That this House deeply regrets the refusal of the Secretary of State for Education and Science to give consideration to the application from the Derbyshire College of Higher Education for polytechnic status, when the college has recently won the right from the Council for National Academic Awards to award degrees for its own taught courses and had the clear prospect of first becoming a polytechnic and then a university; fails to comprehend why the Education Minister recently declared that he would not consider further applications from bodies which meets his earlier criteria in terms of student numbers, facilities and academic standards; and calls upon the Government to reverse this ludicrous decision, which will hamper the expansion of educational opportunity and damage the prospects for the local economy in Derbyshire.

That this House deeply regrets the refusal of the Secretary of State for Education and Science to give consideration to the application from the Derbyshire College of Higher Education for polytechnic status, when the college has recently won the right from the Council for National Academic Awards to award degrees...