§ 30. Mr. R. Harrisasked the Minister of Education if he will amend Section 76 of the Education Act, 1944, so as to clarify the position of those parents who wish to send their children to those schools with the denominational bias which the parents favour.
§ The Minister of Education (Sir David Eccles)No. I think that the principle embodied in this Section is sound and I am very doubtful if it could be more clearly expressed.
§ Mr. HarrisIs my right hon. Friend aware that the wording of the Act, according to a High Court judge, was responsible for the rather odd legal decision last year when a Roman Catholic father wanted to send his son to a Roman Catholic school, which would have cost the local authority less, but was not allowed to do so? Is there not ground for reviewing and improving the Act?
§ Sir D. EcclesOf course the words could be made more simple if the intention was that parental choice should always be fully met at the cost of public funds, but that was not the intention. It is reasonable, in my view, that the efficiency of the instruction and the expenditure to be incurred should he taken into account, and I very much doubt whether that principle, if accepted, could be expressed more simply in an Act of Parliament.
§ Mr. SnowDoes not the trouble arise from the fact that there is lack of flexibility—administrative flexibility—between local education authorities? Could not the right hon. Gentleman encourage local education authorities to 550 see the parents' point of view in this matter by making arrangements with adjacent local education authorities?
§ Sir D. EcclesI do try to encourage local authorities to pay great attention to parental choice. The question is whether it should come before everything else. On that I think the intention of the Act is clear and was made clear at the time the Act was passed. It may be that certain local authorities have fewer places to offer than others and, therefore, are more willing to give financial aid on denominational grounds.