One of the more difficult legal problems surrounding the creation of an academy relates to the transfer of land. Schedule 1 to the Academies Act 2010 gives the Secretary of State a wide power to “make a scheme in relation to land” where certain conditions are met – being in short that the local authority owned the land, used it for a maintained school but is about to cease doing so. But what information does a local authority need to provide to the Secretary of State so as to ensure that all the loose ends (of which there are often many in real property law) are sewn up when the scheme is made?
That is the purpose of The Academies (Land Transfer Schemes) Regulations 2011 which are currently being consulted upon by the DfE in draft. They will require local authorities to provide the Secretary of State with information and documents – such as title documents, the register entry and plan (if the land is registered), the title deeds (if the land is unregistered) and so forth – when the Secretary of State asks for them.
The consultation will run until 18th January 2012, and local authorities (who are the only consultees) have until then to respond. You can read the brief consultation documents and the draft regulations on the DfE website.
Tags: Academies, Land transfer