Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education (Transfer of Functions etc) Bill [HL]: Progress of the bill

The Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education (Transfer of Functions etc) Bill (Bill 184 of 2024-25) started in the House of Lords, where it was introduced on 9 October 2024. It had second reading in the Lords on 22 October 2024, committee stage on 21 and 26 November 2024, report stage on 5 February 2025, and third reading on 11 February 2025. The bill was amended in the Lords at report stage.

The bill was introduced to the House of Commons on 12 February 2025. It had its second reading in the House of Commons on 25 February 2025 and committee stage on 13 and 20 March 2025. The bill was amended at committee stage. It had its report stage and third reading on 31 March 2025.

Lords consideration of Commons amendments will take place on 30 April 2025.

The government has published a policy document alongside the bill. This sets out its intention to transfer the functions of the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education (a non-departmental public body) to the Secretary of State for Education, who would delegate most of them to Skills England, a new body that has been set up as executive agency within the Department for Education (DfE). The government has said that transferring the institute’s statutory functions to the Secretary of State and introducing more flexibility to the skills system would make the system more agile and responsive to the needs of employers and the economy.

Background on the bill, and full explanation of its clauses and progress in the Lords, can be found in the Commons Library briefing Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education (Transfer of Functions etc) Bill [HL]. This was produced ahead of the second reading debate in the House of Commons.

What would the bill do?

The bill brought to the Commons comprises 14 clauses: 13 clauses from the original bill and one clause added by the Lords. The bill, together with its explanatory notes and other documents are available on the Parliament website. The bill would:

• abolish the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education (‘the Institute’)
• transfer functions from the Institute to the Secretary of State for Education
• transfer property, rights, and liabilities from the Institute to the Secretary of State

The bill will also make additional changes to the current skills system, including:

• giving the Secretary of State additional powers over occupational standards and apprenticeship assessments
• removing the requirement for reviews of technical educational qualifications, occupational standards, and apprenticeship assessment plans to be undertaken at regular intervals
• giving Ofqual (Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation) the discretion to exercise its accreditation power for technical education qualifications when deemed appropriate by the Secretary of State

A government amendment made in the Lords introduced a new clause requiring the Secretary of State to lay before Parliament and publish a report about the exercise of functions conferred or imposed on the Secretary of State by this bill.

A subsection was also introduced by the Lords, without government support, that inserted a one-year delay between the establishment of Skills England and the commencement of the legislation.

Progress through the Commons

Second reading

On 25 February 2025, the bill passed its second reading in the Commons by 317 votes to 55. The debate largely covered issues raised in the Lords, particularly regarding Skills England’s level of independence from government, the enhanced powers of the Secretary of State, and the role of employers in the system.

A “reasoned amendment”, which, if agreed, would have ended the bill’s progress through Parliament, was moved by the Liberal Democrat MP Ian Sollom. The amendment acknowledged the importance of reforming how skills and technical education was delivered but called for Skills England to be established as a statutory independent body. The amendment was rejected by 312 votes to 70.

Committee stage

The bill was considered by a public bill committee over four sittings on 13 and 20 February.

The committee agreed to amend subsection 1 of clause 12 to remove the one-year delay, added at report stage in the Lords, between the establishment of Skills England and the commencement of this legislation. The clause was previously amended in the Lords but this amendment did not have government support.

Several opposition amendments were moved and pushed to a division but did not pass. The included amendments seeking to: set up Skills England on an independent statutory footing; add requirements on how employers and the industry will be involved in the preparation of occupational standards and apprenticeship assessment plans; add further requirements for reports on the impact of the bill.

Report stage and third reading

The bill’s report stage and third reading in the Commons took place on 31 March 2025. Three amendments were put to a vote on report by opposition parties relating to the establishment of Skills England as a statutory body. They were all rejected.

The bill passed its third reading 304 votes to 62.

What happened in the Lords stages?

For further detail of the progress of the bill in the Lords, see the Library’s briefing produced ahead of second reading.

There was cross-party support for the bill in principle in the House of Lords. Members of the House of Lords were supportive of the introduction of Skills England.

Key topics of discussion during the House of Lords stages included:

• the role of Skills England as an executive agency within the DfE, and the functions that would be transferred to it from the Institute
• the power that would be given to the Secretary of State in preparing occupational standards and apprenticeship assessment plans
• the effects of removing the requirement to review technical educational qualifications, occupational standards and apprenticeship assessment plans at regular intervals, and removing the requirement for independent third parties to examine occupational standards and apprenticeship assessment plans before approval
• the reporting requirements of the Secretary of State and Skills England
• the power the government will have to make consequential changes to acts other than those specified in the provisions of the bill

Amendments were made at the Lords report stage.

A government amendment made in the Lords would introduce a new clause requiring the Secretary of State to lay before Parliament and publish a report about the exercise of functions conferred or imposed on the Secretary of State by this bill.

A subsection was also introduced by the Lords, without government support, that inserted a one-year delay between the establishment of Skills England and the commencement of the legislation. As discussed above, this was removed at committee stage in the Commons.