High Peak MP Robert Largan has written to the Secretary of State for Education, Gavin Williamson MP, asking him to pause the consultation on the proposed merger of Cheadle and Marple Sixth Form College with The Trafford College Group.

Although Cheadle and Marple Sixth Form College isn’t in High Peak, a number of pupils who attend it live in High Peak, and there have been concerns raised with Robert about the proposed merger.

The letter to the Secretary of State, written jointly with fellow MPs William Wragg (Hazel Grove) and Mary Robinson (Cheadle), raises the MPs’ concerns about the current consultation running during the coronavirus emergency, especially as non-digital consultation materials aren’t readily available.

The consultation currently runs from 30 March until 8 May, and the MPs have asked for it to be paused until people are better able to respond to it fully.

Robert Largan MP said:

“A number of constituents have written to me, concerned about the consultation running during the current coronavirus crisis.

“I share these concerns, and having discussed this with Mary and William, they too had the same concerns. We have therefore written to the Secretary of State for Education to ask him to issue an instruction to pause the consultation until such time as people can properly respond to it.

“I hope that the Secretary of State takes swift action, and that the consultation will be paused until later in the year.”