HC Deb 05 March 2002 vol 381 c251W
Mr. Brady

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if literacy and numeracy hours will be compulsory in schools with(a) earned autonomy and (b) exemptions related to innovation. [40485]

Mr. Ivan Lewis

There is no statutory duty on primary schools to teach the literacy hour or a daily mathematics lesson. The proposed exemptions available under(a) Earned Autonomy and (b) the Power to Innovate relate only to exemptions from statutory requirements on schools or LEAs. Therefore, the literacy hour and daily mathematics lesson cannot be subject to exemption under either of these provisions.