Parliamentary wash-up: which new laws made it through?
Parliament has now been dissolved ahead of the general election on 4 July. Some key new laws were passed during the 'wash-up' period while other planned laws were put on hold. We have summarised the position for schools.
Pupil and regulatory developments
Criminal Justice Bill: This was a wide-ranging bill, which contained various measures on criminal offences, police powers, sentencing and offender management. Of most interest to independent schools were the high profile proposals within the bill to introduce a new statutory duty (in England) for people undertaking "relevant activity" to notify the police or a local authority if, in the course of that activity, they were given reason to suspect that a child sex offence may have been committed. This new duty would have applied to people whose roles involved a degree of care or responsibility for children, such as teachers and healthcare professionals.
The bill had not completed its passage through the Commons before the 'wash-up' period and with 130 amendments left to be debated there wasn't enough time to pass the legislation. This has meant that the bill has been dropped for now and it will be for any future government to consider whether and how to implement a mandatory reporting duty given that it was one of the main recommendations in the final report of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse.
Keeping Children Safe in Education 2024: Shortly before parliament was dissolved the Department for Education (DfE) published the draft version of guidance for information only, pending the publication of a final version which is expected to come into force in September 2024. Some of the changes were expected and reflect, in part, the wording in Working together to safeguard children 2023 which came into force in December 2023. Other changes are still under review eg those sections relating to children questioning their gender and the content on preventing radicalisation. As the draft is 'for information only' we have advised schools to wait until the final draft is published before updating their safeguarding policy suites. We will of course produce a back to school update for all our compliance toolkit subscribers to help with this process and update our VWV KCSIE eLearning for all staff when the updated guidance has been issued.
Pupil registration and Attendance: Schools will already be aware of the changes to legal duties on schools regarding pupil registration and attendance that are due to come into effect on 19 August 2024 and we expect many will have already started preparing for the changes. There is still a possibility that the upcoming election, and any subsequent change of government, may result in the new guidance and regulations not coming into force as planned. The DfE has been asked to comment but has not yet confirmed the position.
Employment-related developments
Some key employment-related policies and laws were also dealt with during wash-up:
Code of Practice on dismissal and re-engagement: An Order has been passed, bringing it into force from 18 July 2024. The Order confirms that the Code will not apply where the prospect of dismissal and re-engagement has been raised by the employer with the employee and/or their representatives before 18 July 2024.
The original intention was that there would be a potential 25% compensation uplift for an unreasonable failure to follow the Code. However, the separate order covering this has not been passed. In addition, the Labour party has, in its election manifesto, committed to removing the practice of 'fire and re-hire' altogether. It is therefore possible that a new Labour government could take swift action after coming into power in order to remove the Code of Practice entirely. We will know more on this following the election.
The Paternity Leave (Bereavement) Act 2024: This has already received Royal Assent and so will be implemented but the timescales are unclear. When it comes into force, the Act will create a day-one right to paternity leave where the child's mother dies in the first year after birth or adoption. It will also allow a parent who has taken shared parental leave to subsequently take paternity leave in the event of the death of the child's mother. The Act also introduces the power for regulations to be made to provide for provisions such as enhanced redundancy protection to bereaved employees following their return from paternity leave. Importantly, the Act requires secondary legislation to be passed by way of regulations before it can be brought fully into force. Any such secondary legislation would need to be passed by the new government following the general election, so the timescales for bringing these changes into force is yet to be confirmed.
Statutory Code of Practice on the fair and transparent distribution of tips: This will require employers to fairly allocate qualifying tips, gratuities and service charges amongst workers. Schools who operate and employ staff in hospitality venues, such as school theatre bars, could find themselves falling within the scope of these new rules once in force. Secondary legislation still needs to be laid before Parliament in order to commence the Code of Practice. The expectation is that the Code of Practice will come into force on 1 October 2024 and we will continue to report on developments and the potential impact on schools.
Data Protection
The Data Protection and Digital Information Bill: This was not passed into law during the 'wash up'. Readers may recall that the Bill included various changes to data protection law, for example, changing the exemptions which allow organisations to refuse to respond to subject access requests. The Labour Party's manifesto does not indicate that it will continue with reforms to data protection law if it forms a government.