So concerned was the local education authority that it called in my hon. Friend the Member for Uxbridge and the hon. The head teacher said that although there are affluent areas in Hillingdon, the neighbouring boroughs of Ealing and Hounslow have excellence in cities additions to their funding, which we do not enjoy in our borough. Another head teacher cited the very high cost of housing in west London and the low level of the London weighting allowance. He also referred to low pay and the fact that particular specialisms, such as languages, maths and science, have recruitment problems.
Retention is always a difficult problem.
The stress and strain of bureaucracy and form filling are acute, so people all too often leave the profession early. A good summary of the situation was given by another head teacher. The aspects that caused him concern were a salary increase which in total adds up to about 6 per cent. A catalogue of difficulties affects my borough of Hillingdon particularly severely. I hope that the Minister will address some of those issues, and give us hope about the new school in Ruislip.