Charging For Education For Roman Catholic Pupils In Trafford

EDM number 347 in 1996-97, proposed by Tony Lloyd on 12/12/1996.

That this House notes that for many years Roman Catholic school pupils who passed their 11 plus in Trafford, where a selective system still operates, have been allocated places at St. Bede's College, an independent grammar school, because Trafford has no Roman Catholic grammar schools of its own; notes that over the years the education has always been free to parents and pupils and has been part of the provision for Roman Catholic children within the overall public sector; accordingly views with alarm the decision by St Bede's to charge parents ú600 per year for their children over and above the fees already received from Trafford; acknowledges the request by the honourable Member for Stretford that the Secretary of State should intervene in this matter; is concerned that this request met with a stubborn refusal on her part to take any direct action; reaffirms the principle of free education, which it believes is under serious threat; and urges the Secretary of State to take immediate steps to bring matters to a conclusion in a way that frees parents both present and future from any financial obligation which they would not incur for their children were they at other schools.

This motion has been signed by a total of 15 MPs.