§ Mr. Ernie Rossasked the Secretary of State for Scotland what has been the expenditure on (a) books and (b) equipment per pupil in each education authority in each year since 1980; and what is the corresponding figure for Scotland.
§ Mr. Allan StewartThe available information, complied from local authority expenditure returns, is shown in the following table. Expenditure on educational equipment and materials was not separately identified in these returns before 1982–83. Figures for individual authorities are not directly comparable because of variation in items included in the returns under the two categories in question.
255W
Education Authority 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 (a) (a) (a) (b) (a) (b) Shetland 8.64 11.93 15.21 — n.a. n.a. Western Isles 11.93 35.27 29.27 27.50 16.52 45.48 Returns for 1983–84 have not yet been submitted for Orkney and Shetland and figures for Highland and Central regions are available only on aggregate. The figures for expenditure in Scotland in 1983–84 therefore excludes their areas. Scotland 7.30 8.03 8.34 17.26 +8.31 +17.62 * Library books only.