Anna Tambour presents 


 

The virtuous medlar circle
thoroughly bletted
 
 
 The Inimitable
Mrs May

(begun on a Tuesday in May, 1999, at 10.30 am)


Mrs. Theresa May (Maidenhead): I beg to move,

    That the Committee has considered the Education (School Organisation Committees) (England) Regulations 1999 (S.I. 1999, No. 700).

The Chairman: With this it will be convenient to consider the Education (School Organisation Plans) (England) Regulations 1999 (S.I. 1999, No. 701) and the Education (Transition to New Framework) (School Organisation Proposals) Regulations 1999 (S.I. 1999, No. 704).

Mrs. May: Before I make several detailed points about the statutory instruments, I shall explain why Opposition Members are concerned about the introduction of the school organisation committees that the Government put in place under the School Standards and Framework Act 1998. I must say, however, that it is nice to see some old faces in Committee.

The Minister for School Standards (Ms Estelle Morris):
Getting older!

Mrs. May: Yes, getting older at every stage. We are concerned about the structure of school organisation committees, which show two of the trends that are characteristic of the Government, the first being of which is an increase in bureaucracy and administrative burdens. Why have one committee considering an issue when there could be two? Why have 10 members of a committee when there could be 50 or 100 members? Examples of such bureaucracy are yet again being shown in the way in which school organisation committees are to operate. The Government are constantly introducing structures that are cumbersome, unwieldy, over-bureaucratic and impractical, and I shall explain how that policy relates specifically to the proposals that we are discussing.

The second, perhaps more sinister and worrying, aspect of the Government's proposals is their attempt to deny the legitimacy of decisions taken by democratically elected representatives. Given what goes on inside the Labour party, we are well aware that the Government have tried to manipulate votes so that the centre of the party here in London gets its own way. Let us consider the vote for the Labour leadership in Wales. However, the electorate in Falkirk, West

The Chairman: Order. May I suggest that the hon. Lady sticks to the statutory instruments under discussion?

Mrs. May: Thank you, Mr. Cunningham. I had almost finished my sentence; I was saying how the Government, through their internal arrangements, try to deny the legitimacy of democratically taken decisions, which is what they are doing in the introduction of school organisation committees . . .

Continued here
 



 


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This excerpt from proceedings is dedicated to someone I find deliciously inspiring, always a hoot,
and who speaks like a bletted medlar tastes. A.T.
"The Inimitable Mrs May" and the graphic "Umbrellas drawn" are copyright Anna Tambour © 2005
The Virtuous Medlar Circle © 2004, 2005