Skills and Post-16 Education Act 2022

Key Points

• Crackdown on cheating services for post-16 learners: new Chapter sets out offences for providing or advertising cheating services and defines what a 'relevant service' is, with offences applying to organisations and individuals.
• Access to schools for technical education info: providers of technical education and apprenticeships can gain reasonable access to pupils to share information, with aims to broaden awareness of technical routes.
• Enforcement of the Baker Clause: the new provisions make it legally enforceable for schools to provide access to information about technical education and to engage with employers and providers.
• Higher education reforms: changes include shifting the date used to determine certain fee limits to 1 January of the academic year start, and clarifications around categories of HE courses and the information providers must publish.
• Local skills planning and environment: local employer bodies, authorities and FE colleges are expected to collaborate on local skills improvement plans, with explicit consideration of climate and environmental goals.
• Entitlement to free Level 3 education: a Conservative-backed amendment would create a right to free education up to Level 3 for any person who has not already studied at that level, on approved courses from approved providers.
• Religious-character academies: provisions to designate certain post-16 academies as having a religious character and related provisions for worship and religious education.

Progress

The bill progressed from the Lords through the Commons, with several government amendments debated and agreed at report stage. It received Royal Assent on 28 April 2022, finalising its passage into law.

Voting

In four recorded Commons votes, the main pattern showed Labour and Liberal Democrats generally supporting the government’s direction, while Conservatives and Reform UK opposed many amendments. The government prevailed on key amendments at the report stage, reflecting a broad cross-party acceptance of the bill’s core reform agenda while allowing opposition questions about specific changes.