Member

I turn to amendments related to Clause 56 on published admission numbers—PANs—and where the noble Baroness, Lady Barran, has indicated that she intends to oppose the question that Clause 56 should stand part of the Bill. Clause 56 provides that, where the adjudicator upholds an objection to a school’s PAN, they can specify the new PAN to be included in the school’s admission arrangements. Here we had a very important and helpful intervention from my noble friend Lady Bousted, who pointed out the duty that local authorities have to secure sufficient places for children within the areas where they have responsibility. It is therefore important for us to ensure that local authorities have the ability in reality to be able to do that.