§ 7.3 pm
§ Mr. Tony McWalter (Hemel Hempstead)I wish to present a petition from 2,132 constituents and people in areas neighbouring Hemel Hempstead, where a further education college was merged with Watford college in 1992 as a cost-saving exercise. Since then there have been successive depredations of the Hemel Hempstead site and the building up of the Watford site, as a result of which many of my constituents now have no access to further education.
The Petition of West Herts College Students Union and concerned residents and parents of Hemel Hempstead
Declares that West Herts College plans to close the majority of courses for 16–18 year olds at its Hemel Hempstead campus and move them to Watford; that the petitioners oppose this move and contend that there should be a college located in Hemel Hempstead that is large enough to suit the needs of the borough of Dacorum.
The Petitioners therefore request that the House of Commons ask the Secretary of State for Education to urge the West Herts College Corporation to maintain its current provision for 16–18 year olds at its Hemel Hempstead site,
And the petitioners remain, etc.
§ To lie upon the Table.