§ Mr. MacFarquharasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if she approves the decision by the Derbyshire County Council to withdraw the Section 13 notices for the Ripley area less than a month after publication.
§ Miss Margaret JacksonI am advised that there is no legal bar to an authority withdrawing proposals submitted under Section 13 of the Education Act 1944, as amended, and the related public notices provided this is done before the Secretary of State has reached a decision on them. As the statutory two-month period for objections had not expired, the withdrawal of notices for the schools in Ripley was entirely a matter for the Derbyshire authority. The question of the Secretary of State's approval did not arise. The Derbyshire authority is now reconsidering secondary reorganisation in Ripley and I have asked for a progress report by 31st July.