Schools: Parental Choice (Hansard, 23 May 1995)

Lord Lucas
My Lords, our policy is to increase the opportunities for parental choice. As a result of government reforms, parents now have more rights, more information and access to a wider choice of schools than ever before.

§ Lord Dormand of Easington
My Lords, is the Minister aware that at this time of the year thousands of parents have come to realise that choice of schools is a myth? Is he further aware that this is also the time when examinations, tests, assessments and interviews of both pupils and parents have no place in the choice of the school? It is not possible to give parents universal choice. Will the Government be honest and agree that that is the case and that the result of their policy is not what they pretend it to be?

Lord Lucas
My Lords, as regards the last part of what the noble Lord said, of course I agree completely that it is not possible to give parents universal choice. What is possible is to try to improve it.

§ Lord Morris of Castle Morris
My Lords, is it not a fact that the official DFE figures given in parliamentary Answers show that appeals against the refusal of school places rose from 20,981 in 1989–90 to 41,927 in 1992–93—the latest date for which figures are available? That is an increase of 99.8 per cent. Is it not proof positive that parental choice is becoming more limited?

Lord Lucas
No, my Lords, I do not think so at all. It is proof that parents are taking a much more active interest in which school their children should attend. I welcome that, as do some members of the party opposite.

§ Lord Pearson of Rannoch
My Lords, would my noble friend care to join me in congratulating the Benches opposite on their conversion to parental choice and their decided move away from local education authority dictatorship which they used to support so fervently?

Lord Lucas
My Lords, it appears that that view is held at least by the leadership of the party opposite. I am not sure that every single Member of the Benches I spend my time looking at would agree with my noble friend.

The Viscount of Falkland
My Lords, does the noble Lord agree that one area where there has been little parental choice is nursery schools? Perhaps the noble Lord will confirm my belief that before the next election the Government have plans to increase parental choice. Can he elaborate on that?

Lord Lucas
My Lords, I very much look forward to elaborating on it but not today.

§ Baroness David
My Lords, is the Minister aware that between 1974 and 1979 I sat on an appeals committee? In Cambridgeshire we gave parents choice and we had an appeals committee. So it was fair. I hope that the Minister will take back the suggestion that parental choice is a recent invention of the Conservative Party.

Lord Lucas
My Lords, I am aware that some local authorities encouraged choice well before the Government came into office. However, we have consistently improved and increased it and that we shall continue to do.

§ Lord Dormand of Easington
My Lords, it is interesting that twice in answer to me the Minister said that the Government continually seek to increase parents' choice of schools. I have seen little or no evidence of that in the past two or three years. Will the Minister say what has been done in that respect?

Lord Lucas
My Lords, a great deal has been done. We have grant maintained schools which we never had before; schools are specialising, which they never did before; and the city technology college movement continues. In many different ways, schools are taking on more individuality than they had. We are encouraging parents to look around and choose between their local schools and to take a more active interest about which school their children should attend.
With local authorities, we are pursuing the ways in which they may make it easier for parents. Many of the difficulties which parents experience are because of obstacles put in their way by the structures employed by local authorities. We hope that they will continue to remove them, as has happened in many instances but not all. It is a gradual and difficult process but one which we shall continue to push on with.

§ Lord Morris of Castle Morris
My Lords, perhaps I may return to the question I put to the Minister. I have been considering what he said in answer to me. Instead of being delighted and pleased at the increasing number of dissatisfied parents shown by the figures I quoted—and those figures are considerable—can the Minister tell us what Her Majesty's Government are doing about the increasing levels of parental dissatisfaction, as evidenced by the number of parents appealing against the schools to which their children are allocated?

Lord Lucas
My Lords, we continue to try to increase choice in a whole variety of ways. The fact that that does not keep pace with the expectations and hopes of parents is a matter for regret. Nonetheless it is a condition which we expect to persist from now until doomsday.

§ Baroness Farrington of Ribbleton
My Lords, having heard the Minister's reply to my noble friend regarding nursery education, do I understand that he does not wish to reveal the Government's commitments at this stage? Will he give an assurance that the Government's avowed principle of supporting parental choice will be part of the commitment to all parents in all places that they will have choice in access to free nursery education? That is a quite logical and inevitable conclusion of the statements that government Ministers have made.

Lord Lucas
My Lords, as has been clear from other answers I have given today, the question is not one of choice. It is of giving parents the right to express a preference. The ability to give first choice to everyone is not within the gift of this Government or anyone else.

§ Baroness Farrington of Ribbleton
My Lords, may I press the Minister to say whether parental choice, or preference, that a child should enter nursery education is a logical continuation of the ethos of parental choice?

Lord Lucas
My Lords, put that way, I agree entirely.

§ Lord Dormand of Easington
My Lords, will the Minister make it absolutely clear in any documents published by the Government that government policy is that parents have the right of preference but not the choice of schools?

Lord Lucas
My Lords, I believe that that is what we do.