§ 4. Mr. Clifton-BrownTo ask the Secretary of State for Education how many pupils are now being educated in self-governing grant-maintained schools; and what was the same figure one year ago.
§ 6. Mr. KilfoyleTo ask the Secretary of State for Education how many schools have opted for grant-maintained status in the last year; and what was the figure in the previous year.
§ Mrs. Gillian ShephardAbout 620,000 pupils are now being educated in grant-maintained schools, compared with about 480,000 this time last year. The present total includes almost a fifth of all secondary pupils.
During the same period, the number of grant-maintained schools has increased by 310, compared with 420 in the previous year.
§ Mr. Clifton-BrownI welcome my right hon. Friend's answer. Is she aware that the vast bulk of the parents, teachers and governors to whom I speak in Gloucestershire warmly welcome the Government's improvements, which enable them to run their schools independently under grant-maintained status? Is it not typical of the Opposition that they would seek to reverse our excellent reforms, which have so benefited the education of our children?
§ Mrs. ShephardGrant-maintained schools are both popular and successful, and millions of parents are now keenly interested in them. The Opposition will no doubt now wish to sort out their stance on the matter, as that number includes at least one Labour Front-Bench spokesman.
§ Mr. KilfoyleIs the Secretary of State aware of the unsolicited distribution of 1,000 copies of the Department for Education video, "Our Children: Our Choice", to parents whose children attend West Monmouth school in Pontypool—parents who have already voted against grant-maintained status? In the interests of balanced and 1336 informed debate, will the right hon. Lady make available, in this instance and others, the equivalent case against the nationalisation of schools?
§ Mrs. ShephardI congratulate the hon. Gentleman on his appointment. I am not aware of the unsolicited distribution of videos. The Government intend to ensure that parents and governors who are considering opting out will continue to have adequate and full information about the benefits.
§ Mr. WilkinsonMay I remind my right hon. Friend that all the secondary schools in my constituency of Ruislip-Northwood, except a Church of England secondary school, Bishop Ramsay, have been opted-out schools for a number of years? So successful are they that pupils are sent to them by their parents from other boroughs, making it impossible for local parents in my constituency to send their children to their local opted-out secondary schools. Will she therefore change the Greenwich judgment and make borough boundaries less permeable?
§ Mrs. ShephardIt is very important that sensible admission policies be achieved by close co-operation between local education authorities and the Funding Agency for Schools. I am happy to look at the detail of my hon. Friend's case.
§ Mr. Don FosterI, too, congratulate the Secretary of State and the shadow Secretary of State on their recent appointments. I hope that we may now see some consensus in education in the next couple of years.
Is the Secretary of State aware of the importance, in the calculation of an individual school's grant, of the number of school meals that are consumed on census day each January? Will she condemn any school—such as one in Hampshire—that last year urged parents to persuade children to eat a school meal on census day to boost its grant? Will she instigate an inquiry into the reasons why this year, on census day, 25 per cent. more meals were eaten in each grant-maintained school than in each local education authority school? Was it another attempt by GM schools to take money from LEAs?
§ Mrs. ShephardI am aware of the case, and it is being investigated by the FAS.