§ Mr. LivingstoneTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will outline the rights of parents of children who have been refused admission to the secondary school of their choice after they have lost their appeal to the local council.
§ Mr. FallonParents have a right to appeal to an appeal committee, which is independent of the local council, against the council's decision as to the school their child should attend. If their appeal is unsuccessful they may complain to the Secretary of State, who can intervene if he believes that the council has acted unreasonably in refusing to admit the child to the parents' preferred school. "Unreasonably" in this context has the meaning given to it in administrative law: a body has acted unreasonably in this sense if it has acted in a way in which no sensible body, bearing in mind its statutory responsibilities, could decide to act.