Territorial Extent and Application
34.Most of the provisions contained in the Act extend to England and Wales only, with a small number of provisions extending more widely. These are shown in the table at Annex A.
Territorial application: Scotland
35.The Scottish Parliament's consent has been obtained for the provisions in the Act that trigger the Sewel Convention. The provisions are those re-stating powers conferred by sections 11 and 12 of the Further Education and Training Act 2007. Those sections currently enable the Learning and Skills Council to make arrangements to provide services to the Scottish Executive. These powers will be replicated for both the Chief Executive of Skills Funding and the Young People’s Learning Agency for England, in sections 68, 69, 107 and 108. The Sewel Convention provides that the UK Parliament will not normally legislate with regard to devolved matters in Scotland without the consent of the Scottish Parliament.
36.In addition, section 40 – which covers the right to request time to train – will apply in Scotland. As this section amends legislation which relates to the reserved matter of employment rights and duties, it does not trigger the Sewel Convention.
Territorial application: Wales
37.The Act confers a number of new or expanded powers on the Welsh Ministers, in line with changes being made to certain powers of the Secretary of State in relation to England. In addition, the Act makes two changes which are specific to Wales:
a measure to enable institutions within the further education sector in Wales to apply to the Privy Council for the power to grant foundation degrees (section 259);
an amendment to section 29 of the Education Act 2002 to require all schools in Wales to adopt a complaints procedure established by regulations made by Welsh Ministers (section 260).
Territorial application: Northern Ireland
38.The Northern Ireland Assembly’s consent has been sought for the provisions in the Act that trigger the Sewel Convention. The effect of sections 130 and 132 is to give Ofqual a role in regulating certain vocational qualifications in Northern Ireland. By convention, Westminster will not normally legislate with regard to devolved matters in Northern Ireland without the consent of the Northern Ireland Assembly.
39.In addition, the Act re-states powers conferred by section 13 of the Further Education and Training Act 2007, which currently enables the Learning and Skills Council to make arrangements to provide services to the Northern Irish Executive. These powers will be replicated for both the Chief Executive of Skills Funding and the Young People’s Learning Agency for England, in sections 68, 70, 107 and 109. A legislative consent motion is not, however, required for this matter.
