Academies: Sponsors

Lord Foulkes of Cumnock Excerpts

Thursday 21st July 2016 Lords Chamber

[Lord Nash]

To be clear, academies have exactly the same duties over admissions and exclusions in relation to pupils with SEND as every other state school, with no evidence to show that academies are any more likely to act against the interests of SEND pupils and prospective pupils than any other maintained streamed schools. It is perfectly clear that a great many academy sponsors are involved simply because they wish to benefit those less advantaged pupils. Where evidence is presented to us, we will take the matter very seriously and investigate.

[Lord Foulkes of Cumnock (Lab)]

My Lords, now that the Minister has been in post for quite a while and has been reappointed as Under-Secretary of State at the Department for Education, will he explain to the House how he is managing to reconcile the potential conflict of interest between his role as a Minister and his and his wife’s roles as directors of the Future Academies trust?

[Lord Nash]

We have a very clear protocol established with the Civil Service which means that I am not allowed to be involved in any decisions that may directly affect the Future Academies trust.