§ Mr. Powellasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will publish in the OFFICIAL REPORT details of the action which he is taking to assist the Wolverhampton Education Authority in dealing with their special problems arising from immigration.
§ Mr. Denis HowellI am discussing with the local education authority specific proposals for additional school accommodation for this purpose. I have also promised to give sympathetic consideration to a request for an increase in the authority's teacher quota and am awaiting further information on this point.
My right hon. Friend will shortly be inviting local education authorities to submit for his approval schools to be recognised as schools of exceptional difficulty, at which qualified teachers are to receive the £75 per annum salary addition recently agreed by the Burnham 176W Committee. One of the criteria for such schools is the proportion of children with serious linguistic difficulties. Within the very limited resources available, my right hon. Friend will consider as sympathetically as possible any submission by the Wolverhampton authority.