Clause 74
1:15 pm
Nick Gibb (Shadow Minister, Children, Schools and Families; Bognor Regis and Littlehampton, Conservative)
I am reassured to hear that. [Interruption.] As the hon. Member for Yeovil says from a sedentary position, that is how it will start. The Minister said that the regional structure of the YPLA is a useful mechanism through which to conduct oversight of the academies, but, of course, it is the role of the federation of academies to look after academies in a regional or national way by selecting five, six, seven or ten academies within their federation to be monitored and nurtured. That is not the role of an expanding YPLA. If possible, I would like a Division on amendment 26, rather than on lead amendment 24. Amendment 26 enshrines in legislation that the objective of the YPLA is to maintain the autonomy of academies, which is an important principle.
I was also intrigued by what the Minister had to say about the powers of the Secretary of State who would maintain his power and duty to terminate funding agreements and appoint additional governors. It seems that the Department will maintain an oversight role to ensure that academies are performing well. That prompts me to ask what the YPLA will do if it does not inspect schools or oversee them, because the power to tackle underperforming academies still rests with the Secretary of State.