HC Deb 22 May 1980 vol 985 cc309-10W
Mr. Ernie Ross

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what was the expenditure by each education authority in Scotland on school books per pupil in the latest available year.

Mr. Alexander Fletcher

Expenditure recorded by education authorities on text books and library books for schools in 1978–79 on a unit cost basis was as follows:

Education Authority Expenditure per pupil
£
Borders 3.67
Central 3.86
Dumfries & Galloway 5.65
Fife 4.78
Grampian 4.50
Highland 11.72
Lothian 5.15
Strathclyde 6.72
Tayside 2.99
Orkney 24.25
Shetland 6.17
Western Isles 22.21

The variation in the expenditure per pupil is due in part to inconsistencies as between authorities in the apportionment of expenditure and this matter is being pursued with authorities with the aim of securing greater consistency.

Mr. Ernie Ross

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what was the allocation for capital expenditure on education for the year 1979–80 for each education authority in Scotland; and how much was spent by each authority.

Mr. Alexander Fletcher

The available information is as follows:

CAPITAL EXPENDITURE ON EDUCATION IN 1979–80
Regional Islands Council Total of capital expenses consents Provisional total of capital payments
£'000 £000
Borders 944 592
Central 3,398 3,267
Dumfries and Galloway 1,540 1,643
Fife. 3,640 2,798
Grampian 8,405 7,291
Highland 2,210 2,351
Lothian 10,336 9,112
Strathclyde 18,871 *
Tayside. 2,361 2,426
Orkney 107 155
Shetland 2,906 *
Western Isles 628 559
* Not yet available.

Note: Figures relate to block allocations for education, which cover nursery, primary, secondary and special schools and further education colleges.