NORTH Wiltshire MP James Gray has called for schools to be freed from red tape and bureaucracy.

Speaking during Questions to the Secretary of State for Education, Mr Gray said: “Governors across North Wiltshire who run some of the best schools in the land do an outstandingly good job, but many of them tell me that they are overburdened by rules, regulations, bureaucracy and the forms they have to fill out for central Government.”

He then asked whether there was a way that they could be freed from some of these responsibilities and “spend less time bogged down in bureaucracy’’.

Responding, Schools Minister David Laws said: “The Government wants to reduce all aspects of bureaucracy in the school system.

“We want to make sure that governors are not overburdened with bureaucracy but are armed with the vital information that will allow them to do their job properly and to have more effective governing bodies, which can help play a vital role in school improvement.”

Mr Gray later said: “I am delighted that the Government recognise the need to cut red tape in the school system.

“We are fortunate in Wiltshire to have some of the best schools in Britain.

“And the Government needs to take further steps to make sure that headteachers and school governors can get on with their main task of improving their schools without being mired in unnecessary bureaucracy.”