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Mr David Willetts
Mr Nick Gibb
Mr John Hayes
Mr David Evennett
94
Clause 43, page 33, line 8, at end insert '(1) or'.
Mr David Chaytor
217
Clause 43, page 33, line 9, at end insert—
'(2B) If the admission authority for a maintained school in England is the governing body, the governing body may only make such provision for selection by ability as is mentioned in subsection (1A) with the consent of the local education authority.'.
NEW CLAUSES RELATING TO SCHOOL ADMISSIONS
Direction to admit looked after child to specified school
Jacqui Smith
NC27
To move the following Clause:—
'(1) After section 97 of SSFA 1998 insert—
"97A Direction to admit looked after child to specified school
(1) A local authority in England may, in relation to a child looked after by them, give a direction under this section to the admission authority for any school in England other than a school for which the local authority are the admission authority.
(2) A direction under this section shall not specify a school from which the child is permanently excluded.
(3) Where a school is specified in a direction under this section, the admission authority shall admit the child to the school.
(4) Subsection (3) does not affect any power to exclude from a school a pupil who is already a registered pupil there.
97B Procedure for giving direction under section 97A
(1) Before deciding to give a direction under section 97A, the local authority shall consult the admission authority for the school they propose to specify in the direction.
(2) The admission authority for the school shall, within the period of seven days beginning with the day on which they are consulted as mentioned in subsection (1), inform the local authority whether they are willing to admit the child to the school without being directed to do so by the authority.
(3) Where the local authority decide to give a direction under section 97A specifying a school—
| (a) | they shall, before doing so, serve a notice in writing of their decision on— |
| (i) | the admission authority for the school, |
| (ii) | if the school is a community or voluntary controlled school and the governing body of the school are not the admission authority, the governing body of the school, |
| (iii) | if the school is maintained by a local education authority who are not the authority proposing to give the direction and are not the admission authority, the local education authority who maintain the school, and |
| (iv) | the head teacher of the school, and |
| (b) | they shall not give the direction until the period for referring the matter to the adjudicator under subsection (4) has expired and, if it is so referred, until the adjudicator has made such determinations under this section as it appears to him to be appropriate to make in connection with the reference. |
(4) The following persons—
| (a) | the admission authority on whom a notice is served under subsection (3)(a)(i), and |
| (b) | in the case of a notice relating to a child to whom (at the time of service of the notice) section 87(2) applies, the governing body of a community or voluntary controlled school on whom the notice is served under subsection (3)(a)(ii), |
may, within the period of seven days beginning with the day on which the notice was served, refer the matter to the adjudicator and, if they do so, shall inform the local authority.
(5) A reference under subsection (4) may only be made on the ground that the admission of the child to the school would seriously prejudice the provision of efficient education or the efficient use of resources.
(6) If the adjudicator determines that the admission of the child to the school would have the effect mentioned in subsection (5)—
| (a) | the local authority may not give a direction under section 97A that the school admit the child, but |
| (b) | the adjudicator may determine that another school in England is to be required to admit the child. |
(7) A determination under subsection (6)(b) may only be made with the agreement of the local authority who look after the child.
(8) A determination under subsection (6)(b) may not be made if—
| (a) | the child is permanently excluded from the other school, or |
| (b) | the admission of the child to the other school would seriously prejudice the provision of efficient education or the efficient use of resources. |
(9) If the adjudicator determines under subsection (6)(b) that another school is to be required to admit the child, then—
| (a) | if the local authority referred to in subsection (1) are the admission authority for that school they shall— |
| (i) | admit the child to the school, and |
| (ii) | give notice in writing to the governing body and head teacher of the school of the adjudicator's decision, and |
| (b) | in any other case, the local authority shall specify that school in their direction under section 97A. |
(10) A direction under section 97A shall be given by notice in writing and a copy of the notice shall be given by the local authority to the head teacher of the school."
(2) In section 84 of SSFA 1998, after subsection (6) (which defines terms used in Chapter 1 of Part 3 of that Act) insert—
"(7) In this Chapter, references to a child who is looked after by a local authority are to be read in accordance with section 22(1) of the Children Act 1989."
(3) In section 89 of SSFA 1998, in subsection (1A) omit the words "(within the meaning of section 22 of the Children Act 1989)".
