§ Mr. Alan HowarthTo ask the Secretary of State for Education what plans he has to promote progress in making schools and other places of learning accessible, on a reasonable basis, to disabled people.
§ Mr. ForthThe Education (Special Educational Needs) (Information) Regulations 1994 require schools to publish, by 1 August 1995, information about their SEN policies, including information about facilities which assist access by pupils who are disabled. Guidance as to how schools might address that requirement is set out in paragraphs 37–39 of circular 6/94–"The Organisation of Special Educational Provision"—which draws attention to the desirability of a spectrum of mainstream schools being fully accessible to the disabled.
Regulations recently made under section 21 of the Education Act 1993 require local education authorities and the Funding Agency for Schools, where it has relevant planning responsibilities, to provide each other and the Secretary of State with information on access to schools for pupils in wheelchairs biennially starting in 1995.
We have promoted, through guidance to the Further and the Higher Education Funding Councils, the development of provision for students with learning difficulties and disabilities. Both the funding councils have in hand initiatives designed to improve access for these students.