HL Deb 30 October 1986 vol 481 cc798-9

16 Clause 14, page 18, line 17, at end insert— (4A) The arrangements made under subsection (2)(b) above shall, in the case of any election of a parent governor, provide for every person who is entitled to vote in the election to have an opportunity to do so by post or, if he so prefers, by having his ballot paper returned to the school by a registered pupil at the school.".

Baroness Young

My Lords, I beg to move that this House do agree with the Commons in their Amendment No. 16. This amendment, again, was made during Committee stage in the Commons and fulfils the undertaking given by the Government at Third Reading in your Lordships' House to provide for a postal ballot in parent-governor elections. It also allows the possibility of pupil post being used. The arrangements do not extend to teacher-governor elections because it is thought unlikely that teachers should experience difficulty in registering their vote in person at the school.

Moved, That this House do agree with the Commons in the said amendment.—(Baroness Young.)

Lord McIntosh of Haringey

My Lords, I hope that the noble Baronesses will not think I have been churlish in failing to respond to the amendments which, as the Government have said, have been made in response to Opposition pressure. However, we appreciate the way in which the Government have taken account of the views expressed by the various opposition parties on this part of the Bill.

In this particular case, the question of postal ballots was debated in this Chamber not only in Committee but also on Report and on Third Reading, and we are particularly grateful to see that the point we made, perhaps with inadequate wording, has been taken care of in the amendment now proposed, which has our strong support.

On Question, Motion agreed to.