The Government wants to reduce the dominance of business interests in college governance

The government wants to reduce the dominance of business interests in college governance as part of measures to increase accountability in further education.

Its consultation paper, Accountability in FE, published last week, proposes to secure places for staff, students, parents and local authorities on college governing bodies.

"As can be seen," the paper says, "corporation membership can be controlled by one group, the business members. In principle they could determine whether, apart from the principal, there should be any other type of governor on the governing body at all."

The paper also proposes to offer volunteer college governors more leeway on expenses because, the paper says, the secretary of state for education fears that people from groups underrepresented in governing bodies "may be deterred by an overstrict interpretation of the rules on expenses".