Grant-Maintained Schools (Hansard, 15 February 1994)

§ Baroness Blatch
My Lords, we will continue to make sure that parents and governors have the opportunities and information to exercise their right, under the law, to choose grant-maintained status. We are also developing a common funding formula for self-governing schools which is fair both to the schools themselves and to the local education authorities, which is transparent and which offers a reasonable prospect of stability in funding.

§ Lord Dormand of Easington
My Lords, can the Minister say how much money has been spent on the so-called "cash protection" for grant-maintained schools? Will she confirm that the nearly £ 250,000 being spent on advertising grant-maintained schools is additional to the funds required to carry out the first part of her Answer? Only 1,000 of the 24,000 schools opted out during the five years of the scheme. Does that not suggest that the schools, governors and parents are not convinced of the advantages? In those circumstances, will the Minister give an absolute guarantee that no opt-out will be allowed without a ballot?

§ Baroness Blatch
My Lords, the noble Lord is intensively anxious about this policy. If it were as unsuccessful as the noble Lord believes, he would not be exercised about it. Secondly, the noble Lord confuses cash protection with money for providing information to parents. If we take all the money spent since the policy was established in 1988, it still does not amount to 20p per child. As I said in a previous Answer, that would barely buy a pencil for each child. The noble Lord asked four questions and I believe it is traditional to answer two at the Box.

§ Lord Judd
My Lords, will the Minister clarify once and for all whether or not the Government are committed to free choice by parents in this matter? If they are, will they honour that commitment by recognising that the overwhelming majority of parents want lo stay with local authorities and that therefore local authorities should be given all the backing and support possible by the Government to make a success of their role in the future?

§ Baroness Blatch
My Lords, we remain absolutely committed to parents being the key determinant as to whether or not a school should go grant maintained. The noble Lord is not in a position to say that the overwhelming number of parents do not support being grant maintained. Until the new Act of Parliament came into being, not all parents were given an opportunity to answer the question. It is now necessary for every governing body to return to that question on an annual basis.

§ Baroness Cox
My Lords, is my noble friend aware that many parents and teachers who have been deeply dissatisfied and disillusioned by local authority schools have set up their own new schools which are providing excellent education and meeting most parental wishes, often with strong spiritual and moral values? Can my noble friend give an assurance that, if those schools wish to take advantage of the new legislation and opt in to grant-maintained status, they will be given every encouragement?

§ Baroness Blatch
My Lords, my noble friend is, absolutely right. There is a new measure in the recent Education Act 1993, and any application will be considered on its merits. We will continue to support that. With regard to local education authorities, the situation is quite depressing. Only two weeks ago I visited a local education authority which had a five-point educational strategy for the authority; one was to oppose at all costs a parent's right to opt out.

§ Lord Dormand of Easington
My Lords, as we know, having been told twice by the Minister, the cost of a pencil is 20p. Can she tell us therefore what the overall cost has been and is for cash protection for grant-maintained schools?

§ Baroness Blatch
My Lords, I cannot give the precise figure at the Dispatch Box. It is public information and I shall make it available to the noble Lord and place the information in the Library.

§ Baroness Young
My Lords, does my noble friend agree that grant-maintained schools have been extremely successful not only in raising academic standards and helping parents, but also in improving the fabric of the buildings? That is something which has been drawn to my attention on many occasions. Does she also agree that many of us regret the fact that many parents find it difficult to exercise their right to vote because there is so much opposition to the opting-out principles from officials at local level?

§ Baroness Blatch
My Lords, my noble friend's second point is absolutely right. It was again quite depressing to see that a Member in the other place, Mr. Don Foster, on behalf of the Liberal Democrats, had actually written to every chief education officer about campaigning against the opting-out policy. My noble friend's first point is also correct. All the surveys that have been carried out— one was very recently reported — show that the amount of value for money obtained for every grant-maintained school outstrips that for LEA-maintained schools.

§ Baroness David
My Lords, will the Government allow the Electoral Reform Society to have the monopoly of balloting parents when they make every other affair a matter for competitive tendering?

§ Baroness Blatch
My Lords, I am not sure that I can give an absolute answer to that question. It would be wrong for me to guess. As far as I know, it has been involved in most of the ballots so far. However, discussion is taking place about whether it alone should 101 be used. We need to be concerned that, whatever organisation is involved in the balloting, it should be seen to be done properly.