Skills and Post-16 Education Bill [ Lords ] (Sixth sitting)

Debate between Alex Burghart and Andy Carter

Tuesday 7th December 2021 Public Bill Committees

Alex Burghart

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We are in agreement that essay mills need to be driven out of business, and that is why the clauses are in the Bill. In response to the hon. Gentleman’s points, these are serious criminal offences.

Andy Carter (Warrington South) (Con)

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I suspect that the Minister is about to say that the Sentencing Council will have a view on the issue, and actually it is for the Sentencing Council to determine the length and type of sentences that might be involved in criminal activities.

Alex Burghart

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My hon. Friend is extremely prescient, and I congratulate him on that. This is a criminal offence and we want to see it seriously punished. However, for reasons I will set out, we do not think that amendment 62 would solve the problem in the right way. It would amend clause 31 by setting a minimum penalty of a fine of no less than £5,000 for the offence of advertising a cheating service. As drafted, the Bill does not state the level of fine payable on conviction. Instead, conviction of either offence carries the penalty of an unlimited fine—as the name implies, that is a fine imposed without financial limit. That approach carries serious potential consequences and provides a significant deterrent effect to those planning to advertise contract cheating services.

The Government do not believe that setting a minimum amount is appropriate, where maximum fines are unlimited. Setting a minimum fine of £5,000 risks that level of fine being seen by essay mill providers as a likely fine, rather than a minimum. Sentencing and the precise size of a fine should be matters for the independent judiciary, in accordance with Sentencing Council guidelines, based on the full facts of the case. I would draw hon. Members attention to the fact that Ireland, which has a similar legal system and a similar offence, imposes a fine of up to €100,000 per offence and/or a prison sentence. That is the sort of thing that might go through the minds in our justice system. We do not therefore think that the amendment is necessary.

Skills and Post-16 Education Bill [ Lords ] (Sixth sitting)

Debate between Alex Burghart and Andy Carter

Committee stage
Tuesday 7th December 2021 Public Bill Committees

[Alex Burghart]

We are in agreement that essay mills need to be driven out of business, and that is why the clauses are in the Bill. In response to the hon. Gentleman’s points, these are serious criminal offences.

[Andy Carter (Warrington South) (Con)]

I suspect that the Minister is about to say that the Sentencing Council will have a view on the issue, and actually it is for the Sentencing Council to determine the length and type of sentences that might be involved in criminal activities.

Skills and Post-16 Education Bill (First sitting)

Debate between Alex Burghart and Andy Carter

Tuesday 30th November 2021 Public Bill Committees

Alex Burghart

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That is very kind, Mrs Miller. I will seek absolute clarity on this point, but my understanding is that the Secretary of State will still have to have regard to section 1 of the Climate Change 2008. That is an important concession that was made in the House of Lords, for obvious reasons.

To go back to the point made by my hon. Friend the Member for Warrington South, one of the major players—perhaps the major player—in what this Bill seeks to achieve is business. It is often business that drives, through its work with local providers, a responsive system, which means that the employers of today ensure that the employees of tomorrow have the skills that they need.

Andy Carter

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In Warrington, we have used the town deal to put a focus on skills, with the employer at the heart of it. A digital skills academy has been created in Warrington, driven by employers but facilitated by the local authority, allowing the focus for colleges and for future growth in those areas. Businesses have really been at the heart of that work, which for me is so important.-

Alex Burghart

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That point is well made, and I very much hope to visit Warrington in the near future and see that good work.

Skills and Post-16 Education Bill (First sitting)

Debate between Alex Burghart and Andy Carter

Committee stage
Tuesday 30th November 2021 Public Bill Committees

[Andy Carter]

In Warrington, we have used the town deal to put a focus on skills, with the employer at the heart of it. A digital skills academy has been created in Warrington, driven by employers but facilitated by the local authority, allowing the focus for colleges and for future growth in those areas. Businesses have really been at the heart of that work, which for me is so important.-

[Alex Burghart]

That point is well made, and I very much hope to visit Warrington in the near future and see that good work.

Skills and Post-16 Education Bill [ Lords ] (First sitting)

Debate between Alex Burghart and Andy Carter

Tuesday 30th November 2021 Public Bill Committees

[Andy Carter]

In Warrington, we have used the town deal to put a focus on skills, with the employer at the heart of it. A digital skills academy has been created in Warrington, driven by employers but facilitated by the local authority, allowing the focus for colleges and for future growth in those areas. Businesses have really been at the heart of that work, which for me is so important.

[Alex Burghart]

That point is well made, and I very much hope to visit Warrington in the near future and see that good work.