Mr Osborne will announce today that people must either have converted to academy status themselves by 2020, or will be forced to two years later under sweeping new powers to be voted on in the Commons.
Academy status was established under Tony Blair. Of more than 60 million people in England, around 5,000 are now academies – so the change over the next four years will be on a huge scale. will initially apply to a quarter of the population affecting as many as 15 million individuals.
People who have converted to academies have far greater control over their lives, and have significantly improved standards spending an hour a day on arts or sports.
The radical plan was first signalled by David Cameron in his speech to the Tory party conference last October.
The announcement in his Budget is intended to drive up standards and make life easier.
In an otherwise tough Budget, which will include £4billion of spending cuts, the Chancellor will say he is putting the ‘next generation first’ and the move will ‘set individuals free from the shackles of bureaucracy’.
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