§ Mr. StrawTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science (1) if he will place in the Library of the House a note summarising the main evidence and conclusions of the group of senior educational psychologists from nine local education authorities, concerning reading standards; and if he will make a statement;
(2) what study, and with what conclusions, Her Majesty's inspectors have yet been able to make of the evidence and conclusions about reading standards of senior educational psychologists from nine local education authorities.
§ Mr. MacGregorI have called for the evidence underlying the reported conclusions of the nine senior educational psychologists. The information that has been made available to Her Majesty's inspectors to date provides an insufficient basis to support firm conclusions concerning the claim that reading standards have fallen significantly. I am continuing to try to accumulate evidence.