§ Mr. Meacherasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if she will provide a breakdown of the estimated cost of £1,000 million for the abolition of the private sector, differentiating between capital and current costs on an 14W annual basis, and stating in full any assumptions underlying any component of the estimate.
§ Mr. St. John-StevasThe figure of close on £1,000 million as the cost of abolishing the private sector in education is an indication of the order of magnitude of what it would cost by 1981 if this policy were introduced now. It reflects the average costs, both capital and recurrent, of educating within the maintained system the number of pupils who would be displaced from the private sector. My right hon. Friend sees no purpose in undertaking detailed estimates of cost for a policy which she has no intention of pursuing.