§ Mr. Bradleyasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many schools in the city of Leicester contain more than the recommended 30 per cent. of immigrant schoolchildren; whether he is satisfied about the dispersal arrangements; and if he will state the facilities he is making available to the Leicester Education Authority to preserve proper standards of education in their schools.
§ Mr. Denis HowellIn January 1967 there were 13 schools in Leicester in which the percentage of immigrant pupils exceeded 30. The authority have recently begun dispersing newly arrived immigrant children; the arrangements appear to be working satisfactorily but it is too early to say how effective they will be in reducing the number of schools which have a high proportion of immigrant pupils. An allocation of £18,000 for minor works in the Highfields area has been made to the authority as part of the programme for educational priority areas which my right hon. Friend announced on 4th April. If the authority find it necessary to ask for an additional minor works allocation or for an increase in their teacher quota in order to provide for immigrant children, we shall of course be ready to consider the request. The new Burnham proposals for paying an extra £75 a year to qualified teachers in schools of special difficulty may help the authority to recruit more teachers.