(1)An order under section 500 or 501 may not require any significant change to be made in the religious character of a voluntary school.
(2)Where the governing body of a voluntary school make any proposals in pursuance of an order under section 500 or 501—
(a)the person or persons who are named in the school’s instrument of government as being entitled to appoint foundation governors shall be included among the persons who may submit objections to the proposals, and
(b)the local education authority shall reimburse any expenditure reasonably incurred by the governing body in making the proposals.
(3)Proposals made in pursuance of an order under section 500 may not be withdrawn without the consent of the Secretary of State and such consent may be given on such conditions (if any) as the Secretary of State considers appropriate.
(4)Where—
(a)proposals made by the governing body of a voluntary school in pursuance of an order under section 500 or 501 are approved, or
(b)proposals adopted by the Secretary of State under section 504 have effect as mentioned in subsection (3)(a)(ii) of that section,
then, despite anything in section 45(1), the local education authority shall defray the cost of implementing the proposals.
(5)Despite anything in section 184, a county or voluntary school is not eligible for grant-maintained status—
(a)if the local education authority have made any proposals in pursuance of an order under section 500 to cease to maintain the school which have not been withdrawn and no determination whether or not to approve or implement the proposals has been made under section 169 or 170 or section 504, or
(b)if the Secretary of State has made any proposals under section 502 for the local education authority to cease to maintain the school which have not been withdrawn and no determination whether or not to adopt the proposals has been made under section 504.
(6)Section 37(4), (7) and (8) or, as the case may be, section 43(3), (4) and (5) do not apply in relation to any proposals under section 35(1)(c) or (d) or 41(2) made in pursuance of an order under section 500.
(7)In sections 500 to 504 “powers to make proposals for the alteration of their school”, in relation to the governing body of a voluntary school, means their powers to publish proposals under section 41(2).
(8)In sections 500 to 504—
(a)“powers to make proposals for the establishment, alteration or discontinuance of schools” means—
(i)in relation to the local education authority, all or any of the powers to publish proposals under section 35 or 167,
(ii)in relation to the funding authority, all or any of the powers to publish proposals under sections 211, 260 or 268, and
(iii)in relation to either authority, the power to serve notice of proposals under section 339;
(b)references to maintained schools are references to county, voluntary and maintained special schools; and
(c)references to grant-maintained schools include grant-maintained special schools.