§ 29. Mr. McQuarrieasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what is the latest estimate of the number of surplus school places, primary and secondary, in maintained schools in England for 1983–84, and 1984–85; and what is his target for the number of places to be taken out of use in those years.
§ Dr. BoysonThere are currently estimated to be some 1.8 million surplus places in maintained primary and secondary schools in England. Future figures will depend on the changes that occur in school rolls and in the provision of places by local education authorities, including their rate of progress in taking places out of use. The Government's expenditure plans published last month in Cmnd. 8789 assume that since 1975 630,000 places will have been taken out of use by March 1984 and 790,000 by March 1985.