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Schools (Sutton)

The difficulty is that the schools adjudicator is an independent arbiter of the situation. They will consider the situation in an open, transparent and independent way and come to a decision. It is not for me as a Minister or the hon. Gentleman as a Member of Parliament to say, "I am sorry, but I do not agree with the schools adjudicator's decision." The system has been put in place to have that open, transparent and independent decision about what is fair and accessible in the provision of school places in that particular London borough. With local authorities in the driving seat, we can ensure that there is suitable, excellent provision of primary and secondary places in the borough, and which takes into account concerns or nuances of a particular area, such as the high proportion of places going to out-of-borough pupils. Working in partnership and collaboration with schools, colleges and other providers, they will ensure that there is excellent provision. If parents are unhappy or dissatisfied with the provisions that are in place, the mechanism that I have identified will allow an independent authority to look at the matter and decide what is appropriate. That is a suitable framework, and it will be further strengthened by the provisions in the Bill that is before the House. I hope—but I do not think that I am right in this—that the hon. Gentleman will welcome the plans. I welcome the matters that the hon. Gentleman has raised. With regard to Stanley Park, I promise that I will take the issue away and look at it, and write to him shortly. The whole point of my response has been to stress that it is for local authorities and schools to decide their own admissions criteria. The hon. Gentleman quite rightly said that local people know best what is needed in their areas. Local authorities and schools, working with parents, are the experts in their local area. It is up to them to decide whether or not to accept pupils from other boroughs. Let me thank the hon. Gentleman for bringing the matter to the House and reassure him that the Government will continue to place fair access at the very heart of our education system, and put in place provisions to ensure that local authorities act in accordance with the framework that has been set down by Parliament.