§ 19. Mr. Charles Morrisonasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if she will allow local authorities to include the replacement or improvement of secondary school buildings among their proposals under the urban programme.
§ Mrs. ThatcherAs I told my hon. Friend the Member for Brierley Hill (Mr. Montgomery) in reply to his Question on 9th March, I think it right that most of the resources available to education under the urban programme should be devoted to nursery places.—[Vol. 832, c. 1625.]
§ Mr. MorrisonWill my right hon. Friend have another look at the matter? Does she agree that both from the purely educational point of view and more generally, from the point of view of the need to provide good buildings of all sorts in those areas which are most relevant to urban aid, there could well be a strong case for including secondary school improvement and replacement in the programme?
§ Mrs. ThatcherI think that my hon. Friend's objective and mine are the same, but I do not think it should come under the urban programme because that would deprive a number of areas of nursery classes, which are even more important. I know that my hon. Friend is concerned about the need to do more to improve secondary schools. That was a point I raised in my "priorities" speech to the Association of Education Committees.
§ Mrs. ThatcherNo, Sir.