Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether there are circumstances in which a consultation under Sections 5(1) and 5(2) of the Academies Act 2010 would not occur during pre-election purdah.

The timing and conduct of the consultation are the responsibility of the governing body of the school. Maintained school governing bodies are not subject to the same restrictions as Government during the pre-election period and would not be prohibited from conducting a statutory consultation during it.