---

Education and Inspections Bill

No, it would not. The other important point to bear in mind is that, if the circumstances that I have described occur—that is, there is a majority on the board of governors from the trust—a parent council must be set up. It will be an important voice in the way in which the school is run. All trust school governing bodies would still be required to have at least one elected parent and many would have more. I am confident that many schools will use the opportunity of trust status to put existing collaborative arrangements on a more secure footing. However, forcing new schools to be part of federations, for which amendments Nos. 88 to 92, tabled by my hon. Friend the Member for Blackpool, South (Mr. Marsden), would provide, is unnecessarily restrictive. For example, it would be unreasonable for a prospective new school to have to receive the agreement of at least one other school in the area that they would have a single governing body before it could be established.