Councillor is 'horrified' at plans to take schools out of council control

As a former teacher with 34 years experience and now Executive Member for Education at Hampshire County Council, I am horrified to think that the HCC role in education is going to be destroyed by George Osborne in his budget. We have worked with HMG to deliver the reforms and have been congratulated by Ofsted as being one of two authorities in the country who have interpreted the reforms in the right way by giving the support, intervention, and challenge to our family of schools. In Hampshire of our 534 schools we have only three designated as inadequate and have 84% good or outstanding schools. So what on earth are we doing so wrong that we need to be abolished?

We have even been congratulated by the Prime Minister for our work with the Isle of Wight neighbouring authority for our work there instigated by HMG. I am a lifelong Conservative but this statement of policy could lead to the country's education system imploding. I do not understand it, particularly as there is no evidence whatsoever that the academy conversion of schools is improving standards. Now with academy chains paying salaries to their chief executives more than the Prime Minister, the whole thing needs to be put on hold.