Member

Amendment 446A seeks to prevent the judicial review of decisions to issue academy orders. I appreciate the noble Baroness’s concern about the potential legal challenges if the duty is removed; I know that this was raised by noble Lords at Second Reading. However, judicial reviews are an important legal safeguard. As the noble Baroness will know, the previous Government’s policy was to issue academy orders to coasting maintained schools using a discretionary power, not a duty. That policy led to more than 100 such schools becoming sponsored academies by January 2025, with no evidence that legal challenges caused systemic delays to intervention in those cases. We have already committed to publishing a clear, lawful policy for intervention, ensuring that decisions are transparent, proportionate and in the best interests of each school. It is right that those affected by such decisions retain the ability to challenge them when appropriate. Removing this right would risk undermining trust in the system and disenfranchising those who are most affected.