Member

Amendment 427B in the name of the noble Lord, Lord Lucas, was described by him as technical, but I understand the point about it being an important anti-evasion measure where the concern is to ensure that settings cannot escape regulation by splitting their provision across several sites. I can reassure the noble Lord, Lord Lucas, and the noble Baroness, Lady Spielman, that the offence of operating without registration concerns an institution operating without registration. A single setting which purported to be part-time but which was making split provision to avoid registration—for instance, offering a morning and an afternoon session at different premises—would likely be considered a single institution and be required to register. Clause 42 of the Bill gives Ofsted stronger powers to investigate complex arrangements such as those.