HC Deb 13 December 1995 vol 268 cc981-2
9. Mr. Clifton-Brown

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what representations she has received about the assisted places scheme. [3876]

Mrs. Gillan

We have received many representations welcoming the expansion of the assisted places scheme, details of which were announced on 29 November by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State.

Mr. Clifton-Brown

Is my hon. Friend aware that the Royal Ballet and Music school is offering 47 assisted places and is bidding for further assisted places? Is she further aware that that institution is currently putting on an excellent performance of "Peter and the Wolf"? Would not Prokofiev be appalled to think that the future Christmas performances of his great orchestral narrative would be jeopardised if the wolves in the Labour party were to abolish assisted places throughout the country?

Mrs. Gillan

Trust my hon. Friend to come up with such a seasonal question, but he is absolutely right. Music and ballet schools are covered by the assisted places scheme and would be eligible to bid for more places if they so wished. Pupils at those schools who perform at Christmas provide us with great pleasure and enjoyment. Let us hope that, like Scrooge, the Labour party has a conversion this Christmas.

Mr. Hanson

What does the hon. Lady think the expansion of the assisted places scheme tells us about the current state of the Conservative party? The Government have chosen to spend additional resources on a select number of children, rather on the majority of children in the United Kingdom who would benefit from those resources.

Mrs. Gillan

We value choice and we believe in value for money. I am not rehearsing the same arguments that I put from the Dispatch Box during our last Education and Employment questions about value for money and the Opposition's politics of envy.

I refer the hon. Gentleman to an article in the Daily Mail earlier this month. A Mr. Patel, who is alleged to be a Labour voter, wrote to the Leader of the Opposition urging him to think again. He said:

This scheme is popular with ordinary working people.

Mr. French

In considering the expansion of the assisted places scheme, will my hon. Friend pay particular attention to the position of cathedral choir schools, such as King's school, Gloucester, many of which have been outside the scheme for many years and would greatly benefit from being within it?

Mrs. Gillan

I thank my hon. Friend for that suggestion. The scheme is proving very popular. By the end of last week, we had already received bids from more than 30 schools for almost 1,000 new places over the next two years. With a month to go, we expect to receive even more bids for this very successful scheme.