HC Deb 03 November 1987 vol 121 cc766-8
2. Mr. Cash

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether he is able to announce any further progress towards the establishment of a pilot network of city technology colleges; and if he will make a statement.

6. Mr. Rogers

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what progress has been made in relation to the proposed city technology colleges; and if he will make a statement.

The Secretary of State for Education and Science (Mr. Kenneth Baker)

Sponsorship for four city technology colleges has already been announced. The Kingshurst CTC will open next year and the Nottingham CTC in 1989. I am making good progress in discussions with a. number of other prospective sponsors.

Mr. Cash

I congratulate my right hon. Friend on his initiative in this matter. May I ask him to contact senior industrialists and get them to understand that we will not be able to provide the extremely worthwhile activities that the CTCs will be able to provide unless they come up with the money? That is the meaning of self-help. That is the way to help enterprise and to help people to be properly educated for the business world.

Mr. Baker

I agree with my hon. Friend. The encouraging thing about the CTC initiative is the way in which many companies and industrialists have come forward willing to provide money and support such as lending executives. It is a partnership between schools, industry and parents.

Mr. Rogers

Is it not true that the lack of real progress in this sector is due to the fact that industry and commerce, the Confederation of British Industry and chambers of commerce do not want to be associated with the half-baked idea? Is it not true that they have less faith in the idea than in the Secretary of State himself?

Mr. Baker

I assure the hon. Gentleman that that is far from the truth. Many companies, large and small, have said that they wish to sponsor colleges. There are several committed sponsors. I shall be announcing some additional colleges shortly, but I am keen to secure sites. The difficulty is that some local authorities are not prepared to make empty schools available. That is a dog in the manger.

Mr. Holt

Will my right hon. Friend confirm that, despite the change of control in Langbaurgh from a Labour-controlled authority to a Liberal-Labour-controlled authority, the site earmarked for the CTC on Teesside will proceed and that there will be no delay in putting that college on the map?

Mr. Baker

I thank my hon. Friend for the support that he has given over the past months to establishing a CTC on Teesside. I very much favour the establishment of a CTC on Teesside, as I do on Tyneside. We are pursuing the establishment of both colleges vigorously.

Mr. Flannery

Although the Secretary of State is clearly having great difficulty in organising the CTCs, is not the fundamental aim further to centralise education and strike a blow at the local education authorities? When that is linked to the opting-out process, is it not an all-out attempt, which could possibly fail and produce chaos, to strike a blow at local authorities, to smash them and to centralise education?

Mr. Baker

It is not a centralising measure. The interesting thing about the groups of people in the cities interested in establishing CTCs is their local links. One has seen that fact in Solihull in the west midlands, in Nottingham, in London and in several of the other areas that I am pursuing. It is not centralisation. It is the use of the vitality and energy of people at a local level.

Mr. Morley

Is the Secretary of State aware that in some areas in which the local authority is reorganising schools because of falling rolls, a CTC will completely unbalance the organisation and lead to good schools closing down because of this half-baked idea?

Mr. Baker

There is no reason for any good school in Britain to close. The cumulative effect of the changes that we will be bringing about will be to improve quality in all our schools and to encourage all schools to be better.

Mr. Brandon-Bravo

Will the Secretary of State join me in congratulating and offering good wishes to the Conservative-controlled Nottingham city council, elected this year, which has just granted planning consent for such a college? Will he note the fact that that consent has been given in the teeth of the opposition of the minority Labour group on the city council, and the majority group on the county council, who seek to deny that choice and benefit to the children of Nottingham?

Mr. Baker

I thank my hon. Friend, who has been very involved in local politics in Nottingham, for the support that he has given. I am sure that future generations of children in Nottingham will benefit enormously from the CTC that will open there in 1989.

Mr. Fatchett

First, may I congratulate the Secretary of State on putting a brave face on his failure to attract industrial support? Does the right hon. Gentleman recall his words at last year's Conservative party conference, when he said that CTCs would be non-selective? How does he reconcile those comments with the reported practice in the proposed Solihull CTC, where not only are children applying for admission being tested on a number of occasions, but their parents are being tested? Is that not conclusive evidence that CTCs will not simply be elitist but will distort intake for other schools in the same catchment area?

Mr. Baker

In the selection of children, primary teachers and head teachers will be asked to provide reports on candidates. A series of tests and interviews with parents will follow. The final selection will be carried out to ensure that the intake reflects the ability range of children of eligible age in the catchment area.

Mr. Haselhurst

Is it not possible that some companies have not yet realised the full potential of CTCs as a means of closing the gap between industry and education? Might it not be useful if, on the basis of a clearer blueprint, which might now be available as a result of my right hon. Friend's progress with four colleges, he sought an early meeting with the CBI?

Mr. Baker

Yes, I discuss these matters not only with the CBI but with other commercial interests. I assure the House that several sponsors have come forward. One approached us last month offering £1 million for a college in the north-west and there are several others. I shall be announcing the details when we have secured specific sites.