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Education: Home Schooling

Answer

Local authorities responding to requests for information from central government, or contributing to reviews such as that conducted by Graham Badman, must be able to freely and frankly express their views, and provide examples and evidence, about what is working and what needs to change. Local authorities provided information in the expectation that it would remain confidential and any breach of confidence could make local authorities reluctant to participate in similar data gathering exercises in future. There are two specific concerns in addition to the general concern that there must be space for officials to express their views freely and frankly. The first concern is that some of the information provided by local authorities related to small numbers, or individual, children and there is a risk that these individuals could be identified if the data we held were combined with other information, including newspaper reports, or could in the future be combined with other information released under the Freedom of Information Act. Secondly, where the home educators are unwilling to co-operate with local authorities, some local authority officials have difficult relationships with some home educators in their area and then releasing this information could make their relationship worst. They have observed the campaign of vilification and harassment against Graham Badman and are concerned that they too could be targeted by home educators locally if their responses were released. We and individual local authorities keep the release of data under review, bearing in mind the nature and intensity of harassment and the risks this indicates. Some local authorities have decided that the risks to individual children and their employees are sufficiently low to release the questionnaire responses. These assessments can only be made at local level and bearing in mind the circumstances prevailing at a particular point in time.

Secondary information

Type

Written question

Reference

760; 716 c22-3WA

Session

2009-10

Related items

Education: Home Schooling
Thursday, 10 December 2009
Written questions
House of Lords

Subjects

Disclosure of information Home education Local government Questionnaires Home Education Independent Review

Link

View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk