Education Reform Act 1988

40 Initial implementation of delegation requirements under schemes

(1) The delegation requirement under a scheme shall not apply in relation to any school which comes within the scheme in any financial year falling within the scheme’s initial period until a date specified in the scheme.

(2) For the purposes of this section, a scheme’s initial period (subject to any order made under subsection (4) below) is the period of three years beginning with the date on which the scheme comes into force.

(3) Different dates may be specified under subsection (1) above in relation to different schools or categories of school and in relation to schools coming within the scheme in different financial years or at different times within the same financial year; but—

(a) each date so specified must coincide with the beginning of a financial year; and

(b) no date may be so specified which falls after the beginning of the financial year next following the end of the scheme’s initial period.

(4) The Secretary of State may by order—

(a) substitute a date specified in the order for any date specified in a scheme under subsection (1) above (including one so specified by virtue of a previous order under this subsection); and

(b) extend any scheme’s initial period until such date as may be specified in the order.

(5) For the purposes of this section, a school—

(a) comes within a scheme in any financial year if that financial year is the first financial year in which the school is required to be covered by the scheme; and

(b) comes within the scheme at the beginning of that year if it is then a school required to be so covered and otherwise at the time within that year when it first becomes such a school.