HC Deb 12 November 1964 vol 701 cc1184-5
24. Mr. Tilney

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what is the estimated cost of adapting existing buildings to meet the requirements of the Liverpool education authority for comprehensive school education; and how many objections to the local education authority proposals have been received by his department.

Mr. Stewart

I am informed that the Liverpool local education authority does not expect that the building work immediately required for its proposed scheme of comprehensive secondary education would be very costly. I have to date received about 400 individual letters of objection to the scheme and one from the Liverpool Parents' Protest Committee. The Liverpool authority has today given public notice under Section 13 of the 1944 Education Act, as amended, of the particular parts of the scheme which involve the closure or enlargement of existing schools. These are the proposals which require my approval and to which statutory objection may be made.

Mr. Tilney

Would the right hon. Gentleman bear in mind the state of many of the primary schools in Liverpool which need a lot of money and consider the priorities between the primary schools and changing the grammar schools?

Mr. Stewart

Yes, but I do not think that that arises to any great extent because such building in the other field as Liverpool proposes is mostly building which would have been needed in any event. Extra building dependent on Liverpool's reorganisation plan would be only a very small item.

Mr. Hogg

Before the right hon. Gentleman gives his approval under Section 13, would he give an assurance that we may have a general statement containing his general policy in order that we may view the Liverpool scheme in the light of other schemes and the right hon. Gentleman's general principles?

Mr. Stewart

I shall certainly hope to do that, but I cannot give the right hon. And learned Gentleman an absolute assurance.