Access to Schools (Disabled Persons) (Hansard, 2 July 1996)

§ Mr. John Heppell (Nottingham, East)

I beg to move, That leave be given to bring in a Bill to ensure the findings of the Access Audits (as laid down in the Education Act 1993) be reported to Parliament; to improve access to schools; and for connected purposes. I wish to congratulate some of the people who have made my Bill necessary and possible. I congratulate the National Union of Teachers, and Scope—formerly the Spastics Society. In 1992, it commissioned a study by Coopers and Lybrand into access for disabled children into mainstream education. This resulted in a report which found that the Government had little available information on accessibility, that the local education authorities and the funding agencies, and even schools, had little information. The report recommended that access audits be carried out. When no action was forthcoming in 1993, a second report was produced to emphasise existing need. That report, "The School Survey", investigated the proportion of primary and secondary schools that are accessible to pupils with physical disabilities. It identified the amount of work that was needed to improve disabled access in schools, and it estimated the initial cost of that work.

The findings presented a bleak picture, but they also drew some reassuring conclusions. The survey found that only 16 per cent. of primary and 7 per cent. of secondary schools were completely accessible. It found that only 18 per cent. of secondary schools were 75 per cent. accessible and that 65 per cent. of primary schools and 55 per cent. of secondary schools had no suitably adapted toilets.

The survey also showed that three out of four primary schools could provide 75 per cent. access to teaching, including toilet facilities, at an estimated cost of £59 million. It discovered that half of secondary schools could provide 100 per cent. access to teaching, including toilet facilities, at a cost of £251 million.

Although we are talking about millions of pounds, hon. Members should recognise that they are quite modest sums in the context of the total school spend. The report identified the existing problems in schools, but for the first time it offered a solution. It found that disabled students could achieve access to schools at a fairly modest cost, if a planned programme were set in motion.

I now wish, rather uncharacteristically, to congratulate the Government. The Government decided to act upon the report, and they amended the Education Act 1993 to allow for access audits of all schools. The Government went still further: partly as a result of the "Within Reach" schools survey, they established an access initiative to enable schools to bid through their local education authorities for money to improve their accessibility. The survey showed that some schools could become accessible for as little as £2,800. I congratulate the Government on taking that initiative.

Some people will claim that the Government were under pressure from disabled people. They will say that the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 did not go far enough, and that it came too late. Nevertheless, the Government introduced an initiative that has the potential to do an awful lot of good in many schools and help many children with disabilities.

727 Access audits have now been conducted, and schools have been allowed to bid for a pot of £10.5 million, comprising Government and partnership money. I am pleased and proud to report that my local authority, Nottinghamshire county council, submitted a bid for £180,000, which was approved. Almost every authority across the country bid for a share of the money.

However, I am concerned that nothing seems to be happening with the access audits. It is commendable that the audits have been conducted, but they must now be analysed and presented to the House. I am worried that, although the initiative may be working perfectly, we might find that the money could be spent more efficiently within that initiative. We might find that more, or even less, money is needed. I am not asking for additional money at this stage: I am simply saying that we need to know the facts, and to debate in the House the next move forward. The access audit findings that were announced on 21 March showed that 11,694 schools had less than 50 per cent. access to teaching accommodation. Some 68 per cent. of toilet facilities in primary schools and 49 per cent. of toilet facilities in secondary schools were inaccessible.

The Government's initiative has given us a chance to move forward. We have recognised for a long time that it is a necessity that all children have a good education. The problem is that we have recognised only for the past 25 years that children with special needs have a right to education. Initially, children with special needs were segregated, but Government policy—we had a consensus across the Floor of the House—has recognised since 1981 that, in the vast majority of cases, segregation is damaging not only for children with special needs but for other children.

When I was a councillor, I tried to get people with disabilities employed on the council; the best way to ensure that the rest of the work force accepted people with disabilities was to employ someone with a disability. The 728 best way to do away with discrimination and people's prejudices is to make them face up to their prejudices. 'We have to accept that discrimination still exists in our schools, to the disadvantage of children with disabilities.

Some 52 per cent. of head teachers claim that their schools are inadequately resourced for special needs, and 42 per cent. of disabled adults have no formal qualifications, compared with 13 per cent. of the population as a whole. Disabled students make up only 0.3 per cent. of the entire student population in universities, although they comprise more than 2 per cent. of the school population.

Despite legislation to encourage inclusive schooling, the number of children in special schools in 1989 was not even 1 per cent. lower than it was in 1977. That rate of progress would be shameful in any civilised society, but it is even more shameful when the country needs to ensure the best education possible for all our children. Children with disabilities have a right to be included, and I hope that the Bill will go some way towards giving them that right.