§ 10. Mr. Spellerasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science when he will make an order to fix the time within which voluntary and county 228 schools should alter the composition of their governing bodies to conform to the requirement of the new Education Act.
§ Dr. BoysonWe made it clear to the House during the passage of what is now the 1980 Act that the further application of the new provisions would be a gradual process, and we have no immediate intention of making orders under section 2(11) to impose a statutory requirement to change instruments of government already in force.
§ Mr. SpellerWhile welcoming the further implementation of the parents' charter, may I ask my hon. Friend whether he does not think that the rather open time scale, with the local government election cycle pending from spring next year, will lay us open to a certain amount of gerrymandering of time scales, if not, indeed, of boundaries?
§ Dr. BoysonI take my hon. Friend's point. Our information is that an increasing number of schools are appointing parent governors, elected from the parents' body, and teacher governors. It is our intention to allow that movement to continue. When we find that certain authorities are taking no action, we shall introduce the order to bring everybody into line.