TERMS OF OFFICE ETC. (Hansard, 21 June 1988)

§ Mr. Michael Forsyth
I beg to move amendment No. 44, in page 3, line 43, after 'held', insert `, subject to subsection (6A) below,'.

§ Mr. Deputy Speaker (Sir Paul Dean)
With this it will be convenient to take Government amendment No. 45.

§ Mr. Forsyth
The amendments arise from discussions in Committee in which I allowed my right hon. Friend the Member for Kincardine and Deeside (Mr. Buchanan-Smith) to persuade me that casual vacancies should be filled within three months. The hon. Member for Cumbernald and Kilsyth (Mr. Hogg) will recall that I agreed in principle that it was anomalous that under the Bill as drafted the board could, in theory, lose its parental majority for nearly two years. We accepted that the arguments of tidiness that had led to the original requirement for casual vacancies to be filled at the time of the biennial elections were not strong enough to withstand the argument of principle. Unfortunately, my generosity had unforeseen consequences.

§ Mr. Donald Dewar (Glasgow, Garscadden)
The Minister is repenting.

§ Mr. Forsyth
The hon. Gentleman does me a disservice. I am not repenting. I am merely having to propose the amendments to undo the difficulty that was created. People elected at by-elections serve out the term of office of the member whom they replaced. As the Bill stands, it is possible for a person to be elected at a by-election only to face a term election in a matter of days. If it was simply a case of trading one anomaly for a lesser anomaly, it might not be so bad. The difficulty is that the prospect of only a short period of service before a term election might dissuade candidates from standing. If a vacancy was for a parental seat, that might trigger the sequence of events that leads to the disestablishment of the board under clause 20.
We therefore tabled the amendments, which together provide that someone elected at a by-election will be sure of serving at least three months and possibly six. The spirit of the amendment tabled by my right hon. Friend the Member for Kincardine and Deeside is secure, but the difficulties are circumvented.

§ Mr. Norman Hogg
I am in a difficult position. The right hon. Member for Kincardine and Deeside (Mr. Buchanan-Smith) presented himself in Committee as something of an unofficial Opposition. In his absence, and on his behalf, we accept the amendments.

§ Mr. Malcolm Bruce
I beg to move amendment No. 3, in page 3, line 47, at end insert 'provided that their remaining term of office is less than two years.' I shall not detain the House unduly, but some concern has been expressed on this matter. Under the Bill as drafted, a member of the board, whether elected or co-opted, can serve for four years. The amendment seeks to limit the term that he can serve after he has ceased to be eligible to two years. It is a compromise. It allows continuity but acknowledges a difficulty. In certain circumstances a member could be co-opted to the board when he had a legitimate interest—for example, he might have a child at the school. After that eligibility had been removed, however, he could continue to have substantial influence, especially on a small school board, for a significant number of years.
The Minister may say that when people elect a person to the board they should be aware of the likely change in that person's eligibility or that they should elect the person because they feel that he has something to contribute over and above the fact that he has a child at the school. However, the Minister should accept that the period of a parent's direct involvement and interest in a school is very much confined to the period for which he has a child at that school. Suppose that somebody begins to serve on a school board in his child's last term at school. Four years later, he may still be voting on issues affecting the school even though he has long ceased to have any direct concern about the outcome. The Minister should recognise that parents fear that on small boards that could give someone with no real responsibility to accept the consequences of the board's decisions a substantial degree of influence for a substantial period after he has ceased to have a direct interest.
The amendment is self-explantatory. I hope that the Minister will accept the legitimate concern about the provisions as drafted. I hope that he will accept the amendment and, if he does not, I hope that he will address himself to the problem. Four years is a long term to serve when one no longer has children at the school and people could certainly serve for four years under the Bill as drafted.

§ Mr. Michael Forsyth
I am convinced by the hon. Gentleman's eloquence and I am happy to accept the amendment.