REALLOCATION OF SCHOOLCHILDREN (SCOTLAND) (Hansard, 23 October 1967)

§ Mr. Edward M. Taylor (Glasgow, Cathcart)

I beg to move, That leave be given to bring in a Bill to provide for adequate public notification of revisions of school territorial areas in Scotland, and for consultation with parents of schoolchildren affected. Perhaps I may begin by expressing the hope that you, Mr. Speaker, had a quiet and restful Recess and that the forthcoming Session will not be as tiring as the last.

The Bill is designed to improve the facilities for notifying and consulting parents when there is a change in the territorial areas of schools. Reallocations of schoolchildren can take place for many reasons—perhaps there is an increase in the school population of an area or a severe shortage of staff, or perhaps an inadequacy of school buildings or the building of new housing schemes. Particularly at present, it may also be because of the introduction of a new comprehensive plan.

Officials and authorities have a difficult task in making these arrangements, particularly in view of the shortage of school teachers and school buildings. Their task would be much easier if the good will of parents could be maintained. My experience is that when new 1256 reallocation arrangements are properly explained to the parents and objections and possible amendments are seriously considered, no trouble is caused and the children's education is not interrupted.

On the other hand, I am afraid that some local authorities do not give proper scope to the interests of the parents. Some disregard quite blatantly the interests of parents and children and that is why I seek leave to introduce this Bill.

In some recent cases in Scotland, children have been treated like cattle, shunted around from one school to another and on other occasions the parents' fears for the safety and education of their children have been totally ignored. In one recent case in my constituency, children were advised on a Thursday that they were to move to a new school on the Monday, even though this involved a journey of over a mile and no public transport was provided. In another case in Glasgow parents made repeated requests for a meeting with education officials and councillors to have the new scheme explained and their questions answered, but, despite an appeal to the Scottish Office, no action was taken on this request.

Unfortunately, in many cases when there is a problem of this sort, parents feel helpless, because there is no recognised procedure for considering their complaints and grievances. What often happens is that an ad hoc parents' association is set up and its members feel that the only way to obtain action on their complaints is to cause a great deal of noise, to make substantial complaint and, in some cases, to interrupt the schooling of their children.

Parents are rightly concerned about such changes, perhaps because of the inadequacy of public transport, perhaps because the change will involve children crossing busy roads or a change of teacher or of school terms. My Bill is designed to overcome this.

In Clause 1 I suggest that, in the event of a change of territorial areas of schools, a note of the decision of the authority should be conveyed to the parents within ten days of its being made and, in addition, a note should be given of a meeting to take place with the parents within 30 days of the decision. At such a meeting, which 1257 should be in a suitable meeting place in the area, consideration should be given to any objections and proposed alterations, and, of course, the local authority should be under an obligation to give its views on any objections lodged within ten days.

Clause 5 makes provision for an appeal to the Secretary of State for Scotland in such cases when the parents are dissatisfied with the decision. In the final Clause, I make provision for cases of urgency when, in the interests of safety or in those of the children, or because a building is in danger, there should be opportunity, if the occasion arises, for this procedure to be dispensed with and a speedy and direct decision made.

The job of democracy is to protect people and their interests. This is one area in which the real interests of the parents and of the children are not being adequately safeguarded. The Bill will in no way interfere with the job of a good local authority, which is, in general, to maintain the good will of the parents in the community and to look after the best interests of their children. For these reasons, I seek leave to introduce the Bill.