Section 93: Notices

176.     Section 93 provides for the methods by which the Chief Inspector may give certain notices to registered providers or applicants, for instance in respect of decisions to refuse registration, impose conditions or cancel registration. It also applies to certain notices which may be given by applicants and registered persons - for example, when giving notice that they wish to be registered on another register or part of a register, wish to be removed from a register or do not intend to object to the taking of a step by the Chief Inspector under section 73.

177.     A notice to which section 93 applies may be given by delivering it to the Chief Inspector, sending it by post, or by email. The Chief Inspector may only send notices by email where the applicant or registered person has indicated to the Chief Inspector his willingness to receive information electronically and he has provided an address (which must be used). Email notices to the Chief Inspector must be transmitted in accordance with the Chief Inspector's requirements.

Section 94: Power to amend Part 3: applications in respect of multiple premises

178.     Section 94 enables the Secretary of State to make an order amending Part 3 to allow applications for registration by persons other than childminders to be made in respect of more than one set of premises. The order may make changes to Part 3 that may be necessary as a consequence of this amendment.

Section 95: Certain institutions not to be regarded as schools

179.     Section 95 amends section 4 of the Education Act 1996 to provide that institutions that only provide early years provision and are not maintained nursery schools are not be regarded as schools.

Section 96: Meaning of early years and later years provision etc.

180.     Section 96 defines certain terms used in Part 3. Early years provision means the provision of childcare for a young child (a young child being a child aged from birth up to the 1^st September following his fifth birthday). Later years provision means the provision of childcare for a child older than this. An early years provider is someone who provides early years provision, and later years provider someone who provides later years provision. An early or later years childminder is someone who provides early or later years provision on domestic premises for reward with no more than two other people.

Section 97: Employees not regarded as providing childcare

181.     The effect of section 97 is that where an early years or later years provider employs an individual to care for a child the employee cannot be registered (because the employee is not regarded as providing early years or later years provision for the purposes of Part 3). The employer (as the early years or later years provider) will be under an obligation to ensure that the early years or later years provision meets any legal requirements (for example, an early years provider registered under Chapter 2 of Part 3 will be required to secure that the early years provision meets the learning and development requirements). The employer will also be under an obligation to ensure that they do not employ anyone who is disqualified in connection with early or later years provision (see section 76(3)).

Section 98: Interpretation

182.     Section 98 defines terms used in Part 3 (regulation and provision of childcare) such as the use of 'the Chief Inspector' to mean Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Schools in England.

PART 4 - MISCELLANEOUS AND GENERAL

Section 99: Provision of information about young children: England

183.     Section 99(1) allows regulations to make provision requiring all registered early years providers, and school-based providers who are exempted from registration requirements by section 34(2), to provide individual child information to the Secretary of State or any prescribed person. The intention is to prescribe local authorities.

184.     The section also makes provision for the disclosure of individual child information by the Secretary of State, an information collator and other persons holding individual child information. An information collator is an organisation collating data on behalf of the Secretary of State.

185.     The section prohibits the publishing of any information received by or under it in any form which includes the name of the child or children to whom it relates.

186.     The section is based on section 537A of the Education Act 1996 which provides for data to be collected in relation to children educated in schools.

Section 100: Provision of information about young children: transitory provision

187.     Section 100 makes provision for data collection prior to the commencement of section 7. (It is proposed to commence the early years registration requirements in Chapter 2 of Part 3 of the Act at the same time as section 7). It provides for the collection of data relating to children who are receiving funded nursery education in pursuance of section 118 of the School Standards and Frameworks Act 1998.

Section 101: Provision of information about children: Wales

188.     Section 101(1) allows regulations to make provision, in relation to Wales, requiring childminders and providers of day care registered under Part 10A of the Children Act 1989, and providers of funded nursery education, to provide individual child information to the Assembly or any prescribed person.

189.     The section also makes provision for the disclosure of individual child information by the Assembly, an information collator and other persons holding individual child information. An information collator is an organisation collating data on behalf of the Assembly.

190.     The section prohibits the publishing of any information received by or under it in any form which includes the name of the child or children to whom it relates.

191.     The section is based on section 537A of the Education Act 1996 which provides for data to be collected in relation to children educated in schools.

