§ 15. Mr. Leighasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what grant was made available to Lincolnshire county council for educational purposes in the last yearly funding period.
§ Mr. DunnLincolnshire received £6 million of grant in support of expenditure on mandatory student awards, and £36,000 urban programme grant, in respect of recurrent expenditure on education in 1982–83. On the basis of an estimated budget of £173 million, the authority's entitlement to block grant in support of expenditure on all services in 1982–83 was nearly £96 million.
§ Mr. LeighIs my hon. Friend aware of the severe problems faced by Lincolnshire county council and others 160 which include constituencies such as mine where the school population is spread over 170 villages and 700 sq miles? Will he improve funding to Lincolnshire county council, and other county councils that are similarly placed, to overcome the sparsity factor and save village schools, which are vital to rural life?
§ Mr. DunnMy hon. Friend made a similar point in a recent Adjournment debate. Grant-related expenditure calculataions make allowance for higher relative costs in sparsely populated rural areas by means of a calculation relating observed patterns of school size and expenditure on school transport to a measure of relative sparsity of population.