This morning BBC Radio news is reporting that today’s Education White Paper will set legally enforceable rights. Either the Beeb has got it wrong, or this is the fastest U-turn in history – or maybe the Government is just in another muggle.
Only yesterday the Government declared in its “Building Briatain’s Future” document:
“These guarantees, and others that we will set out, will be backed up by more responsive non-legal redress mechanisms” (para 15, p64). Later is goes on to say “we will not legislate in such a way as to mean redress will be through the courts. This will not be a charter for drawn-out legal action to receive your rights – but rather a rapidly responsive system of personal advocacy”. (para 16).
I pointed this out on Radio 4’s World Tonight last night (about 22 minutes into the programme).
So who’s right? Who knows – maybe we’ll find out this afternoon when the White Paper is published – but my guess is the Beeb has got it wrong. These “rights” will be legislated, but non-enforceable through the Courts.
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