§ 7. Mr. McCrindleasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many places he estimates that the maintained sector will lose as a result of the withdrawal of the direct grant.
§ Mr. MulleyIt is too early to know precisely what the effect of the phase-out will be, as the schools concerned are not required to indicate their intentions until the end of the year.
§ Mr. McCrindleDoes not it illustrate a strange sense of priorities on the part of the Government when, irrespective of the numbers involved, the Minister feels obliged to provide, at public expense, for the education of children who would otherwise have gone to direct grant schools, at a time when the Government's 1122 nursery school programme appears to be grinding to a halt?
§ Mr. MulleyI am deeply moved by the Opposition's great concern about the nursery school programme and their wish now to go back on the raising of the school leaving age, which was introduced by their Leader when she was Secretary of State for Education. I am afraid that it is not possible to give precise figures about the direct grant schools, but the additional cost could amount to £12 million. However, the additional saving, if it went the other way, could be as much as £30 million. Taking a line down the middle, therefore, there might be a saving of about £9 million as a result of the Government's policy for the direct grant schools.