§ 13. Mr. Carterasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if she has had any consultations with the Birmingham Education Authority on the subject of secondary school reorganisaion.
§ Mr. van StraubenzeeNo, Sir.
§ Mr. CarterWhile thanking the hon. Gentleman for that reply, may I ask whether he is aware that the Birmingham education authority has recently been forced to withdraw what was probably the most regressive reorganisation scheme for secondary education issued anwyhere in the country? It received a complete lack of support from students, teachers, educationists and many other people involved in education. Will the hon. Gentleman and the Secretary of State take steps to ensure that in the City of Birmingham there is full consultation with everyone concerned before another system of reorganisation is produced?
§ Mr. van StraubenzeeThe Birmingham local education authority is well able to answer for itself. I am not directly, in that sense, responsible for it. I believe that one of the principal considerations in the mind of the authority has been the publication of proposals for local government reorganisation since it first tabled its proposals, and this is one of the primary reasons for its reconsideration. But I repeat that this is a matter for the authority.