§ Mr. SteinbergTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what arrangements he has made for schools funded and run as joint shared facilities by district councils and county councils to opt out of the maintained sector.
§ Mr. DunnUnder the provisions of the Education Reform Bill, any county or voluntary school, other than a primary school with fewer than 300 pupils, will be able to seek grant-maintained status. If the application is successful, property used or held by the former maintaining authority for the purposes of the school will transfer to the school. The Education Assets Board will be responsible for identifying and defining the property to be transferred and, by implication, the property which remains with the authority which previously owned it.
§ Mr. Nicholas WintertonTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what representations he has received seeking the addition to the Education Reform Bill of provisions to offer protection against possible abuse by any future Secretary of State of(a) the powers which the Bill grants to him over the content of the core curriculum, (b) the control which the Bill grants to him over the testing of children in schools and (c) the influence which the Bill grants to him on the dismissal of teachers.
§ Mrs. RumboldA number of organisations and individuals who wrote to us about our proposals for the national curriculum and assessment made points about the dangers of political control. We remain convinced that the safeguards built into the Education Reform Bill provide adequate protection against future abuse. The Bill does not grant my right hon. Friend influence over the dismissal of teachers, and my Department has not received representations on this matter.