Complaints about education authority governors who do not attend meetings are common in some authorities. There is also concern about the number of unfilled LEA vacancies.

The issue was raised this week at a London conference for governors run by the Careers Research and Advisory Centre.

June Nisbet, leader of the school government team at the Department for Education and Employment, and one of the conference delegates, said: “We are looking at the whole issue of governor recruitment.

“We will be looking to see where these vacancies are and whether LEAs are not pulling their weight. A lot of authorities are looking at being more flexible, by not insisting their governors are elected members or paid-up party members.”

Alan Walker, secretary of the Association of Rotherham Schools Governing Bodies, said LEA governors’ non-attendance at meetings was a regular concern.