§ 10. Mr. Leslie Huckfieldasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what is now the policy of Her Majesty's Government on a private sector in education.
§ Mrs. ThatcherThe Government continue to believe in a strong and healthy independent sector in education.
§ Mr. HuckfieldDoes not the right hon. Lady recall the rather amazing speech she made at Ellerslie Girls School, Malvern, on 19th March, about which she has had a great deal of correspondence with the Malvern Young Socialists, in which she said that the private sector of education was necessary in order to prevent abuse which would arise if there were a monopoly of State education? Can she tell us what abuses she thinks would be likely to arise? Can she explain herself?
§ Mrs. ThatcherI am a great believer in the private sector of education. It is a great defence against a possible monopoly, and monopolies I believe are bad and often confer great powers on Governments which they should not have.
§ Mr. HefferIs the right hon. Lady aware that I used to attend Haileybury College on Saturday mornings—delivering meat? Having now met again in this House some of the pupils whom I used to meet then, I have come to regard their attendance at such a college as a sheer waste of time on their part. Is it not time to end privilege in education, to abolish the public schools and to bring them into the State system?
§ Mrs. ThatcherMy answer to that is, "So what?". My father used to serve in the tuckshop at Oundle, but he did not come out with a chip on his shoulder.