School Admissions (Hansard, 24 January 1996)

§ 17. Dr. Wright
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what consultations she undertook before proposing to amend school admission arrangements. [9432]

§ Mrs. Gillan
The consultation on my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State's proposals for giving schools and local education authorities more flexibility over school admissions does not finish until 22 February.

§ Dr. Wright
I am grateful for that answer. Can the Minister explain to those of us who are serious about 350 extending and exercising parental choice how a proposal to increase schools' ability to choose children and reduce parents' ability to choose schools contributes to parental choice? In particular, how does it do so when combined with the proposal to withdraw the right of the parents of children in voluntary-aided schools to ballot on those schools' futures?

§ Mrs. Gillan
I am very pleased to note that the hon. Gentleman supports the Government's education policies so robustly by sending his children to selective schools. I am delighted that he has made the right choice as a parent.
At present, all schools can select 10 per cent. of their intake; our consultation is looking at increasing that to 15 per cent., thereby providing more choice and diversity in the education system.

§ Mr. Neil Hamilton
Is my hon. Friend aware of the impact on social cohesion of the Government's policies on parental choice? Is she aware of the conflict to which this can give rise between middle-class and working-class parents—for instance, in the Labour party, in which it is largely the middle-class Blair glitterati who have chosen to send their children to grant-maintained schools? What can we do to improve the consciousness of people like the deputy leader of the Labour party concerning the benefits that the policy can bring about for working-class parents of working-class children?

§ Mrs. Gillan
My hon. Friend is absolutely right. We have had much publicity over the past few days, as a result of Opposition Members, on the choice in education that is provided by the Government, and that will bring it forward. I do not understand why Opposition Members oppose the choice that we put into the education system—for example, assisted places, the very existence of which allows a wider socio-economic spread of children within the independent sector. The Conservative party provides real choice in the education system for all parents.