Education and Skills Bill gives parents more input

Local authorities will also be given the power to intervene early at under-performing schools.

Under the bill, Pupil Referral Units will be reformed and a white paper will be published setting out different ways to offer alternative education. Schools will also be made more accountable to parents, who will get to have a say on how to make them better and whether areas need new schools.

A new exams regulator, Ofqual, will also be set up, along with a qualifications and curriculum development agency to take over the rest of the work of the current Qualifications and Curriculum Authority.

Funding and responsibility for 16 to 18 education will be transferred to local authorities and children's trusts will be expected to take responsibility for joining up services.

Brown said: "There will be the first independent qualifications system to guarantee to parents the highest standards."

The measures are all in the government's draft legislative programme, which was announced today by the Prime Minister.

In total, 18 bills were proposed, including an NHS reform bill to create a constitution setting out what patients can expect from health services. A welfare reform bill would see unemployed people being assessed for what skills they need to learn.

There was also a proposal to extend the right to ask for flexible working arrangements, which has been welcomed by the charity Working Families.

The draft legislative programme can be viewed in full at http://www.official-documents.gov.uk/document/cm73/7372/7372.asp