Every maintained school must have a local authority (LA) governor and some academies have LA trustees.
This page explains how LA governors and trustees are appointed, how they can be removed and whether LA governors have to report back to the local authority or vote on their behalf.
LA Governors In Maintained Schools
There is only ever one LA governor in a maintained school.
“The governing body of a maintained school must include the following…one local authority governor.”
Constitution (England) Regulations 2012
How are LA governors appointed?
In maintained schools LA governors must be nominated by the local authority but appointed by the governing body (via a majority vote at a quorate full governing body meeting).
This means of course that local authority governors can only join the governing body if both the LA and the governing body approve of them.
When making the appointment the governing body must consider whether the candidate has the required skills. The governing body can set any eligibility criteria they wish. For example, they could specify that they need someone with experience of finance or previous governance experience.
“In these Regulations “local authority governor” means a person who—
(a) is nominated by the local authority; and
(b) is appointed by the governing body as a governor having, in the opinion of the governing body, the skills required to contribute to the effective governance and success of the school and having met any additional eligibility criteria set by the governing body.”
Constitution (England) Regulations 2012
The exact procedure for finding and nominating LA governors will differ according to your region.
In my area the local authority are happy to consider candidates suggested by the school itself. If an LA governor vacancy arises I contact governor services and either ask if they will nominate a candidate the school have found or ask if they know someone suitable.
In other areas the local authority may already have a set list of potential candidates and may not accept suggestions from schools. The governor services department will be able to advise you of the process.
What happens if the school and LA disagree?
The governing body can reject anyone the local authority have nominated, so legally maintained schools have the right to reject every candidate suggested to them.
In practice, statutory guidance says that the local authority should be flexible and make “every effort” to understand the board’s requirements and nominate someone suitable. This places the onus on the local authority to compromise if there is a disagreement about the suitability of a candidate.
“Local authorities should therefore make every effort to understand the governing body’s requirements and identify and nominate suitable candidates.”
The Constitution of Governing Bodies of Maintained Schools: Statutory Guidance
Who can remove LA governors?
LA governors in maintained schools can only be removed by the local authority, not by the governing body. This is a slight anomaly in the law because it means the governing body has the power to appoint the LA governor, but not to remove them.
“Any local authority governor may be removed from office by the local authority who nominated the local authority governor.”
Constitution (England) Regulations 2012
If the board want to have an LA governor removed they should tell the local authority why they feel this is necessary. If the local authority refuse to remove them the only power the board could use is to suspend the governor, which would prevent them from attending meetings for a fixed period.
Can LA governors be reappointed?
Yes, the governing body can vote to reappoint the LA governor at the end of their term of office, but note that the local authority will need to renominate the governor first.
It’s unlikely that the local authority will refuse to endorse someone they already nominated a few years ago, but you do need to check they are still in favour. If the LA renominate the governor they need to be appointed at a quorate meeting of your full board.
LA governors have the standard four-year term of office by default, but check your instrument of government to see whether your school has changed the term length for any governor.
Can school employees or parents be the LA governor?
School employees cannot be the LA governor in a maintained school if they would qualify to be a staff governor. This means they cannot be the LA governor if they are employed by the school or local authority under a contract.
“A person is disqualified from appointment as a local authority governor if the person is eligible to be a staff governor of the school.”
Constitution (England) Regulations 2012
A parent can be the LA governor.
Do LA governors lobby on behalf of the local authority?
No. LA governors are not on the governing body to fight for whatever the local authority want or to be “on the side” of the authority. They have exactly the same mission as any other governor, which is to serve the school.
If there is a disagreement between the governing body and the local authority then the LA governor must vote in the best interests of the school as a whole, not vote in favour of whatever the local authority would prefer.
“In exercising their functions the governing body shall…act with integrity, objectivity and honesty and in the best interests of the school.”
Roles, Procedures and Allowances (England) Regulations 2013
Do LA governors report back to the local authority?
No. Local authorities have the right to read minutes of the governing body of course, but it is not the role of the LA governor to keep the local authority informed of the board’s business.
I have seen some guidance that describes the LA governor as being a “link” between the school and the local authority. This is true in one sense, because the authority does nominate the LA governor candidate, but it’s also confusing because it sounds like the LA governor should report back to the local authority or even take orders from the authority.
This is not the case. The LA governor has no allegiance to the local authority and does not act as a line of communication between the board and the authority.
Are LA governors political appointments?
No. Local authorities are not allowed to only nominate people who share the political views of whichever political party controls that authority.
“A local authority governor, like any other governor, must govern in the interests of the school and not advocate the interests of the local authority.”
DfE Maintained Schools Governance Guide
It would be possible for a local councillor to become an LA governor, but it would not be acceptable for the local authority to only nominate those councillors who came from the party in power. There is certainly no rule that says the LA governor must be a councillor.
LA Trustees in Academies
Some academies have an LA trustee, particularly those using older articles of association, but many do not. The current DfE model articles do not include an LA trustee.
I looked at a variety of articles from different trusts that include LA trustees. In the articles I saw the LA trustee was appointed by the local authority alone, so the board of trustees had no say in the appointment.
The articles I saw also contained the standard clause that any trustee (except a parent trustee) can be removed by the “person or persons who appointed him”, which would be the local authority in this case.
However, in academy trusts the members have the right to remove any trustee under the Companies Act 2006, so the members also have the power to remove the LA trustee if they wish.
You must check your own articles though to see the specific rules for your trust.
Are LA-associated persons the same as LA governors?
No. Articles of association for academy trusts contain a rule that no more than 19.9% of the voting rights of trustees can be held by “LA-associated persons”, known as LAAPs.
Any trustee could be an LA-associated person. If you have an LA trustee they may or may not also be an LA-associated person.
The definition of an LAAP is found in this law, which explains that a person qualifies as an LAAP if they:
- are currently an elected member of a local authority (eg: a councillor)
- have been an elected member of a local authority in the past four years
- currently work for a local authority
- are both an employee and either a director, manager, secretary or other similar officer of a company which is under the control of the authority.
If someone meets the definition of an LA-associated person they can only be appointed or elected to the board with the permission of the relevant local authority.