Following the final report of the Leitch Review, the government published an implementation plan, setting out how it intends to achieve ambitious targets for adult skills and literacy. These have been incorporated into the Bill, which sets a duty on young people to participate in education and training, and on parents to assist their children to participate.

The Bill would raise to 18 the minimum age at which young people can leave education or training, and bring in the legislative changes needed to implement key elements of the Leitch Review into the UK’s long term skills needs. It places duties on employers to release young people for the equivalent of one day a week to undertake training elsewhere.

To push forward adult skills, the Bill places a duty on the Learning and Skills Council to secure the proper provision of courses to allow learners over the age of 19 to attain functional literacy, numeracy and first full level 2 qualifications.

The Opposition has raised questions on the viability of compulsion, particularly since, it argues, students that drop out of school at a young age tend to be from disadvantaged backgrounds. Raising the leaving age would mean more disruptive students and higher truancy, they believe.