That this House notes the failure of the Secretary of State for Education to notify the York Dioceasan Board of Finance, who are trustees of Howden C of E Infants' School, of his Department's approval of grant-maintained status for the school in January 1994 despite repeated requests for confirmation after reports of his decision in the local press; further notes the Secretary of State's failure to reply to the York Diocesan Board of Education's complaints in November 1993 about irregularities in the conduct of the ballot about grant-maintained status at Barmby Moor C of E Primary School; condemns the Secretary of State for his failure to reply to further letters written to him, on behalf of the York Diocesan Board, by the honourable Member for York on 25th March and 3rd May; believes that a Secretary of State who is unable over a period of more than six months to answer simple queries about one of his Department's key policies is unfit to run a Department of State; and calls upon the Prime Minister to relieve him of his duties at the earliest opportunity.

That this House notes the failure of the Secretary of State for Education to notify the York Dioceasan Board of Finance, who are trustees of Howden C of E Infants' School, of his Department's approval of grant-maintained status for the school in January 1994 despite repeated requests for confirmation after...

That this House notes that the Right honourable Member for Oxford West and Abingdon, in answering the honourable Member for Rugby and Kenilworth on 1st March, referred to 'a disgraceful form of educational apartheid' existing in 'certain authorities', citing Middlesbrough, part of Cleveland Local Education Authority, where he claimed 'it is difficult or impossible for local county maintained schools to play competitive sports against grant-maintained schools', Official Report, column 771; notes too that this implied calumny falls to his own discredit in all 'opt-out' proposals to date in Cleveland have proved resounding failures and that in consequence his attempted misrepresentation of the Cleveland situation proves true by default in that there exist within that local education authority no grant-maintained school with which county schools can compete; reminds the Secretary of State that his Jesuit education will have taught him of the triple need for contrition, confession and satisfaction as essential prerequisites for absolution; reminds the Right honourable Member also that satisfaction for calumny demand equal or wider broadcast of the retraction than that given to the original publication; and therefore urges the Right honourable Member for Oxford West and Abingdon to make fitting and proper reparation before or during the next session of Education Questions.

That this House notes that the Right honourable Member for Oxford West and Abingdon, in answering the honourable Member for Rugby and Kenilworth on 1st March, referred to 'a disgraceful form of educational apartheid' existing in 'certain authorities', citing Middlesbrough, part of Cleveland Local Education Authority, where he claimed 'it...

That this House recalls the Government's 1992 White Paper Choice and Diversity, which said 'The Government is firmly wedded to parental choice'; notes with concern the report in the Times Educational Supplement on 28th January which suggests that that Secretary of State for Education is contemplating forcing all secondary schools to opt out of local authority control; and calls on the Secretary of State to repudiate the statements attributed to him and to accept gracefully the democratic rejection by parents of his most cherished policy.

That this House recalls the Government's 1992 White Paper Choice and Diversity, which said 'The Government is firmly wedded to parental choice'; notes with concern the report in the Times Educational Supplement on 28th January which suggests that that Secretary of State for Education is contemplating forcing all secondary schools...

That this House notes that at Prime Minister's Questions on Tuesday 14th December the Prime Minister stated that there were over a thousand grant-maintained schools, Official Report, column 826, whereas the true number is 708; further notes that on the same day at education questions the Secretary of State for Education claimed that month after month including the last three months, the ratio for opting out was 8:2, whereas the correct ratio is 6:4 at a time when ballots have fallen by two-thirds; and calls on the Prime Minister and the Secretary of State for Education to make a statement to the House correcting these serious errors of fact which might mislead honourable Members into repeating them inside and outside the House.

That this House notes that at Prime Minister's Questions on Tuesday 14th December the Prime Minister stated that there were over a thousand grant-maintained schools, Official Report, column 826, whereas the true number is 708; further notes that on the same day at education questions the Secretary of State for...

That this House condemns the intemperate verbal assault by the Secretary of State for Education on the chief education officers of Birmingham and Kent; notes the Secretary of State's excuse that these were 'satirical not literal remarks'; further notes the recent article in which he referred to the 'radical whores of sociology' and that on this occasion his excuse was even lamer in that he said he meant to use the phrase 'wider shores'; and calls on the Secretary of State to employ a new script writer to save himself from further embarrassment and the tax-payer from large legal bills.

That this House condemns the intemperate verbal assault by the Secretary of State for Education on the chief education officers of Birmingham and Kent; notes the Secretary of State's excuse that these were 'satirical not literal remarks'; further notes the recent article in which he referred to the 'radical whores...

That this House regrets the failure of the Secretary of State for Education, in his statement to the House on 11th May, to deal with the lack of confidence in this year's school tests; believes this failure reinforces the need for the withdrawal of compulsion in this year's testing regime; calls on the Government, in the light of the welcome changes announced for next year predicated upon the flawed tests for this year, to let teachers decide on whether this year's tests should be taken; urges that from September the model adopted in Scotland for assessment and testing should be used, along with the measures announced on 11th May, pending a general agreement being reached by parents and teachers involved in the education of children on the implementation of national curriculum assessment and testing; and further urges the Secretary of State for Education to resign so that confidence can be restored among parents, pupils and teachers in the Government's willingness to listen to their immediate concerns about the educational damage, chaos, confusion and overwork involved in the present testing regime.

That this House regrets the failure of the Secretary of State for Education, in his statement to the House on 11th May, to deal with the lack of confidence in this year's school tests; believes this failure reinforces the need for the withdrawal of compulsion in this year's testing regime;...