Clause 2 - Duties in relation to diversity and choice
Education and Inspections Bill
1:15 pm
John Hayes (Shadow Minister (Vocational Education), Education; South Holland and The Deepings, Conservative)
I do not argue for such things to be determined at the centre. The hon. Lady will have studied the Bill in some detail; there is barely a part or clause of it that does not involve some kind of Whitehall diktat. As we have made clear, we broadly support the thrust of the Bill. However, it does not give all the power of Whitehall to local communities, still less to local authorities, however much the Minister wishes to assuage her critics on the Labour Benches.
Such matters should be determined by demand, the choice of parents and the needs of children. I am sure that, given the assent being offered, we can find a happy compromise around those timeless principles. As I said, special schools work for many. They deserve our support, as do the parents and children who take advantage of them. We should not just save special schools, but build new ones where they are warranted and wanted. Wherever they are needed, we should make a brave and bold case for such special education and inject the same passion into that case as we have on behalf of all special needs children. As I freely acknowledged, this is a non-partisan matter, and a passion shared by people from across the political spectrum, from the Labour party to the Conservative party—
Sarah Teatherrose—