§ 19. Mr. Scott-Hopkinsasked the Minister of Education whether he will state the number of qualified educational 1517 psychologists at present employed by local education authorities in England and Wales.
§ Mr. K. ThompsonThe number is 269.
§ Mr. Scott-HopkinsIs my hon. Friend satisfied that that is enough to cover the whole country? May I suggest that it is nothing like enough and that unless he increases these numbers there is no possibility of knowing exactly the size of the problem of educational psychology in our schools? This is a matter of the utmost urgency. Will he get a move on and do something about it?
§ Mr. ThompsonMy hon. Friend is quite right and I accept his sense of urgency in this matter. We are trying to increase the number of educational psychologists available in the service.
§ Mr. Scott-HopkinsWhat is my hon. Friend doing about it?
§ Mr. ThompsonThere is an additional training course for those wishing to become educational psychologists starting at the University of Manchester. We are introducing some new and revised financial arrangements which we hope will encourage local authorities to second teachers for this training.