Department circular 19/99 contained a direction that local authority (LA)committees dealing with education should include diocesan representatives as non-elected voting members of those committees. The direction contained in this circular is still current and is attached. The reference to section 102 of the Local Government Act 1972 in paragraph 3 of the direction needs to be read as section 102 of the Local Government Act 1972 as amended by the Local Government Act 2000 and the Localism Act 2011. The direction applies to both LAs that operate overview and scrutiny committee arrangements and to those that have reverted to a traditional committee structure under the Localism Act. Diocesan board representatives are therefore entitled to speak and vote on education matters being considered by these committees.