§ Mr. LathamTo ask the Prime Minister whether she will make a statement on the introduction of the arrangements for the national curriculum under the Education Reform Act 1988; and what action is being taken to reduce the burden of form filling by teachers.
§ The Prime MinisterWe need the national curriculum to raise standards in our schools. There is welcome evidence from Her Majesty's inspectorate that many schools are making satisfactory progress with implementing the national curriculum. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Education and Science is taking
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Company Date of privatisation Net proceeds to HMC £ million Number of shareholders Profit/(loss) before privatisation £ million British Petroleum (residue sale) 1979 276 1981 8 1983 543 1987 5,322 592,602 n/a British Aerospace 1981 43 97,600 52.8 1985 347 Cable and Wireless 1981 181 170,146 64.1 1983 263 1985 580 Amersham International 1982 60 5,854 4.8 National Freight Consortium 1982 53 145,000 4.3 Britoil2 1982 626 165,200 423.1 1985 426 Associated British Ports 1983 46 112,000 5.5 1984 51 Enterprise Oil 1984 382 10,207 83.2 Sealink (trade sale) 1984 3— n/a 12.8 Jaguar 1984 3— 441,789 50 British Telecom 1984 3,681 1,203,243 990 British Shipbuilders Warship Yards (trade sale) 1984–85 3— n/a 18 British Gas 1986 57,731 2,695,450 782 British Airways 1987 850 38,350 195 great care that the new requirements are introduced in a way that does not overburden teachers. He has been particularly concerned to limit the paperwork required of teachers and has taken a number of steps to this effect, including, for example, changes to the proposed requirements for statutory curriculum information.