I WOULD like to correct some information quoted by Sir Bill Taylor, Blackburn with Darwen Council Leader, who was credited as saying (LET Feb 16): "When Blackburn with Darwen became a Unitary Authority there were a dozen or more schools under special measures..." In actual fact there were four, all of whom came out of special measures by the end of November that year.

Your report also praises Blackburn with Darwen for achieving Beacon Status for its track record of turning schools around in 1999. I do not think it is unreasonable to claim that a lot of that credit for improving the schools should go to Lancashire, because most of their improving was achieved under this Authority.

I do agree with Bill that the worst thing that can be done is not to face up to the difficulties but to tackle them head on. However, I would be happy to share with him the good practice we have in this Authority whereby notification of schools causing concern is shared with interested parties on a confidential basis, to which your newspaper referred.

ALAN WHITTAKER, Cabinet Member for Education.