Agreements for Establishment, etc. of City Technology Colleges

Part of Orders of the Day — Education Reform Bill – in the House of Commons at 4:15 pm on 19 July 1988.

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Photo of Jack Straw Jack Straw Shadow Secretary of State for Education 4:15, 19 July 1988

I merely draw attention to the fact that there has been no debate on this policy, and there was none in Committee. If the Secretary of State is so proud of this policy, why has he not insisted on a debate? Why did he not come to the House in November 1986 to secure the approval of this House for this policy? The Secretary of State knows that that is because he spoke before he thought. He gave a commitment that he cannot now fulfil. In the glossy pamphlet that he published on 14 October 1986, he gave two commitments that have failed to come about. This policy is therefore a failure. He said: The principle of funding will be that the promoters will meet all or a substantial part of the capital costs of CTCs. We know that that simply has not happened. Most—in some cases, almost all—of the cost of CTCs have come from the taxpayer.

The Secretary of State said something else in this glossy pamphlet, paid for by the taxpayer. He said that the Department is confident that the number of institutions and the number of pupils will build up rapidly thereafter. The Government intends that 20 CTCs should be in operation by the end of the decade. The end of the decade is next year. The Secretary of State has admitted to the House under cross-examination that there will not be 20 CTCs in operation by the end of this year. There will not be 10, or even five. There will be three and none of those would be in operation but for the bail out paid for by the British taxpayer.