§ 10. Mr. Chopeasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science when he expects the 1984–85 figures for pupil unit costs broken down by local education authority to be available.
§ Mr. ChopeI thank my hon. Friend for publishing the information. Will he confirm that expenditure per pupil is now at an all-time high? Will he further confirm that many of the low-spending authorities, such as Hampshire, are achieving the best results, and that many of the higher spending authorities are achieving the worst results? Will he take powers to ensure that any extra resources will be directed to those authorities that will obtain the best value for money with them?
§ Mr. DunnI welcome and agree with my hon. Friend's remarks. I can confirm that although there is an association between satisfactory levels of resources and the quality of the educational process, available evidence suggests that there is little correlation between levels of attainment, as measured by public examinations, and the level of spending on education.
§ Mr. StrawWere the Government not planning to cut education spending per pupil in successive public expenditure White Papers, and is not the only reason why it has risen that Labour and other local authorities have ignored the Government's spending targets? If the Minister says that it does not matter what is spent per pupil, why is the Prime Minister claiming unto her own the record of the higher spending Labour authorities and boasting that educational spending per pupil is now at a high level?
§ Mr. DunnI take this opportunity to congratulate those education authorities which do well by their children, which seek value for money in education expenditure, and which spend moderately but wisely. I remind the House again that while there is evidently a link between expenditure and results, there is no correlation between them. If there were, the Inner London education authority would be so far ahead it would be out of sight.
§ Mr. DickensIf I gave my hon. Friend a choice between a first-class teacher teaching in a shack and a third rate teacher teaching in a palace, what would his selection be? Anticipating his reply, I suggest that the point kindly illustrates that it is not resources and bricks and mortar that turn out good pupils, but the standard of the teachers in our schools.
§ Mr. DunnMy hon. Friend, who is at least always populist in these matters, is absolutely right. I would always come down on the side of the quality of the teacher, because I have seen many examples of good teachers in mediocre surroundings doing extremely well, and the reverse of mediocre teachers doing badly in well-built structures.
§ Following are the figures:
| Primary £ | Secondary £ | |
| Barking | 860 | 1,225 |
| Barnet | 865 | 1,265 |
| Bexley | 760 | 1,080 |
| Primary £ | Secondary £ | |
| Brent | 1,045 | 1,525 |
| Bromley | 780 | 1,155 |
| Croydon | 800 | 1,230 |
| Ealing | 980 | 1,315 |
| Enfield | 735 | 1,150 |
| Haringey | 1,155 | 1,615 |
| Harrow | 805 | 1,240 |
| Havering | 775 | 1,230 |
| Hillingdon | 840 | 1,275 |
| Hounslow | 920 | 1,190 |
| Kingston-upon-Thames | 800 | 1,165 |
| Merton | 800 | 1,040 |
| Newham | 1,045 | 1,485 |
| Redbridge | 770 | 1,185 |
| Richmond-upon-Thames | 850 | 1,170 |
| Sutton | 720 | 1,060 |
| Waltham Forest | 915 | 1,450 |
| Outer London Average | 865 | 1,250 |
| ILEA | 1,270 | 1,945 |
| Birmingham | 700 | 1,060 |
| Coventry | 825 | 1,180 |
| Dudley | 685 | 990 |
| Sandwell | 815 | 1,135 |
| Solihull | 710 | 1,020 |
| Walsall | 780 | 1,105 |
| Wolverhampton | 865 | 1,135 |
| Knowsley | 820 | 1.240 |
| Liverpool | n/a | n/a |
| St. Helens | 715 | 1,040 |
| Sefton | 690 | 1,045 |
| Wirral | 690 | 1,035 |
| Bolton | 655 | 1,035 |
| Bury | 660 | 1,100 |
| Manchester | 840 | 1,295 |
| Oldham | 750 | 995 |
| Rochdale | 745 | 1,155 |
| Salford | 745 | 1,110 |
| Stockport | 740 | 1,130 |
| Tameside | 760 | 1,070 |
| Trafford | 705 | 1,040 |
| Wigan | 725 | 1,110 |
| Barnsley | 840 | 1,070 |
| Doncaster | 830 | 1,065 |
| Rotherham | 755 | 995 |
| Sheffield | 885 | 1,150 |
| Bradford | 785 | 990 |
| Calderdale | 755 | 1,000 |
| Kirklees | 725 | 965 |
| Leeds | 740 | 970 |
| Wakefield | 795 | 975 |
| Gateshead | 850 | 1,080 |
| Newcastle-upon-Tyne | 900 | 1,245 |
| North Tyneside | 835 | 1,180 |
| South Tyneside | 830 | 1,150 |
| Sunderland | 740 | 1,060 |
| Metropolitan Districts Average | 765 | 1,080 |
| Isles of Scilly | 1,125 | 1,670 |
| Avon | 735 | 1,095 |
| Bedfordshire | 770 | 1,060 |
| Berkshire | 725 | 1,055 |
| Buckinghamshire | 710 | 1,095 |
| Cambridgeshire | 690 | 985 |
| Cheshire | 715 | 1,015 |
| Cleveland | 750 | 1,075 |
| Cornwall | 670 | 965 |
| Cumbria | 735 | 1,030 |
| Derbyshire | 730 | 1,025 |
| Devon | 670 | 980 |
| Dorset | 700 | 960 |
| Durham | 730 | 965 |
| East Sussex | 705 | 1,000 |
| Primary £ | Secondary £ | |
| Essex | 685 | 1,015 |
| Gloucestershire | 695 | 1,015 |
| Hampshire | 685 | 980 |
| Hereford and Worcester | 685 | 960 |
| Hertfordshire | 730 | 1,075 |
| Humberside | 820 | 1,045 |
| Isle of Wight | 705 | 985 |
| Kent | 650 | 940 |
| Lancashire | 675 | 1,015 |
| Leicestershire | 755 | 1,100 |
| Lincolnshire | 665 | 985 |
| Norfolk | 710 | 1,015 |
| North Yorkshire | 730 | 1,035 |
| Northamptonshire | 705 | 1,035 |
| Northumberland | 720 | 1,000 |
| Nottinghamshire | 785 | 1,110 |
| Oxfordshire | 765 | 1,070 |
| Salop | 715 | 1,040 |
| Somerset | 655 | 950 |
| Staffordshire | 775 | 1,030 |
| Suffolk | 735 | 975 |
| Surrey | 685 | 1,055 |
| Warwickshire | 710 | 1,010 |
| West Sussex | 660 | 965 |
| Wiltshire | 700 | 985 |
| Non-Metropolitan Districts Average | 710 | 1,020 |
| England Average | 765 | 1,090 |
| n/a The returns for Liverpool have not been received. |