HC Deb 19 November 1974 vol 881 cc345-7W
27. Mr. Arnold Shaw

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science when he intends to give particular attention to the development of a fully comprehensive system of secondary education; and if he will make a statement.

41. Mr. Raphael Tuck

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science, in view of the fact that the Gracious Speech contained no mention of compelling local authorities to make their schools comprehensive and no mention of ending direct grant schools, if he will make a statement on the Government's policy regarding these two matters.

Mr. Prentice

I would refer my hon. Friends to the reply I gave earlier today to Questions by my hon. Friend the Member for Manchester, Gorton (Mr. Marks), the hon. Members for Sutton Coldfield (Mr. Fowler), and Kingston-upon-Thames (Mr. Lamont) and my hon. Friend the Member for Lewisham, West (Mr. Price).

29. Mr. William Shelton

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether he has received from the Inner London Education Authority any plans for secondary reorganisation that include the formation of a mini-comprehensive.

Mr. Armstrong

No. Statutory proposals envisaging the formation of three comprehensive schools of 6 form entry are currently before my right hon. Friend, but none for any of a smaller size.

38. Mr. Hardy

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will list the names of those local education authorities where a majority of the children are still allocated to secondary education on the basis of selection procedures.

Mr. Armstrong

This information is not available. Annual figures collected last January, before local government reorganisation, show that in the area of 53 of the 163 local education authorities then existing in England and Wales more than 50 per cent. of all pupils in maintained secondary schools were in schools not classified as comprehensive.

52. Mr. Terry Walker

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he is satisfied with the progress towards comprehensive education in the Kings-wood constituency in the county of Avon.

Mr. Armstrong

Apart from Sir Bernard Lovell's school which is already comprehensive, the former Gloucestershire authority had approval last year, not so far implemented, to reorganise three of the seven other schools to admit pupils of all levels of ability. My right hon. Friend awaits the response of Avon to Circular 4/74 which will, no doubt, indicate what measures to complete reorganisation the present authority contemplates.

Mr. Hatton

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he is satisfied that his request to Manchester Education Committee to let him know its proposals by the end of this year for the progress towards comprehensive education of the Catholic secondary schools will allow sufficient time to ensure that parents' views are known and taken fully into account.

Mr. Armstrong

The request to all local education authorities in the Department's Circular 4/74 of April was for information, by the end of this year, about the successive measures which would be taken to complete the process of reorganisation. There is nothing to preclude further local discussion thereafter, and indeed the circular emphasised the need for adequate and thorough consultation locally before the stage of submitting formal proposals under Section 13 of the Education Act 1944 in respect of individual schools. Furthermore, when that stage is reached notices must be published of each proposal, and there is a two-month period during which objectors can make their views known to my right hon. Friend.