Academies Act 2010  The Academies Act 2010 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It aims to make it possible for all publicly funded schools in England to become academies, still publicly funded but with a vastly increased degree of autonomy in issues such as setting teachers' wages and diverging from the National Curriculum. The Act is inspired by the Swedish free school system. Journalist Mike Baker described it as a "recreation of grant-maintained schools". It was among the first government bills introduced in the 55th United Kingdom Parliament by the Conservative – Liberal Democrat coalition government. The bill was presented by Jonathan Hill, Baron Hill of Oareford in the House of Lords, where it had its third reading on 13 July. It was read a third time in the House of Commons on 26 July. The Act received Royal Assent on the following day and was brought into force in the most part on 29 July. Angela Harrison, education correspondent for the BBC, has said that the Act "could be the most radical overhaul of schools in England for a generation". An Academy may be set up under section 1 of the Act by virtue of an agreement between the Secretary of State for Education and any other person. Alternatively, maintained schools may be converted into academies by an Academy Order made under section 4 of the Act, provided that the governing body of the school has applied under section 3 or the school is eligible for intervention under sections 60-62 of the Education and Inspections Act 2006. Academies established under section 1 will be charities in addition to receiving funding from the central government. Academies will also be free to set their own curriculum, as long as it is "broad and balanced" meeting the standards set in section 78 of the Education Act 2002. The Act will only affect schools in England. Prior to the 2010 General Election there were 203 academies in England. After the election the new Education Secretary Michael Gove sent a letter to all publicly funded schools inviting them to become academies. Within three weeks, 70% of all outstanding secondary schools expressed interest. Of the 1,567 schools initially expressing interest, 828 were rated "outstanding" and could be fast-tracked into academies by September 2010. An analysis of the list applicants for academy status by the "Times Educational Supplement" reported that the list was "dominated" by schools from middle class areas, particularly the Home Counties. For example, 12% of schools in Kent applied compared to less than 2% in Middlesbrough.