§ 2. Mr. Butcherasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many schools have dropped out of the assisted places scheme since he published his list of probable participants; and how many schools have since been added to the list.
§ The Under-Secretary of State for Education and Science (Dr. Rhodes Boyson)Since the list of schools being invited to join the assisted places scheme was published on 6 October, eight schools have declined the offer and 11 schools have been added to the list.
§ Mr. ButcherIs my hon. Friend in a position to say what progress has been made in signing up by the schools and whether parents are now applying for entry for their children in September 1981?
§ Dr. BoysonAbout 37 schools have signed, and we expect a total of about 221 schools to be involved. In October the list was published of which schools were coming in, so that parents could make contact with them. We shall publish an amended list shortly.
§ Mr. KinnockCan the Minister tell us and the taxpayers of Britain why there is no cash limit on the amount of money available to schools in the assisted places scheme in England and Wales?
§ Dr. BoysonThe cash limit on Government money is £3 million, which will involve 5,500 children, of whom 840 950 will be at sixth form level. Secondary education recruitment costs £874 between one authority and another—
§ Mr. Kinnock indicated dissent.
§ Dr. BoysonYes it does. The facts are there to see. The figure is £874. These figures are agreed by the education authorities, even if the hon. Gentleman does not like them. He had better see the chief education officers, because these are the figures that they have agreed. Up to 16, the cost of State education is £874, and over 16 it is £1,403. In many cases, fees to many of the independent schools coming into the assisted places scheme are lower than the cost of State education.
§ Mr. KinnockIs there—
§ Mr. SpeakerOrder. I have not yet called the hon. Gentleman. Mr. Kinnock.
§ Mr. KinnockI am grateful to you, Mr. Speaker for calling me.
Will the Minister tell the House whether there is a cash limit on the public sector of education—such as the figure used by him—and no cash limit, as announced in parliamentary answers and in a letter to my hon. Friend the Member for Lewisham, West (Mr. Price), on the assisted places scheme?
§ Dr. BoysonThe cash limit on the State sector is £3 million. The cash limit on the independent sector is a continuous one, and that is the ability of parents to pay. That is a limitation on what these schools can spend, otherwise all their consumers would disappear.