Welsh Baccalaureate, and for the Welsh government to address problems surrounding Welsh students studying in England and to ensure that apprentices are given employed status.
The committee’s main recommendations are:-
that the Welsh government provides the Committee with an update on progress made in aligning apprenticeships with the Welsh Baccalaureate.
that the Welsh government addresses these anomalies as soon as possible in order to facilitate the successful completion of apprenticeships in England by employees from Wales.
that the Welsh government disseminates widely throughout the public sector emerging best practice from the shared apprenticeships pilot to encourage wider engagement with this commendable initiative.
that the Welsh government works with the CBI and the TUC and all who represent the interests of both employers and employees, to ensure the successful implementation of employer status for apprenticeships.
That the Welsh government adopts a more strategic approach to law making, which would take account of the opportunities provided by measure-making powers and delegated powers in UK bills. The Committee also strongly recommends that the democratic deficit caused by deviation from normal legislative procedures for the incorporation of Welsh clauses in UK bills is addressed, whereby little or no opportunity is currently afforded for their scrutiny