Education and Inspections Bill

I said that my remarks were not in any way intended to be anti-academy—they certainly were not. I was trying to understand, and I still do not feel that I have succeeded, how local authorities are to perform their duty under this Bill, the Children Act and Every Child Matters if the concerns arise from the academies, over which they have no purview. I was referring to the relationship between them, rather than academies per se or who is inspecting them and what the outcomes are. Whether I am happy does not matter very much; the issue is that the local authorities which have the statutory duties are clearly unhappy and have grave concerns. I shall withdraw the amendment today but given the length of time between Committee and Report, I hope that the noble Lord will encourage further dialogue between his department and local authorities to see whether it can allay some of their concerns on their relationship with this Bill and their statutory duties under the Children Act. In the mean time, I beg leave to withdraw the amendment. Amendment, by leave, withdrawn. Clause 52 agreed to. Clause 53 [Warning notice by local education authority]: [Amendments Nos. 184D to 185 not moved.] Clause 53 agreed to. Clause 54 [School requiring significant improvement]: [Amendments Nos. 185A and 185B not moved.] Clause 54 agreed to. Clause 55 [School requiring special measures]: [Amendments Nos. 185C and 185D not moved.] Clause 55 agreed to. Clause 56 [Power of LEA to require governing body to enter into arrangements]: [Amendment No. 185E not moved.]