Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will publish his Department's review of Brighton and Hove Council's Anti-Racist Education Strategy; and if he will make an assessment of whether Brighton and Hove Council is fully compliant with his Department's guidelines on political impartiality in schools.

The department has worked with the sector to publish guidance that supports schools to teach about complex political issues, in line with their legal duties on political impartiality. This guidance is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/political-impartiality-in-schools.

On being made aware of the issues raised in respect of Brighton and Hove City Council’s strategy, department officials contacted the local authority to understand the detail of the matter and to ensure that the local authority was aware of their duties on political impartiality. It is for local authorities to ensure that they meet their legal requirements in respect of political impartiality in schools and to respond to complaints. The department would not normally intervene in a complaint about a local authority unless the local complaints process had been followed to conclusion. The department has not carried out a review of the strategy and is not planning to do so at this stage.