§ Mr. Edward DaveyTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what percentage of school budgets has been allocated to the purchase of reference books in each year from 1992 to 2000. [141943]
§ Jacqui SmithWe fully appreciate the value pupils gain from using reference books, and have supported the use of books in schools through initiatives such as the Books for Schools and National Literacy Strategy Standards Fund grants which provided a total of £115 million for the purchase of reading books in 1998–99 and 1999–2000. Individual schools, however, are responsible for deciding, within the budgets delegated to them, what provision to make for the purchase of books, and this information is not collected centrally.