(4) In section 143 of SSFA 1998 (index) after the entry relating to "child (in Chapter 1 of Part 3 but not in sections 96 and 97)" insert—
| "child looked after by a local authority (in Chapter 1 of Part 3) | section 84(7)".'. |
Procedure for giving directions under section 96 of SSFA 1998
Jacqui Smith
NC28
To move the following Clause:—
'In section 97 of SSFA 1998 (procedure for giving directions under section 96)—
| (a) | in subsection (2)(b)— |
| (i) | for "the Secretary of State" (in both places where it occurs) substitute "the appropriate authority", and |
| (ii) | for "his determination" substitute "its determination", |
| (b) | in subsection (3), for "the Secretary of State" substitute "the appropriate authority", |
| (i) | for "the Secretary of State" substitute "the appropriate authority", |
| (ii) | for "if he does so" substitute "if it does so", and |
| (iii) | in paragraph (a)(ii) for "the Secretary of State's" substitute "the appropriate authority's", |
| (d) | in subsection (5) for "The Secretary of State" substitute "The appropriate authority", and |
| (e) | after subsection (6) insert— |
"(6A) In this section, "the appropriate authority" means—
| (a) | in relation to a local education authority in England, the adjudicator, and |
| (b) | in relation to a local education authority in Wales, the Assembly." '. |
Directions to admit child to specified school: supplementary provisions
Jacqui Smith
NC29
To move the following Clause:—
'(1) In section 94 of SSFA 1998 (appeal arrangements: general), in subsection (1)(a) after "section 96" insert "or 97A".
(2) In section 96 of SSFA 1998 (direction to admit child to specified school)—
| (a) | in subsection (3) for "the Secretary of State" substitute "the appropriate authority (within the meaning of section 97)", and |
| (b) | in subsection (8) for "section 97" substitute "sections 97 to 97C". |
(3) After section 97B of SSFA 1998 (inserted by section (Direction to admit looked after child to specified school)) insert—
Looked after children to whom section 87(2) of SSFA 1998 applies: references to adjudicator
Jacqui Smith
NC30
To move the following Clause:—
'(1) In section 95 of SSFA 1998 (appeals relating to children to whom section 87(2) applies) after subsection (2) insert—
"(2A) Subsection (2) does not apply in relation to a decision made by or on behalf of a local education authority in England to admit to a school a child who is looked after by a local authority in England (provision for references to the adjudicator in relation to such a decision being made by section 95A)."
(2) After that section insert—
"95A References relating to looked after children to whom section 87(2)
applies
(1) This section applies where—
| (a) | a local education authority in England are the admission authority for a community or voluntary controlled school, and |
| (b) | a decision is made by or on behalf of the authority to admit to the school a child who, at the time when the decision is made, is looked after by a local authority in England and to whom (at that time) section 87(2) applies. |
(2) The local education authority must give notice of the decision to the governing body of the school.
(3) The governing body of the school may, within the period of seven days beginning with the day on which they are notified of the decision, refer the matter to the adjudicator.
(4) A reference under subsection (3) may only be made on the ground that the admission of the child to the school would seriously prejudice the provision of efficient education or the efficient use of resources.
(5) If the adjudicator determines that the admission of the child to the school would have the effect mentioned in subsection (4)—
| (a) | the decision to admit the child to the school shall cease to have effect, but |
| (b) | the adjudicator may determine that another maintained school in England is to be required to admit the child. |
(6) A determination under subsection (5)(b) may only be made with the agreement of the local authority who look after the child.
(7) A determination under subsection (5)(b) may not be made if—
| (a) | the child is permanently excluded from the other school, or |
| (b) | the admission of the child to the other school would seriously prejudice the provision of efficient education or the efficient use of resources. |
(8) If the adjudicator determines under subsection (5)(b) that another school is to be required to admit the child—
| (a) | the admission authority for the school shall admit the child to the school, and |
| (b) | if the admission authority are not the governing body of the school, the admission authority shall give notice in writing to the governing body and head teacher of the school of the adjudicator's decision. |
(9) Regulations may make provision—
| (a) | requiring the adjudicator to consult prescribed persons or persons of a prescribed description before making any determination in connection with a reference under this section; |
| (b) | requiring an admission authority for a maintained school to provide information which— |
| (i) | falls within a prescribed description, and |
| (ii) | is requested by the adjudicator for the purposes of any such determination." '. |
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