§ Mr. ShoreTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what information he has received on children of school age in the London borough of Tower Hamlets140W unable to find a school place in the current academic year because of shortages of teachers; what discussions he has had about this problem with the Inner London education authority and the London borough of Tower Hamlets; and what action he proposes to take to ensure that all children in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets enjoy the basic right to state education.
§ Mrs. RumboldThe local education authority estimates that, excluding rising fives, there were about 220 children of compulsory school age not in school at the end of the spring term. These figures take no account of the take-up of 180 places at Bigland primary school which opened this term.
The Department is in regular contact with the local education authority about this and other matters, and will continue to give support to the measures Tower Hamlets is taking to secure an adequate supply of teachers.