§ Mr. St. John-Stevasasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will name all the local education authorities who have been unable to commit themselves to total comprehensive secondary education reorganisation before the end of the decade.
§ Miss Joan LestorThe following local education authorities have been unable, in their replies to Circular 4/74, to assure 653W my right hon. Friend that on the basis of the likely availability of resources they could end selection and complete secondary reorganisation by the end of the decade:
- Avon.
- Bolton.
- Bromley.
- Calderdale.
- Cambridgeshire.
- Cheshire.
- Cornwall.
- Cumbria.
- Derbyshire.
- Devon.
- Doncaster.
- Dorset.
- Durham.
- Gloucester.
- Hereford and Worcester.
- Hertfordshire.
- Kent.
- Lincolnshire.
- Liverpool.
- Norfolk.
- Nottinghamshire.
- Shropshire.
- Somerset.
- South Tyneside.
- Suffolk.
- Warwickshire.
- Wigan.
- Wiltshire.
- Wirral.
In addition, as the hon. Gentleman is aware, there are seven authorities, Bexley, Buckinghamshire, Essex, Kingston-upon-Thames, Redbridge, Sutton and Trafford, which have been unable to commit themselves to comprehensive reorganisation at any time.
§ Mr. Biggs-Davisonasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will make a statement on the reorganisation of secondary education in Essex.
§ Miss Joan LestorEssex is one of the few authorities that, in response to Circular 4/74, refused to commit themselves to the complete abolition of selection for secondary education. The great majority of secondary schools in the former county of Essex are reorganised on comprehensive lines. My Department is in close contact with the local education authority about proposals to reorganise most of the remaining schools including those in the Chigwell area, and my right hon. Friend understands that fresh proposals for the reorganisation of certain of the schools in that area, revised in the light of the availability of building resources, will be submitted to him shortly.