Clause 2 - Duties in relation to diversity and choice
Education and Inspections Bill
1:00 pm
David Chaytor (Bury North, Labour)
That was a conclusion of recent research submitted to the Department to supplement its own research. In a moment, I will return to the Department’s research.
Significantly, the emerging conclusion is that there is a direct relationship between social segregation and schools that are their own admissions authority—whether they are foundation or voluntary aided schools is less relevant. Admittedly, they operate within the current admissions code of practice, but that code is fairly weak and the Bill includes measures to strengthen it. That relationship is the key factor.
That conclusion cannot be ignored—it is related directly to the debate about the impact of choice and diversity, which is at the heart of the Bill. Given that the Department has received evidence from research that it has commissioned, and that the Department conducted, and continues to conduct, its own research—the conclusions of which will be made available soon—will my right hon. Friend the Minister take it upon herself to make available, if not to the public, certainly to the Committee, the results of the Department’s research on the relationship between own admissions authorities and levels of social segregation, before we end our deliberations on the Bill?
It is absolutely vital that we have access to that evidence before we draw our final conclusions on the extent to which diversity in forms of governance should be adopted in the Bill. I should be grateful if my right hon. Friend can take on board those issues in addition to that of fair access.