§ 3. Mr. ColvinTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he has any plans to launch a four-year research project into the inter-disciplinary team approach used at the Cedar special school for the handicapped near Southampton.
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Education and Science (Mr. Alan Howarth)We have no plans to launch such a project.
§ Mr. ColvinThe House will be aware of the wonderful work done by the Peto institute in Hungary in the treatment of handicapped children. Can my hon. Friend explain why the Government see fit to spend £5 million annually on the Peto institute when a more cost-effective alternative method than conductive education, namely the inter-disciplinary team approach, awaits evaluation at the Cedar special school near my constituency, at a cost of only about £250,000? Does my hon. Friend agree that financing that scheme would be a good use of the taxpayers' money, as it would identify whether IDTA or conductive education is the best way forward in the treatment of handicapped children?
§ Mr. HowarthWe believe that conductive education should be among the options available to British children. It is at an early stage of development in this country. We are planning to contribute £5 million over the next four years to support the international Peto institute, for the purpose of ensuring that places will be available for British children and that British conductors can be trained in Hungary and bring their expertise back to this country. We are undertaking a comparative study of the kind that my hon. Friend commends to me, the results of which will throw light on the benefits of conductive education as developed at the Birmingham institute and the multi-disciplinary approach being used with a different group of children in another part of the country.