§ Mr. Carter-Jonesasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will give the amount per student that is being spent on special education in each local authority for the years 1979, 1980, 1981 and 1982; and if he will make a statement.
§ Dr. BoysonI am writing to the hon. Member setting out detailed information in response to his question.
§ Mr. Carter-Jonesasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will give the total number of mentally-handicapped children in each local authority who are on waiting lists for special schools and special classes for the last three years for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement.
§ Dr. BoysonReturns from local education authorities show a steady fall over the past few years in the number of children, including under-fives, assessed as being educationally subnormal and awaiting places in special schools. The figures for each local education authority are as follows and relate to January in each year. Many of these children receive education in ordinary schools or otherwise while awaiting places in special schools. The Department does not collect information about handicapped children awaiting places in special classes in ordinary schools.
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Numbers of Children Ascertained as Educationally Sub-Normal and Awaiting Places in Special Schools 1979 1980 1981 Greater London Barking 9 10 8 Barnet 4 2 — Bexley 7 14 9 Brent 4 9 8 Bromley 3 4 2 Croydon 11 13 17 Ealing 11 10 20 Enfield 20 15 12 Haringey 33 17 9 Harrow 4 7 1 Havering 44 36 24 Hillingdon 17 8 1 Hounslow 7 10 2 Kingston-Upon-Thames 2 10 9 Merton — 12 18 Newham — — — Redbridge 18 11 7 Richmond-Upon-Thames 2 — — Sutton — 2 6 Waltham Forest 1 16 25 Inner London 68 34 16 West Midlands Birmingham 181 95 14 Coventry 28 24 14 Dudley 12 12 10 Sandwell 2 3 — Solihull 4 15 8
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1979 1980 1981 Walsall 1 3 2 Wolverhampton 8 5 1 Merseyside Knowsley 22 10 20 Liverpool 19 3 1 St Helens 9 14 13 Sefton 3 2 2 Wirral 42 43 32 Greater Manchester Bolton 22 10 12 Bury 3 4 1 Manchester 13 — — Oldham 6 25 6 Rochdale 13 8 6 Salford 2 1 11 Stockport 32 21 10 Tameside 50 10 50 Trafford 17 14 11 Wigan 16 13 16 South Yorkshire Barnsley 12 3 3 Doncaster 12 15 5 Rotherham — — — Sheffield — — 9 West Yorkshire Bradford 99 105 38 Calderdale 2 — 1 Kirklees 13 11 8 Leeds 107 35 30 Wakefield 67 29 65 Tyne and Wear Gateshead 88 95 59 Newcastle Upon Tyne 14 13 9 North Tyneside 5 5 16 South Tyneside 1 1 2 Sunderland 27 38 5 Non-Metropolitan Counties Isles of Scilly — — — Avon 150 128 155 Bedfordshire 61 74 81 Berkshire 23 14 13 Buckinghamshire 44 72 71 Cambridgeshire 40 73 71 Cheshire 128 106 103 Cleveland 43 34 7 Cornwall 21 4 6 Cumbria 26 11 11 Derbyshire 35 40 19 Devon 52 42 41 Dorset 16 25 18 Durham 16 71 75 East Sussex 53 47 44 Essex 66 86 65 Gloucestershire 7 42 26 Hampshire 181 196 148 Hereford and Worcester 62 96 83 Hertfordshire 31 44 1 Humberside 81 54 38 Isle of Wight — — — Kent 429 430 128 Lancashire 96 99 84 Leicestershire 15 45 51 Lincolnshire 92 112 74 Norfolk 95 34 18 North Yorkshire 57 41 43 Northamptonshire 52 51 41 Northumberland 42 30 15 Nottinghamshire 130 82 94 Oxfordshire 17 16 8
1979 1980 1981 Salop 12 28 28 Somerset 128 29 96 Staffordshire 308 231 96 Suffolk 103 97 87 Surrey 90 82 95 Warwickshire 90 66 33 West Sussex 113 114 80 Wiltshire 5 38 29 ENGLAND TOTALS 4,215 3,809 2,860
1979 1980 1981 Special Schools 82,901 82,228 83,152 Special classes in maintained primary and secondary schools 8,542 8,428 8,288 Total 91,443 90,656 91,440 The drop in the total number of children in this category is reflected in the reduction in the waiting lists, as shown in the answer to the hon. Member's other question.