Assisted Places Scheme (Hansard, 28 March 1994)

§ Mr. Donohoe

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (1) what assessment he has made of how many of those pupils currently covered by the assisted places scheme would have entered private education without the support offered by the scheme;

(2) what safeguards are used by his Office to ensure that schools covered by the assisted places scheme meet recognised educational standards;

(3) how much his Office has spent on the operation of the assisted places scheme in each year since 1981; how many pupils have been covered by the scheme in each year since 1981; and if there was any overspend on the budget allocated in each of these years;

(4) if he will list those schools in Northern Ireland which have pupils under the assisted places scheme in the current academic year; how many pupils are supported at each institution; and how much it cost his Office to provide this support;

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(5) how much it costs his Department annually to publicise and administer the operation of the assisted places scheme;

(6) what assessment has been made of the assisted places scheme by his Office;

(7) if he will list the 20 independent schools which currently have the highest proportions of their school rolls made up by pupils covered by the assisted places scheme; and if he will give the percentage of pupils covered by the assisted places scheme and the size of the school rolls;

(8) what level of fee is charged by each institution covered by the assisted places scheme in the current academic year.