§ Mr. BaronTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what representations he has received in favour of commissioning research into the possible relationship between back pain and school furniture as the part of its plan to refurbish every secondary school in the next 15 years; and what plans he has to commission such research. [188669]
§ Mr. Ivan LewisThere has been no formal representation made to the Department since the announcement of the Building Schools for the Future programme regarding a possible relationship between back pain and school furniture However, informal discussions have been held with the National Back Pain Association in the recent past and we are aware of that organisation's concerns in this regard. The Department has no plans to commission research on this issue but is developing an ergonomic website which will allow teachers and building professionals to determine the correct size of furniture for a particular pupil, supported by child size data gathered recently by a survey jointly funded by the Department.
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