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Education and Inspections Bill

The term does not include academies in that the arrangements that apply to maintained schools do not apply to academies, but it includes academies in that the amendment will be introduced as part of their funding agreements. Many other amendments will also apply to academies but in a different way. There has been considerable media interest in and several misplaced accusations about and misinterpretations of our intentions and our decision not to proceed with an amendment on admissions to new faith schools. Perhaps I can set the record straight. On 3 October, the Church of England announced its decision to offer places in its new schools to children in the local community in addition to those made available for Anglican children. We welcomed that. Our position was that, if sufficient consensus existed, we would be prepared to introduce a local authority power for admissions to other new faith schools. I emphasise that it was a power, not a duty. We undertook to consult the key representatives of the faith communities before deciding our way forward. Having done that and having listened to the concerns of all the faith groups and many colleagues in all parties, but especially Labour Members, including my hon. Friend the Member for Mitcham and Morden (Siobhain McDonagh), and after agreeing with the Archbishop of Birmingham that a voluntary way forward to ensure up to 25 per cent. of places in new Catholic schools for pupils from other faiths or no faith, additional to the demand from Catholic pupils, we decided that it would be wrong to press ahead with our amendment. It became clear from our discussions with faith groups that there was no consensus in support of the amendment. Not only the Catholic Church, but the Sikh community, the Hindu community, the Church of England—although it agreed a voluntary route—and the Muslim community believed that it was unnecessary to legislate. All the faith communities did not support the amendment, but they were all in favour of the far more important and profound proposition to place a duty to promote community cohesion on the governing bodies of all maintained—faith and non-faith—schools and to ask Ofsted to inspect and report on schools’ response to that obligation.