The right to know
„Sir: You published an advertisement (12 pecember) from a group called `Parents Against Political Propaganda in Education' which attacked the ILEA's production of information about the consequences of the Leal Government Finance Bill. The ILEA campaign was not an attempt at Political propaganda but a quite specific exercise in public information. The people Who depend on the inner London education service — parents and students in particular
had a right to be informed of the likely effects on that service of the Government's Proposed legislation.
The pressure of public opinion had, only 2ine months previously, prevented the break-up of the Authority as our services aLre very much appreciated. Those people ',lad a right to know that those servicesere °. threatened by another piece of legisla- tion, the Local Government Finance Bill. In our concern we were not alone. All the local authority associations (two of which have Lonservative majorities) have pledged their t)Ploosition to the Bill on constitutional and
grounds.
Your readers will want to know that the campaign has met with an enthusiastic response from all parts of our service. Well over a hundred parent and public meetings have been held -- none sponsored by the Authority itself — and at all of them the response has been virtually unanimous in opposing the legislation. I would suggest that very few parents are actually members of PAPE and I would like your readers to consider how such an advertisement and their campaign is financed.
Of course the ILEA's performance can be improved, that is the job we were elected to do. But cuts of the savagery apparently contemplated by the Government are no way to achieve improvement. They could only produce a diminished standard of ser- vice and people have a right to know that.
Bryn Davies
Leader of the Inner London EducationAuthority, The County Hall, London SEI
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