The Government are clear—we are talking about cases where a local authority wants a school to convert to an academy. I referred to the Government’s current criteria earlier in Committee. The criteria that the regional directors use when deciding which trust a school should join are set out clearly. I believe that I put the link in my last letter to your Lordships, so I encourage my noble friend to take a look—they are very fair and clear.
I am not sure that my noble friend was in the Chamber when we talked about the fact that this legislation is part of wider work that the Government are doing in relation to commissioning and regulation, where there will be extensive engagement over the summer. I reassure my noble friend that that will focus predominantly on how we can achieve better outcomes for children. He used the word “neatness” in perhaps a pejorative way; one could absolutely justify why we need clarity in a system the size of the school system in this country.
In responding to Amendments 61 and 62, in the names of the noble Baroness, Lady Blower, and the noble Lord, Lord Hunt, I will explain how the corrective Amendment 68, in my name, will introduce a new consultation requirement. The Government expect local authorities to engage widely with interested parties when considering supporting schools to join strong trusts. Amendment 68 explicitly requires local authorities applying for an academy order to
“consult such persons as they think appropriate about whether the conversion should take place.”
The noble Baroness gave an extensive list of the types of organisations and individuals who should be consulted, and she suggested, fairly, that in these cases there should always be a clear explanation of why the conversion should take place.
This amendment applies to local authorities the same consultation requirements as exist when governing bodies apply for maintained schools to be converted into academies. Local authorities should act reasonably
in deciding who to consult, and it is therefore inevitable that parents and staff would be aware and able to express their views. As I said in response to my noble friend, the decision on whether schools should convert rests ultimately with regional directors, who will need to be satisfied that local authorities have consulted sufficiently and that their plans benefit children’s education. However, it is not necessary or appropriate to require local authorities to demonstrate that they have considered alternatives. The decision before the regional director is whether to approve the local authority’s plans for its schools to become academies. I hope but am not entirely confident that the noble Baroness, Lady Blower, and the noble Lord, Lord Hunt, will be reassured by the addition of this requirement.
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Amendments 69 and 70 in the name of the noble Lord, Lord Hunt, seek to impose more specific consultation requirements on local authorities than the government amendment provides for. I understand that the effect of Amendment 69 would be to prescribe the timing of consultation. The process of joining a strong trust only begins at the point of an application for an academy order; it does not end there. Even the issuing of an academy order is not the point at which a school becomes an academy, nor is it the point at which it joins a strong trust.
Amendment 70 would establish specific requirements around consulting parents and staff. As I have already made clear, it is inevitable that any reasonable consultation would involve parents and staff. However, we know that, when considering whether a school should join a strong trust, many interested parties will wish to express their views. For different schools, those who are interested will of course differ; some will want more information than is available in the early stages to enable them to express an informed view. It is for this reason that the existing consultation requirements for governing bodies applying for academy orders allow for flexibility in both when and who to consult. The proposed government amendment that is the focus of this amendment mirrors this flexibility to ensure that the most suitable consultation in each school’s specific circumstances can be undertaken.
Amendment 75 concerns existing stand-alone academies joining multi-academy trusts. The process by which an academy joins another trust is not set out in legislation; it is a matter for agreement between the two trusts and with the approval of the regional director.