§ Mr. Edwin Wainwrightasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if she is satisfied with the present facilities available in England and Wales for the education of handicapped children of all kinds; and if she will make a statement on her future policy.
§ Mrs. ThatcherThe needs of different groups of handicapped children are continually changing and no society can, I think, ever be satisfied that all needs are fully met. Considerable progress however is being made. For example, over 20,000 new special school places have been started in the last four years; the extension of the educational system to cover all children, however severely 515W handicapped, has been satisfactorily carried through its initial stages; and substantially increased sums are being spent on carefully chosen lines of research, notably on the problems of maladjustment.