Member

Amendment 454, tabled by the noble Lord, Lord Agnew, seeks to introduce a route for admission authorities to appeal a decision made by the adjudicator. Of course, the adjudicator already exists—and did so under the previous Government and the one before them, in which I and other noble Lords were Education Ministers at various points—as an independent body appointed by the Secretary of State. It will take an impartial view on the objection from the local authority at the end of a rigorous statutory process. Creating a separate appeals panel would duplicate its role. Of course, in extremis, admission authorities can already challenge an adjudicator’s decision through a judicial review.