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Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Bill

I go a little further than my noble friend who has just spoken because I do not give much weight to assurances given by the Front Bench of any Government. They only last as long as the Government, and not always as long as that. I want to see the assurance in the Bill. To try to stop one hair being split in resistance to this amendment, I think that it would be a little better if the second line of the second paragraph read, "colleges should seek to recruit students from outside as well as inside the area of the local authority", and likewise in the next paragraph, in case the Minister says that this is trying to diminish the benefits to a local authority of having an FE college in its area. I agree wholly with my noble friends and wish that I had the eloquence of my noble friend Lord Baker.