---

Education and Inspections Bill

My hon. Friend is right. I believe that grant-maintained schools had to hold a ballot every year, but Conservative Members know more about that than me. All I know is that that was a bad policy which it would be bad to replicate, particularly in relation to ballots, where the problems that my hon. Friend has mentioned were apparent. I am more sympathetic to new clause 44 tabled by my hon. Friend the Member for Bury, North (Mr. Chaytor). In practice, however, I believe that many governing bodies will hold the sort of public meeting required by his proposed new clause, and I do not think that we should make such a meeting an absolute requirement.