Draft Additional Learning Needs Code

Inquiry5

On 11 December 2018 the Welsh Government published a consultation on the draft Additional Learning Needs Code required under Section 4 of the Additional Learning Needs and Education Tribunal (Wales) Act 2018 (the ALN Act).

During its scrutiny of the ALN Bill, the Children, Young People and Education (CYPE) Committee was concerned that the Code should be subject to scrutiny by the Assembly before it was issued. The Bill was amended at Stage 2 to include the procedure the Welsh Government must follow before it can issue the Code (Section 5 of the Act). As part of that procedure, the Welsh Ministers must consult on the detail of the draft Code. Included on a list of statutory consultees for that consultation process is the “relevant Assembly Committee”, which in this case was the Children, Young People and Education Committee.

As one of the statutory consultees, the Committee considered how best to approach its scrutiny of the draft Code in order to input into the Government’s consultation effectively, avoiding any unnecessary duplication. The Committee agreed to establish a ‘working group’ to enable direct engagement with expert stakeholders to discuss the detail of the draft Code.

The Committee discussed the draft Code with stakeholders at its meeting on 13 February 2019.

The Committee submitted its formal response (PDF 494KB) to the Welsh Government’s consultation on 22 March 2019.

The Research Service published a Blog providing background on the purpose of the ALN Code, and the work undertaken by the Committee to scrutinise it.