Section 102: Disqualification for registration under Children Act 1989

192.     Section 102 amends paragraph 4 of Schedule 9A to the Children Act 1989 which allows for regulations to be made disqualifying certain people from registration for day care or childminding and sets out a list of particular areas that such regulations may cover. Section 102(2)(a) amends the list so that persons may be disqualified by regulations on the basis that they are subject to a direction under section 142 of the Education Act 2002 on grounds relating to health. (Currently the legislation refers only to persons who are subject to such a direction on grounds that they are unsuitable to work with children.) Section 102(2)(b) further amends the list so that persons may be disqualified by regulations where they have been given a caution for a prescribed offence. Section 102(3) makes a further amendment to provide that, for this purpose, 'caution' includes a reprimand or warning within the meaning of section 65 of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998.

Section 103: Minor and consequential amendments and repeals

193.     Section 103 gives effect to Schedule 2, which makes minor and consequential amendments to a number of enactments, in particular, the Children Act 1989, the Education Act 1996 and the School Standards and Framework Act 1998.

194.     The amendment at paragraph 1 of Schedule 2 is a minor amendment which is not directly related to the other provisions of the Act. Most of the adoption functions of local authorities under the Adoption Act 1976 were repealed by the Adoption and Children Act 2002 (which conferred new functions relating to adoption on local authorities). However, some functions under the 1976 Act continue to be exercisable by virtue of transitional or saving provisions made by or under the 2002 Act. The amendment made by paragraph 1 ensures that such functions will be treated as social services functions for the purpose of the Local Authority Social Services Act 1970.

195.     The amendments to Part 10A of the Children Act 1989 confine its application to Wales as it is superseded for England by Part 3 of the Act (see paragraphs 4 to 18 of Schedule 2 to the Act).

196.     A number of the amendments in Schedule 2 are consequential on the replacement (for England) of section 118 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998 by the new duty in section 7 to secure prescribed early years provision free of charge (see paragraphs 21 to 24, 27 and 34).

197.     The repeal (made by paragraph 31 of Schedule 2) of section 118A of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998 removes local authorities' duties under that Act to assess the sufficiency of childcare and to establish an information service for the public about the provision of childcare and related services, as these duties have been superseded by the provisions of Parts 1 and 2 of this Act.

198.      Section 103 also provides for the enactments specified in Schedule 3 to be repealed to the extent specified.

Sections 104 and 105: Subordinate legislation

199.     Sections 104 and 105 make general provisions in relation to subordinate legislation. Section 104 allows the Secretary of State or the Welsh Assembly to make regulations and orders which apply generally or in relation to specific cases and to make different provision for different areas or cases.

200.     Section 105 sets out the appropriate level of parliamentary scrutiny. It provides that orders relating to commencement are not subject to parliamentary procedure. An order under section 5 (to amend the definition of early childhood services) or section 41(4) (to amend the areas of learning and development in the Early Years Foundation Stage) or section 94 (to allow for registration in respect of multiple premises) is subject to the affirmative procedure. All other subordinate legislation is subject to the negative procedure.

Sections 108: Isles of Scilly

201.     Section 108 makes provision for the Isles of Scilly. It allows the Secretary of State to make orders to adapt, modify or except provisions within Part 1 and Part 3 so that they are appropriate for the Isles of Scilly.

Sections 109 and 110: Commencement

202.     Sections 109 and 110 deal with commencement.

203.     Certain general provisions, and the amendment made by paragraph 1 of Schedule 2, come into force on Royal Assent (see section 109(1)).

204.     Most of the other provisions of the Act will come into force in accordance with orders made by the Secretary of State. Part 2 and section 101 come into force in accordance with provision made by the National Assembly for Wales. Certain of the amendments and repeals made by Schedules 2 and 3 (and sections 102 and 103 so far as relating to those provisions) also come into force, in relation to Wales, in accordance with provision made by the Assembly.

Section 111: Short title and extent

205.     Section 111 provides that the Act extends to England and Wales only, except that any amendment or repeal made by the Act has the same extent as the provision amended or repealed.

HANSARD REFERENCES

206.     The following table sets out the dates and Hansard references for each stage of this Act's passage through Parliament.