§ Mr. Kilfedderasked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what capital resources are being made available for primary and secondary schools and further education institutions, showing new buildings, extensions and equipment separately, in Down, North during the next three years.
§ Mr. ScottDecisions regarding capital expenditure allocations are made on an annual basis and no information is available beyond 31 March 1985. A programme of major new capital schemes in 1984–85 has recently been approved and there are no new buildings or extension schemes within the Down, North area; however, expenditure on a large extension at a controlled primary school in Bangor, which commenced in October 1983, will amount to just over £250,000 in this year. Information about expenditure on minor works and equipment in 1984–85 is not available at this stage.
§ Mr. Kilfedderasked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland whether he is satisfied that the provision of grammar school places in the Down, North area is sufficient to permit parental choice for all qualified pupils.
§ Mr. ScottProvisional figures for 1983–84 indicate that there should be sufficient places in the overall Down, North area for those pupils who have obtained a grade "A" in the transfer procedure and whose parents wish them to attend a grammar school in the area; it may not however always be possible to obtain a place in the first choice grammar school. While those pupils graded "M" in the transfer procedure are not guaranteed a place, the provisional figures indicate that it should be possible to accommodate a large number of them in the grammar schools in the Down, North area.