§ 22. Mr. Marksasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he is satisfied with the availability of up-to-date statistics on education in England.
§ Sir Keith JosephYes, bearing in mind the resources available for this work. The aim is always to improve the quality and speed of availability of statistics where possible.
§ Mr. MarksWhy is it that at the end of the school year, and five months after receiving the returns from local authorities, the Secretary of State cannot tell us the pupil-teacher ratio in every local education authority? Will he seriously consider pupil-teacher ratios and ask himself whether he is giving us the true facts?
§ Sir Keith JosephWe have to rely on figures from local education authorities and from 26,000 schools be fore we can compile the statistics.