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Pope, Greg

Powell, Ray (Ogmore)

Prentice, Bridget (Lew'm E)

Prentice, Gordon (Pendle)

Prescott, Rt Hon John

Primarolo, Dawn

Quin, Ms Joyce

Raynsford, Nick

Redmond, Martin

Reid, Dr John

Rendel, David

Robertson, George (Hamilton)

Robinson, Geoffrey (Co'try NW)

Roche, Mrs Barbara

Rogers, Allan

Rooker, Jeff

Rooney, Terry

Ross, Ernie (Dundee W)

Rowlands, Ted

Ruddock, Joan

Sedgemore, Brian

Sheerman, Barry

Sheldon, Rt Hon Robert

Short, Clare

Simpson, Alan

Skinner, Dennis

Smith, Andrew (Oxford E)

Smith, Chris (Isl'ton S & F'sbury)

Smith, Llew (Blaenau Gwent)

Snape, Peter

Soley, Clive

Spearing, Nigel

Spellar, John

Squire, Rachel (Dunfermline W)

Steel, Rt Hon Sir David

Steinberg, Gerry

Stevenson, George

Stott, Roger

Strang, Dr. Gavin

Straw, Jack

Sutcliffe, Gerry

Taylor, Mrs Ann (Dewsbury)

Taylor, Matthew (Truro)

Thompson, Jack (Wansbeck)

Timms, Stephen

Tipping, Paddy

Turner, Dennis

Tyler, Paul

Vaz, Keith

Walker, Rt Hon Sir Harold

Wallace, James

Walley, Joan

Wardell, Gareth (Gower)

Wareing, Robert N

Wicks, Malcolm

Wigley, Dafydd

Williams, Rt Hon Alan (Sw'n W)

Williams, Alan W (Carmarthen)

Wilson, Brian

Wise, Audrey

Worthington, Tony

Wray, Jimmy

Young, David (Bolton SE)

Tellers for the Noes: Mr. Joe Benton and Mr. Eric Clarke.

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Question accordingly agreed to.

Madam Speaker-- forthwith declared the main Question, as amended, to be agreed to.

Resolved,

That this House welcomes the Franchising Director's consultation document on Passenger Service Requirements which, for the first time, introduces guarantees of service for passengers; supports the

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Government in its determination not to freeze the existing timetable but to create space for the private sector to develop new and additional services based on current timetables which are more attuned to the needs of passengers; supports the Government in its determination to halt the decline in railway use by both passengers and freight customers; and condemns Her Majesty's Opposition for continuing to rely on scare tactics as a substitute for a policy which would enhance passenger services.

HOME ENERGY CONSERVATION BILL [ MONEY ]

Queen's recommendation having been signified--

Resolved,

That, for the purposes of any Act resulting from the Home Energy Conservation Bill, it is expedient to authorise the payment out of money provided by Parliament of--

(a) any expenses of the Secretary of State under the Act, and (b) any increase attributable to the provisions of the Act in sums payable out of money so provided under any other Act.--[ Mr. Bates. ]

JOINT COMMITTEE ON STATUTORY INSTRUMENTS

Ordered,

That Mr. Peter Butler be discharged from the Select Committee appointed to join with a Committee of the Lords as the Joint Committee on Statutory Instruments and Lady Olga Maitland be added to the Committee.--[ Mr. Bates. ]

PETITIONS

Croxteth Country Park Estate

10.26 pm

Mr. Robert N. Wareing (Liverpool, West Derby): I beg leave to present a petition signed by 865 residents of the Croxteth country park estate in Liverpool. Once complete, that private residential housing estate will contain 5,000 homes. However, it lacks a primary school and many of the children must travel to one of 61 other

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primary schools for their education, 40 of them travelling four miles to a school outside Liverpool in the borough of Knowsley. The petition reads:

To the House of Commons.

The Petition of the Residents of the Croxteth Country Park Estate in Liverpool,

Declares that the rapid development of the Croxteth Country Park Estate to accommodate 2,660 new homes necessitates the provision of a new primary school.

The Petitioners therefore request that the House of Commons prevails upon the Secretary of State for Education to approve the provision of the Joint Christian Primary School proposed by the Liverpool Roman Catholic Archdiocese and the Church of England Diocese for which there is an undoubted need.

And the Petitioners remain.

To lie upon the Table.

Rate Support Grant Settlement for Wales

10.28 pm

Mr. David Hanson (Delyn): I beg leave to present a petition on behalf of Mrs. Joan Henley of 2 The Woodlands, Bryn Celin, Holywell, signed by 2,000 friends of Ysgol Bro Carmel primary school in Holywell to express their concern over the rate support grant settlement for Wales, particularly its effect on education and the cuts that will result in my constituency and Clwyd. The petition reads:

To the honourable the Commons of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland in Parliament assembled.

The humble petition of the friends of Ysgol Bro Carmel Sheweth that the petitioners feel that the 1995-96 rate support grant settlement for Wales is unsatisfactory.

Wherefore your petitioners pray that your honourable House reject the 1995- 96 settlement and the rate cap.

And your petitioners, as in duty bound, will ever pray. I shall show my support for the aspirations of the petition in the Lobby tomorrow night.

To lie upon the Table.

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Education Funding (Lancashire)

Motion made, and Question proposed, That this House do now adjourn.-- [Dr. Liam Fox.]

10.29 pm

Mr. Peter L. Pike (Burnley): The subject of the Adjournment is of great importance to my constituents and those of my hon. Friends the Members for Pendle (Mr. Prentice) and for Lancashire, West (Mr. Pickthall), who are also present.

It may seem strange that I have chosen the subject of education funding for tonight's debate when we have spent half the day discussing the 1995-96 financial settlement for schools. When I applied for the debate, I did not know how the business would be arranged, but the concern felt in Lancashire certainly warranted both that half-day debate and this short debate. The Minister should be aware that I have received angry letters about current education funding not only from my constituents, but from people in other parts of Lancashire--not only members of the public, but teachers, governors and others who did not necessarily vote for the Labour party in previous elections.

The 1995-96 settlements have grim implications for Lancashire's capital and revenue expenditure. I should correct some of the wrong impressions that have been given by Conservative Members who represent seats in Lancashire, who spoke in today's debate on funding for schools and in Wednesday's debate on the revenue support grant. The House will recall that a principal part of that debate revolved around educational funding.

On 27 October, a letter was sent to all hon. Members who represent Lancashire from the chief executive of Lancashire county council, Gordon Johnson, about the capital expenditure plans for 1995-96. Enclosed with that letter was a copy of the detailed bid that had been sent to the Department for Education on 13 October. That bid was in the format prescribed by the Department and went into great detail about basic requirements, cost-effective schemes, special needs schemes and all those other requirements that we believe should concern the Minister and warrant his support.

The bid for 1995-96 consisted of committed expenditure of £14,395, 000 and planned expenditure of another £25,942,000, which made a total bid of £40,337,000. One of the schemes included within that bid was an aided one for St. Theodore's Roman Catholic school in my constituency for extensions and adaptions to satisfy curriculum needs. Applications for that type of scheme are repeated throughout the bid and come from throughout Lancashire. Such schemes are necessary to provide urgently needed adaptions to schools to meet national curriculum requirements. That schools should be unable to meet those requirements is wrong.

I visited St.Theodore's school and I received a letter on 9 January from its head, Mr. Meehan, in which he reiterated:

"we have made a bid for capital spending in order to improve our Science and Technology facilities and to provide a second sports/drama area with changing facilities."

I support that bid. Many other similar bids have been made from throughout the county.

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