§ Mr. Laurie Pavitt (Brent, South)With your permission, Mr. Speaker, and that of the House, I beg leave to present a petition showing the grave concern of families of many races, colours and creeds in the vicinity of the Leopold Road area of my constituency.
Because of the technical difficulties of parliamentary procedure in respect of petitions, I present only a token petition of parents and teachers of Leopold Road school, representing an outside petition which has more than 4,000 signatures but which does not conform to the rules and regulations of this House.
The petition shows that if the Brent council goes ahead with a proposal to close Leopold Road school, the children will have to travel great distances to the nearest nondenominational school, which would constitute a considerable erosion of parental choice, in the Harlesden area.
Wherefore your petitioners pray that your Honourable House will urge the Secretary of State for Education and Science not to approve any proposal by the education authority of the London borough of Brent to close Leopold Road primary school.And your petitioners, as in duty bound, will ever pray.692 The petitioners are gravely concerned because of special local circumstances. Brent has a marvellous degree of racial integration, in an area which has more ethnic minorities than perhaps any other constituency in London. It was thought that the threat to close the school had been overcome six months ago, but with the increasing cuts made by the Government in education expenditure the local education authority finds itself in a difficult position with regard to the school. I pay tribute to the two local councillors concerned, Councillor Rosemary Lovatt and Councillor Dorman Long, for the efforts they have made to square the problem of this school with their other responsibilities as members of an education authority for the rest of the borough.It is because of the great anxiety of parents and teachers that I present this petition to the House. Time is short, and it would be a tragedy for my constituents if this school, which has had a marvellous reputation over many years, which has the confidence and support of parents and teachers and which has generated such spontaneous participatory action by so many people, were closed.
§ To lie upon the Table.