My second point is that two separate criteria cannot be paramount. We accept assurances given in this House, in another place and in the letter sent to the hon. However, within that general approach, the Bill stipulates that the wishes of parents should be paramount. In Committee, the hon. I consider that that may not always be the case, but if one accepts that it is generally right to trust parents, the new clause introduces a conflict in that regard.
Conservative Members say that they want there to be more respect for parental choice.
The language of the new clause is not consistent with that belief. Many members of the Standing Committee made two points, at length. The first was that a provision similar to the one contained in the new clause has been used to deny children places in mainstream schools when that would have been in their best interests. That is a historical fact and must be taken into account. The second is that most of the organisations that support the rights of children with special educational needs oppose the new clause and support the undertakings given by the Government.