21. Dr. Tony WrightTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment when he expects to proceed with regulations requiring school governing bodies to establish a complaints system. [119645]
§ Ms Estelle MorrisMy right hon. Friend has no immediate plans to do so, especially as the majority of schools have their own complaints procedures. We have to balance the advantages of setting out national minimum requirements against the disadvantages of introducing another bureaucratic burden. School staff should respond seriously to parental concerns and complaints, to avoid the need for them to go to governing bodies. And governing bodies, in their own interests, should have effective mechanisms in place for handling any parental complaints that do reach them, so that difficulties are resolved swiftly and fairly.