§ 27. Mr. Archerasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what would be the present-day equivalents of the maximum educational maintenance allowances recommended in the Weaver Report in 1957, adjusted proportionately with the increases in the allowances for children over 15 years of age in the National Assistance—supplementary benefit scales.
§ Mrs. Shirley WilliamsEducational maintenance allowances are a matter for the discretion of local education authorities. I estimate that current equivalents would be about £107, £130 and £142 for ages 15, 16 and 17 as compared with £55, £65 and £75.
§ Mr. ArcherIs my hon. Friend aware that her arithmetic does not agree with mine? Can she tell us how many education authorities, if any, are paying the rates which she mentioned?
§ Mrs. WilliamsI am not sure which of us has to teach the other. The latest available information relates to May, 1964, when the great majority of local education authorities were paying considerably more than the allowances laid down.