Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the form entitled Model articles of association for academy trusts, published on 3 January 2013, whether it remains his policy that the maximum aggregate number of votes exercisable by local authority associated persons should not exceed 19.9 per cent of the total number of votes exercisable by Members in general meeting.

The most recent model articles of association for use by mainstream academies, last updated on 30 June 2021 states:

“Notwithstanding the number of Members from time to time, the maximum aggregate number of votes exercisable by Local Authority Associated Persons shall never exceed 19.9% of the total number of votes exercisable by Members in general meeting and the votes of the other Members having a right to vote at the meeting will be increased on a pro-rata basis.”

This remains the department’s policy position, and we have no plans to change this approach for most types of academy trusts.

The department is testing an approach to allow local authorities to establish new multi academy trusts, where there is a need, to which the above limit on local authority Associated Persons shall not apply. We will, however, require at least one member to be independent of any association with the local authority. We will work with a small number of local authorities to test the concept. Local authority-established multi-academy trusts will be subject to the same oversight and, where necessary, intervention as all trusts. More information about this policy can be found in the registration of interest document, here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/local-authority-established-mats-registration-of-interest.