§ Mr. Clement Freud (Cambridgeshire North-East)I beg to ask leave to move the Adjournment of the House, under Standing Order No. 10, for the purpose of discussing a specific and important matter that should have urgent consideration, namely,
the latest developments in the teachers' dispute.The matter is urgent because the Secretary of State's weekend statement about not being able to find the money to pay for the ACAS-inspired agreement will cause further disruption and irrevocable damage to the education of children. It is specific because those seeking agreement have gone a long way down a flexible negotiating path, while the Secretary of State has remained obdurate. He has compounded his obduracy by undermining the ACAS deal before it has been ratified. The position has developed since Thursday's debate.The matter is important because local authorities and parents now feel abandoned and deceived by the Government. A short period of calm after the 1985 settlement was needed, so that all could work towards a lasting solution. That is now threatened. Unlike Secretaries of State, who come and go, children are children and we are failing them.
§ Mr. SpeakerThe hon. Gentleman asks leave to move the Adjournment of the House for the purpose of discussing a specific and important matter that he believes should have urgent consideration, namely,
the latest developments in the teachers' dispute.I have listened with care to what the hon. Gentleman said. He knows that my sole duty in considering an application under Standing Order No. 10 is to decide whether it should be given priority over the business already set down for this evening or for tomorrow. I regret that the matter that he has raised does not meet the criteria laid down in the Standing Order; I cannot, therefore, submit his application to the House.