HC Deb 23 April 1985 vol 77 cc727-8
3. Mr. Madden

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will make additional resources available to meet education needs in Bradford.

Mr. Dunn

It is for Bradford to provide for education within the total resources available to the authority.

Mr. Madden

Does the Minister appreciate that the education crisis in Bradford does not flow from the parents, from a headmaster who has insulted many of his pupils' parents and caused them to lose confidence in him, or from teachers and pupils who are trying to work together in schools, many of which are old, dilapidated, overcrowded, under-staffed and seriously under-equipped? When will the Government give Bradford the money to combat its education crisis and enable it to give the young people there a decent start in life and provide the education which parents are fully entitled to expect for their children?

Mr. Dunn

I am fully aware of the problems at Bradford, but it is for the authority to balance its judgment of the need to spend on services against the interests of the local ratepayer.

Mr. Galley

My hon. Friend is fully aware of the difficulties of multi-racial education in Bradford and other parts of west Yorkshire, and the issues raised by the disgraceful hounding of Mr. Honeyford. In a number of instances in west Yorkshire and Bradford there are racial minorities within a school with a large ethnic majority. Will my hon. Friend issue guidance to local education authorities to ensure that they adopt an even-handed approach and give the educationally disadvantaged special attention, whether they are brown, black, yellow or white?

Mr. Dunn

We are concerned about disadvantaged children, irrespective of their background. The House ought to know that the Department of Education and Science is currently investigating Mr. Honeyford's case under section 68 of the Education Act 1944. In view of my right hon. Friend's quasi-judicial role in that matter, I cannot comment further.

Mr. Torney

Is the Minister aware that Bradford has many Asian and other immigrant people? Does he agree that the Honeyford case is a red herring, brought up by the Tory representatives on the council to cover up the colossal shortage of the amount of money that is needed to provide the type of pupil-teacher ratio required in Bradford's schools because they have so many immigrant children? Will he take account of the fact that rate capping has an effect on the education of our children? These are the real issues, not the Honeyford case. Will the Minister pay attention to them?

Mr. Dunn

Bradford's primary and secondary school pupil-teacher ratios were at their lowest ever level, at 20 and 17.4 respectively, at January 1984. Both ratios have fallen significantly since 1982, when they were 20.9 and 18.9 respectively. Those figures do not suggest a decline in provision.