Member

If that is acceptable, are there other restrictions that the Government would like to place on the accommodation? I get the feeling that the concept of the school day—that is, the hours between nine and four, Monday to Friday—is important to the Government and that they would expect each Haredi child not to be at their yeshiva for more than a limited amount of time. Twenty hours has been mentioned, but there is nothing set down in the Bill. I quite understand why in the general context of dealing with illegal schools. None the less, if activity in the school day is important for the Government, surely the number of hours could be made specific in the context of an agreement with the Haredi community. Any agreement would, of course, be open for renegotiation by either side in the light of experience. It might be hard to get it right first time, but I would like to see this Government saying that the Haredi, different though they are, are a valued part of British life. We wish to support them. Where do the Government stand? I beg to move.