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Written question asked by Lord Patten (Conservative) on Wednesday, 31 January 2018, in the House of Lords. It was due for an answer on Wednesday, 14 February 2018. It was answered by Lord Agnew of Oulton (Conservative) on Tuesday, 13 February 2018 on behalf of the Department for Education.


Church Schools: Catholicism

Question

To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Agnew of Oulton on 23 January (HL4566), whether it is their policy to ensure that all Catholic parents are able to educate their children in Catholic schools; and if not, why not.

Answer

The government’s focus is on ensuring we have a diverse education system, which meets the needs of parents and comprises a variety of high performing schools, including Church and faith schools. It will not always be possible, or an effective use of public funds, to meet every parent’s individual needs.

Data published by the Catholic Education Service indicates that pupils in Catholic schools come from a wide variety of backgrounds and in particular include a significant proportion of non-Catholics. See Table 2.2.5 on page 16 of the attached Catholic Education Service’s Digest of 2017 Census Data for Schools and Colleges in England, which is also available at: http://catholiceducation.org.uk/images/CensusDigestEngland2017.pdf.


Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
HL5310
Session
2017-19
Attachment
Census Digest England 2017
Related items
Church Schools: Catholicism
Tuesday, 23 January 2018
Written questions
House of Lords
Subjects
Admissions Catholicism Church schools
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk