Education Act 1996

37 Approval or rejection by Secretary of State of proposals under section 35

(1) Proposals published by a local education authority under section 35 require the approval of the Secretary of State if subsection (2), (3) or (4) applies.

(2) This subsection applies if the proposals are for the maintenance as a county school of a school which is for the time being a voluntary school.

(3) This subsection applies if either—

(a) the Secretary of State, within two months after the submission to him of the published proposals, gives notice to the local education authority that the proposals require his approval, or

(b) objections have been made under section 36 and any of them have not been withdrawn in writing within the period specified in subsection (2) of that section.

(4) This subsection applies if either—

(a) the proposals are first published after proposals for acquisition of grant-maintained status for the school have been published under section 193 but before those proposals are determined or withdrawn, or

(b) after the proposals have first been published but before they are determined or withdrawn, proposals for acquisition of grant-maintained status for the school are published under section 193;

and references in this subsection to proposals being first published shall be construed in accordance with section 36(5) and (6).

(5) Where any proposals require the approval of the Secretary of State under this section, he may (subject to subsections (6) to (8))—

(a) reject them,

(b) approve them without modification, or

(c) after consultation with the local education authority, approve them with such modifications as he thinks desirable.

(6) In a case where subsection (2) applies, the Secretary of State shall not approve the proposals unless he has, in accordance with Schedule 6, approved an agreement under that Schedule between the local education authority and the school’s governing body for the transfer to the authority of all necessary interests in the school premises.

(7) In a case where subsection (4) applies, the Secretary of State—

(a) shall consider both sets of proposals together, but

(b) shall not determine the proposals published under section 35 until he has made his determination with respect to the proposals published under section 193.

(8) If the Secretary of State approves the proposals published under section 193, he shall approve the proposals published under section 35 if—

(a) they are proposals under subsection (1)(c) or (d) of that section, and

(b) the governing body incorporated under section 195 give their consent,

but otherwise he shall reject the proposals published under section 35.

(9) Any proposals under section 35(1)(c) or (d) which are approved under subsection (8) shall be treated for the purposes of Part III (grant-maintained schools) as if they had been—

(a) published under section 259 (change of character etc. of grant-maintained school), and

(b) approved under section 261,

and section 262 (approval of school premises) shall apply accordingly.