Mr. Rees:

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what steps are taken by his Department to bring to the notice of local education authorities the results of changes in the organisation of secondary education in other areas.

Assessment of the results of such changes is a continuing process. Officers of my Department, including members of Her Majesty's Inspectorate, exchange views with those of local education authorities in the course of their regular contacts and, in particular, when consulted about prospective changes.

Mr. Rees:

Is the Minister aware that the old rigid attitude to the tripartite system of secondary education is breaking down and that well over half of the L.E.A.s have changed, or are changing, to some form of comprehensive education? Will not he issue an objective report which could be published showing the good points, and the bad points, of experiments that have been made which would be of assistance to L.E.A.s in all parts of the country?

I thought that the tripartite system had already broken down seven years ago when I was Minister before. As regards the rest of the hon. Gentleman's supplementary question, I think that the statement made by my right hon. Friend in a speech last year to the Association of Education Commit tees was designed to fulfil that very object.

In view of the fact that the right hon. Gentleman takes the view, very properly, that the tripartite system has broken down, does he not think that there is an obligation on his Department to provide this information to the local education authorities which have to consider what is the best course to take in providing comprehensive secondary education? Does not the right hon. Gentleman think that this information ought in any case to be comprehensively brought together and made available to all the education authorities?

The Question related to results, and, of course, as so many of these experiments have not yet produced results, I think that it would be rather difficult to do that. Moreover, of course, the local education authorities themselves are in constant contact, as my Answer indicated, with my Department and I do not think that there is any information in the Department which is not available to them all the time.