Member

Amendment 8 would impose an additional reporting requirement on the Secretary of State, namely that they lay before Parliament a report within 12 months detailing the use of the powers in the Act and their effect on matters including the identification of skills gaps and provision of technical education intended to help meet them. I am happy to have had the opportunity to discuss this with the noble Lord, Lord Storey, since Committee. I would like to address specifically some of the priorities that he has identified in his amendment and, again, provide reassurance on how they will align with the governance framework and reporting requirements that Skills England will be subject to. For example, the noble Lord rightly highlights the important role of Skills England in identifying skills gaps. This is absolutely central to the work of Skills England—as demonstrated by it being the main focus of the very first Skills England report last year—and I can absolutely commit to the noble Lord that this will feature in the framework document that we will publish.