§ 13. Dr. Lynne JonesTo ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Heywood and Middleton (Mr. Callaghan) on 23 June, Official Report, column 123, what progress he has made in eliminating second-tier schools.
§ Mr. ForthThe national curriculum will ensure that all pupils receive a coherent education, relevant to their needs and set in a clear overall framework. Regular assessment will ensure that parents and teachers know what progress pupils are making. Every school maintained wholly or partly by public funds will be inspected at least once every four years by independent teams led by an inspector registered by Ofsted. Education associations can intervene where these inspections reveal a school to be failing. Taken together, these measures should ensure that standards rise steadily in every school throughout the country.
§ Dr. JonesCan the Minister explain to the House exactly what the Secretary of State meant when he used the term "second-tier schools" last June, and why they exist after 14 years of Tory Government, 17 pieces of education legislation and 400 additional powers for the Secretary of State under the Education Reform Act 1988? Could it have anything to do with the fact that the Secretary of State seemed to recognise belatedly yesterday when he equated under-achievement with low spending? Will he, therefore, congratulate Birmingham City Council on a 9 per cent. increase in its education budget and also make representations to make up the shortfall in the standard spending assessment of capital financing, so that Birmingham can further increase its spending? Will he intervene to stop the cuts in education spending that are occurring throughout the country?
§ Mr. ForthI hope that the hon. Lady is not attempting to justify and defend Birmingham's record in regard to education spending. That would take a much longer question than even she has just managed to ask. What my right hon. Friend meant, I believe, was this: the provision by local education authorities throughout the country has been, to say the least, somewhat patchy and rather variable. All the measures that we are taking—the curriculum, standard testing, independent inspection by Ofsted and the safety net of education associations—are designed to ensure that no school will be allowed to fail its pupils and no local education authority will be allowed to fail its parents and pupils as, regrettably, as has been the case in the past. That is what my right hon. Friend meant and that is what our Bill is designed to do.