§ Mr. BlunkettTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment which bodies will be involved in the investigation into allegations of misinformation concerning the grant maintained ballot at Hurworth school; what are their terms of reference; and how much the investigation will cost. [5778]
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§ Mrs. Gillian Shephard[holding answer 14 December 1995]: My officials have written to the chairman of the governing body of Hurworth school and the local education authority inviting their comments on the allegations. This is in accordance with normal departmental procedures. As with all other such investigations, officials will review the evidence submitted taking account of any other available information. The costs of the investigation to the Department will largely depend on the time spent by the officials concerned as part of their normal duties and cannot readily be identified.
§ Mr. BlunkettTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how many complaints about disinformation she has received in connection with ballots on grant-maintained status; how many such complaints she has investigated; how many of the complaints investigated have been upheld; and how much, in total, investigations into such complaints have cost. [5779]
§ Mrs. Shephard[holding answer 14 December 1995]: My Department receives a considerable volume of correspondence about ballots on grant-maintained status, and information on the number of letters complaining about misinformation is not available. Since the implementation in January 1994 of section 31(1)(g) of the Education Act 1993, my Department has received complaints of misinformation leading to a formal investigation concerning 35 ballots. Of the completed cases, two complaints relating to misinformation have been upheld and the ballots—one of which resulted in a yes vote, and in one a no vote—were declared void. The costs of such investigations to the Department largely depend on the time spent by the officials concerned as part of their normal duties and cannot readily be identified.
§ Ms Estelle MorrisTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment in respect of each school which has been the subject of a formal inquiry by her Department into the running of its ballot on opt-out status, in which instances was(a) a letter sent by her to the local hon. Member informing them of the setting up of the inquiry, (b) was the letter also released to the press and (c) did the letter contain references to the hon. Member's spouse or child. [5937]
§ Mrs. Shephard[holding answer 14 December 1995]: In the case of Hurworth school in Durham, serious allegations had been made in the press relating to its ballot for grant-maintained status, and it was reported that the head teacher of the school had written to the right hon. Member for Sedgefield (Mr. Blair) expressing his concern. In the light of these circumstances, I considered it appropriate to write to the hon. Member as I did.
§ Ms MorrisTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment in respect of each school which has been
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GM ballots investigated LEA School Ballot Constituency Complainent Outcome of enquiry Ballot Irregularity Cases Norfolk Acle High School Yes vote Mid Norfolk LEA School Ballot results upheld Walsall Aldridge County No vote Aldridge-Brownhills Local Councillor Ballot result upheld Northumberland Astley County High School Yes vote Blyth Valley Registered electors Ballot result upheld Lancashire The Baines School Yes vote Wyre LEA Ballot result upheld the subject of a formal inquiry by her Department into the running of its ballot on opt-out status, in which cases the setting up of the inquiry also announced in a press release; how long the inquiry took; and how was the outcome of the inquiry was made public. [5939]
§ Mrs. Shephard[holding answer 14 December 1995]: The available information indicates that inquiries into ballots on grant-maintained status have been announced in press releases relating to the following schools:
- Eastwood School, Nottinghamshire
- George Spencer School, Nottinghamshire
- Grangefield School, Cleveland
- Laisterdyke Middle School, Bradford
- Abbs Cross School, Havering
- Sacred Heart High School, Hammersmith and Fulham
- George Tomlinson School, Bolton
- Canon Slade School, Bolton
- All Saints Schools, Sheffield
- Rutlish School, Merton
- St. Thomas Becket School, Knowsley
- Codsall High School, Stafordshire
- Great Wyrley High School, Staffordshire
- Calday Grange Grammar School, Wirral
- Wirral Grammar School for Boys, Wirral
- Hurworth School, Durham.
The investigation into the ballot at Hurworth school continues. Information on the length of previous inquiries and how the outcomes were made public is not readily available.
§ Ms MorrisTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what has been the total cost so far to her Department of the decision to hold an inquiry into the ballot at Hurworth school. [5935]
§ Mrs. Shephard[holding answer 14 December 1995]: The cost to my Department of the decision to hold an inquiry into the ballot at Hurworth school cannot readily be identified because the work has been undertaken by a number of officials as part of their normal duties.
