Shadow schools minister Nic Dakin on academy status plan

The shadow schools minister said the government had the "wrong set of priorities" with its plan to make English schools convert to academy status.

Nic Dakin said there were schools that school may "need" or "want" to become academies, but questioned why £1.3bn was being spent to make schools judged good or outstanding to become academies and "distract all their energy"

He was speaking to Andrew Neil on the Daily Politics, a day after schools minister Nick Gibb admitted he needed to do “more to sell the policy”.