HC Deb 20 November 1978 vol 958 cc431-3W
Dr. McDonald

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science which local authorities bought places at independent schools and paid for pupils to attend them during 1977–78 and 1978–79; how many students were involved; and what were the costs of providing such schooling to local authorities.

Miss Margaret Jackson

Using their powers under the Education Acts, local education authorities supported a total of 21,346 non-handicapped pupils and 7,362 handicapped pupils at independent schools in the academic year 1977–78. Corresponding figures for 1978–79 are not yet available. Information as to the costs for independent school placements alone are not readily available. However, for all non-maintained schools, including former direct grant schools and non-maintained special schools, the total number of students was 74,888 and according to provisional outturn figures, the expenditure by local education authorities in the financial year 1977–78 on the support of pupils in all such non-maintained schools was at November 1977 prices £41.7 million for non-handicapped pupils, of which approximately £18.5 million was for pupils in former direct grant schools, and £47.5 million for handicapped pupils. The number of pupils supported by each local education authority was as follows:

Number of pupils
Local education authority Non-handicapped Handicapped
GREATER LONDON
Barking 4 59
Barnet 185 120
Bexley 110 28
Brent 512 104
Bromley 512 83
Croydon 639 115
Ealing 169 79
Enfield 155 62
Haringey 21 131
Harrow 241 73
Havering 23 26
Hillingdon 151 48
Hounslow 96 73
Kingston 277 67
Merton 61 26
Newham 40 30
Redbridge 47 69
Richmond 660 69
Sutton 81 74
Waltham Forest 2 17
ILEA 177 291

Number of pupils
Local education authority Non-handicapped Handicapped
Birmingham 89 26
Coventry 20 14
Dudley 4 28
Sandwell 7 9
Solihull 121 26
Walsall 15 9
Wolverhampton 26 9
MERSEYSIDE
Knowsley 12
Liverpool 10 11
St. Helens 29 24
Sefton 41 44
Wirral 363 84
GREATER MANCHESTER
Bolton 28 51
Bury 14 22
Manchester 126 65
Oldham 22 27
Rochdale 49 16
Salford 38 6
Stockport 572
Tameside 61 35
Trafford 935 12
Wigan 23 8
SOUTH YORKSHIRE
Barnsley 5
Doncaster 11 5
Rotherham 5
Sheffield 32 3
WEST YORKSHIRE
Bradford 17 48
Calderdale 5 10
Kirklees 5 14
Leeds 52 74
Wakefield 3 12
TYNE AND WEAR
Gateshead 124 15
Newcastle 315 30
North Tyneside 28 2
South Tyneside 6 9
Sunderland 3
Isles of Scilly 3
Avon 237 236
Bedfordshire 303 118
Berkshire 1,163 236
Buckinghamshire 106 152
Cambridgeshire 139 94
Cheshire 2,712 43
Cleveland 43 40
Cornwall 31 52
Cumbria 55 56
Derbyshire 291 32
Devon 133 272
Dorset 662 230
Durham 37 14
East Sussex 233 236
Essex 239 187
Gloucestershire 460 129
Hampshire 1,267 469
Hereford and Worcester 310 112
Hertfordshire 423 245
Humberside 71 101
Isle of Wight 12 16
Kent 890 339

Number of pupils
Local education authority Non-handicapped Handicapped
Lancashire 566 183
Leicestershire 84 72
Lincolnshire 50 49
Norfolk 320 34
North Yorkshire 219 20
Northamptonshire 14 39
Northumberland 37 12
Nottinghamshire 169 77
Oxfordshire 316 168
Salop 4 3
Somerset 688 107
Staffordshire 79 91
Suffolk 446 77
Surrey 559 246
Warwickshire 336 92
West Sussex 65 105
Wiltshire 212 169
TOTAL ENGLAND 21,346 7,362