§ 14. Dame Irene Wardasked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Education whether the grammar school places available per head of the school population in Northumberland and Durham, respectively, are above or below the national average.
§ Sir E. BoyleUsing the criteria most commonly employed, the opportunities for grammar school education both in Northumberland and in Durham are less than the national average.
§ Dame Irene WardWhen the new block grant system comes into operation, shall we be brought up to the national average? If so, I shall really be interested in the matter.
§ Sir E. BoyleI will not deal with the block grant again, but I can assure my hon. Friend that both authorities plan to increase the proportion of both grammar and technical school places during the next few years, and they are also developing courses leading to the G.C.E. examination in modern schools.
§ Dame Irene WardMay I ask whether they will be above the national average or up to the national average when the new arrangements are brought into operation, and what about the finances?
§ Sir E. BoyleI do not think that I can forecast as far ahead as that.
§ 15. Dame Irene Wardasked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Education if he will give the number of grammar school places available per head of the school population in each local education authority's jurisdiction.
§ Sir E. BoyleI am sending my hon. Friend a table which, I think, will give her the information she wants.
§ Dame Irene WardWill the table appear in HANSARD so that everybody in the North Country, and not only me, will know the Answer?
§ Sir E. BoyleI know that many people as well as my hon. Friend are keenly interested in the matter. My noble Friend, in consultation with local authorities, is considering just how this information can most suitably be published, but I beg my hon. Friend to believe that the table is too long to publish in the OFFICIAL REPORT
§ Mr. M. StewartCould it not be published in the Ministry's Annual Report? That would save the hon. Gentleman a lot of trouble at Question Time?
§ Sir E. BoyleI will certainly put that point to my noble Friend, and we will consider it.
§ Miss BaconI asked a similar Question some time ago and the hon. Gentleman sent me the information. Will he convey to his hon. Friend the Member for Tynemouth (Dame Irene Ward) that if she would like to see the information in print she will find it in this month's issue of Socialist Digest?
§ Dame Irene WardWill my hon. Friend consider publishing the table in a Conservative publication?
§ Sir E. BoyleI have already said that we are considering how it might be published.