§ Mr. Marlowasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will introduce legislation to prevent a local authority from requiring children in its area to learn ethnic minority languages; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Kenneth BakerWhen the relevant provisions of the Education (No. 2) Act 1986 comes into force it will not be possible for a local education authority to require a school to offer a minority language to all pupils in a particular year group against the joint wishes of the school's governing body and its headteacher. I intend in the near future to publish a consultative document on the place of ethnic minority languages in the secondary curriculum.