LEARNING AND SKILLS COUNCIL AND CO-LOCATION OF SHREWSBURY SIXTH FORM COLLEGE AND SHREWSBURY COLLEGE OF ART AND TECHNOLOGY

That this House expresses its consternation at the conduct of the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) in relation to the co-location of Shrewsbury Sixth Form College and Shrewsbury College of Art and Technology; notes that hundreds of teachers, parents and students have voiced their opposition to these plans, that many of Shrewsbury's elected representatives at local and national level have spoken out against co-location and that a petition opposing the plans has attracted over 8,000 signatures from members of the public; believes that proceeding with co-location in spite of this amount of opposition shows a deplorable level of unaccountability; and calls on the Government to open a debate on making the LSC more accountable so that the Council's decision-making processes do not ride roughshod over the views of local people in the future.