Bishop David has backed a major new campaign to lift the 50 percent cap on faith-based admissions to new free schools.He has signed a letter to Education Secretary Gillian Keegan MP, to ‘scrap the cap’.
The Catholic Union launched the campaign following consultation with the Catholic Education Service and the Bishops Conference of England and Wales.
The 50 percent cap on faith-based admissions applies to oversubscribed free schools with a religious character in England. Introduced by the Coalition Government in 2010, the cap has made it impossible for new Catholic free schools to open as the policy is incompatible with Church law. The 2017 Conservative manifesto committed to lifting the cap, but this was never achieved.
The Catholic Education Service and The Catholic Union have been fighting since 2010 to reverse the bill and they are requesting your support by signing the letter.