§ Mr. Biggs-Davisonasked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what redefinition he has made of his policy for the reorganisation of secondary education since the publication of the Cowan Report; and to what extent this has been influenced by representations made by education and library boards and parents' and teachers' organisations, respectively.
§ Mr. CarterOn 15th June 1977 my noble Friend the Minister of State made a statement of the Government's policy on the reorganisation of secondary educa-84W tion in Northern Ireland, namely, that selection at 11-plus should be eliminated through a restructuring of the educational system. This statement made it quite clear that the Government had accepted the widely expressed view that the feasibility study contained in the consultative document was not an acceptable basis on which to reorganise secondary education in Northern Ireland and that they would not therefore proceed further with the detailed suggestions in that study. Various other matters contained in the consultative document are currently being considered by the three working parties which have been appointed. This policy was determined after full consideration of all the contributions—including representations made by education and library boards and parents' and teachers' organisations—submitted in response to the consultative document.