Can we delay submission of our EDP2 until after the Council has met (where, say, there is no meeting in late January)?
EDP2s must be submitted by 31 January to enable DfES officials to consider and advise the Secretary of State on approval by 31 March. The LEA would be technically in breach of this statutory requirement (subject to making of the Regulations, later in November) if the EDP2 is submitted to the Secretary of State without securing approval through its normal constitutional arrangements by 31 January. If the EDP2 submitted by 31 January has not been so approved and is later changed, the LEA runs the risk of the plan not being approved by the Secretary of State by 31 March, or being approved subject to extra conditions. If this deadline is impossible to meet the LEA should submit the EDP2 by the due date, making it clear that the EDP2 is subject to final approval by the council, and keeping the DfES informed of progress.