§ Ms MorrisTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if she will list each school which has been the subject of a formal inquiry by her Department into the running of its ballot on opt-out status, and in each case indicating(a) who or what prompted her Department to launch a formal inquiry, (b) what had been the result of the ballot into which the inquiry was held and (c) what was the outcome of the inquiry, (d) what was the parliamentary constituency of the schools. [5936]
§ Mrs. Shephard[holding answer 14 December 1995]: The following table shows such information as is readily available:
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GM ballots investigated LEA School Ballot Constituency Complainent Outcome of enquiry Kirklees Boothroyd Junior and Infants No vote Dewsbury LEA Ballot result upheld Wirral Calday Grange Grammar School Yes vote Wirral West LEA Ballot result declared void Bedfordshire Cardinal Newman School No vote Luton North Other organisation Ballot result declared void Bolton Crompton Fold County Primary Yes vote Bolton North-East LEA Ballot result upheld Surrey de Stafford County Secondary Yes vote Surrey East LEA Ballot results upheld Kirklees Deighton School Yes vote Huddersfield LEA Ballot result declared void Derbyshire Derby Moor School No vote Derby South LEA Ballot result upheld Kent Edenbridge Middle School Yes vote Sevenoaks LEA Ballot result declared void Oldham Failsworth School No vote Oldham West Parents Ballot results upheld Birmingham George Dixon School Yes vote Birmingham-Edgbaston LEA Ballot results upheld Greenwich Hawksmoor School Yes vote Woolwich LEA another local School Ballot results upheld Kent Hextable School No vote Sevenoaks LEA Ballot result declared void Waltham Forest Highams Park School Yes vote Chingford LEA Ballot result upheld Cambridgeshire Jack Hunt, Peterborough School Yes vote Peterborough LEA Ballot result upheld Wiltshire Kingsdown County Secondary Yes vote Devizes LEA Ballot result upheld Bromley Langley Park School Yes vote Beckenham Parents Ballot results upheld Leicestershire Manor High School No vote Harborough Parent Ballot result upheld Calderdale Moorside Junior School No vote Halifax LEA Ballot result declared void Birmingham Ninestiles Yes vote Sparkrook LEA Ballot result upheld Hillingdon Oak Farm Junior and Infant School Yes vote Uxbridge LEA Ballot result upheld Bury Peel Brow County Primary Yes vote Bury North LEA Ballot result upheld Gloucestershire Picklenash School Yes vote Gloucestershire West Parents Ballot result upheld Calderdale Ryburn Valley High No vote Calder Valley Other organisation Ballot result upheld Hampshire St. Joseph's RC Primary School Yes vote Aldershot Parent Ballot result upheld Kirklees St. Patrick's Catholic Primary No vote Huddersfield Parent School told to hold ballot Humberside Waltham Toll Bar No vote Brigg and Cleethorpes MP Ballot result upheld Rochdale Wardle High School Yes vote Littlebrgh and Saddle worth Parent LEA Ballot result upheld Dudley Windsor High School Yes vote Halesowen and Stourbridge LEA Ballot result upheld Misinformed Cases Lancashire Ashleigh Primary School Yes vote Rossendale and Darwin LEA Ballot result upheld Liverpool Blue Coat School No vote Liverpool Mossley Hill LEA Ballot result upheld Kent Brockhill Park Yes vote Folkestone and Hythe LEA Ballot result upheld Surrey Burpham County Primary Yes Vote Guildford LEA and Parent Ballot result upheld Derbyshire Chinley Primary Yes vote High Peak LEA Ballot result upheld Staffordshire Christ Church Middle No vote Stafford Other organisation Parent Ballot result declared void Staffordshire Christ Church Middle—2nd Ballot No vote Stafford Parent and LEA Ballot result upheld Staffordshire Anglesey Yes vote Burton LEA Ballot results declared void. Liverpool Croxteth Community Comp No vote Liverpool West School Parent Ballot result upheld Devon Devonport High Yes vote Plymouth Drake Other organisation, Parent Ballot result upheld Somerset Enmore Primary Yes vote Bridgewater Parent Ballot result upheld. Kent Gravesend Grammar Yes vote Gravesend LEA Ballot result upheld
GM ballots investigated LEA School Ballot Constituency Complainent Outcome of enquiry Ham and Fulham Holy Cross No vote Fulham School and Councillors Ballot result upheld Liverpool King David Yes vote Liverpool Broad Green LEA and Parent Ballot result upheld Lancashire Longridge School Yes vote Ribble Valley LEA Ballot result upheld Avon Merrywood Girls School No vote Bristol South Other organisation MP Ballot result upheld Leicestershire New Parks Comm College No vote Leicester West Parent Ballot result upheld Berkshire Prospect School Yes vote Reading West LEA Councillors Ballot result upheld Derbyshire Ripley Mill Hill School Yes vote Amber Valley LEA Ballot result upheld Essex Rochford Primary Yes vote Rochford Parents Ballot result upheld Manchester St. Kentigems Yes vote Manchester—Gorton LEA Ballot result upheld Buckinghamshire Two Mile Ash Yes vote Milton Keynes North East Other organisation Ballot result upheld Tameside Two Trees High School No Vote Denton and Reddish School Parent Ballot result upheld Waltham Forest Whitefields School Yes vote Chingford LEA Parent other Ballot result upheld Ballots currently under investigation Staffordshire Anglesey (2nd Ballot) Yes vote Burton LEA Under consideration Lancashire Beltham Primary Yes vote Blackburn LEA Under consideration Tower Hamlets Bethnal Green High School No vote Bethnal Green and Stepney Parent Under consideration Shropshire Castlefields No vote Ludlow Parent Under consideration Wiltshire Herod Parkway No vote Swindon Parent and MP Under consideration Durham Hurworh School No vote Sedgefield Arose from press articles Under consideration Berkshire Lynch Hill School Yes vote Slough LEA Under consideration Essex The Manningtree School Yes vote Colchester North LEA—Parents Electors, Under consideration Devon South Dartmoor Community College No vote Teignbridge Parents LEA Governors Under consideration Staffordshire St. Benedict Biscop Yes vote South Staffordshire LEA Under consideration Warwickshire Stockingford First School Yes vote Nuneaton LEA Under consideration Warwickshire Stockingford Middle Shool Yes vote Nuneaton LEA Under consideration
§ Ms MorrisTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if she will arrange for all press releases and letters to hon. Members relating to every school which has been the subject of a formal inquiry by her Department into the running of its ballot on opt-out status to he placed in the Library. [5932]
§ Mrs. Shephard[holding answer 14 December 1995]: Press releases which have been issued by my Department relating to inquiries into the running of ballots on grant-maintained status have been placed in the Library. Letters to hon. Members concerning school ballots on grant-maintained status are between my Department and the hon. Member concerned.