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Education and Inspections Bill

That is an exaggeration, for the simple reason that the views of parents must be collected. The governing body’s views will of course carry some weight as well, but, as has been said, the local authority will also be able to adjudicate, and to decide whether the balance of the argument has been correct. There is already a safeguard. Ultimately, however, if a governing body has identified deficiencies in a school that it has not been able to remedy with the existing resources and within the existing structure, of course it should have a large say in whether there should be a move to a new arrangement that could solve the school’s difficulties. Earlier, we heard the enticing argument that a ballot somehow conferred a veneer of respectability and allowed an element of democracy to become involved. I do not believe that that will apply in this case. I do not believe that democratic rights should be handed to one particular group. For that reason, we shall be voting with the Government on the Bill.