§ Mr. Alisonasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science on what date or dates he wrote to the West Riding County Council asking for cuts to be made in proposed or previously agreed local education programmes of expenditure; what percentage cuts have been sought; and what categories of projects are affected.
§ Mr. Edward ShortI issued Circulars 6/68 and 13/68 on 19th January, 1968, and 8th July, 1968, asking local education authorities to review their unstarted projects in building programmes up to 1968–69 and 1969–70 respectively and to submit revised proposals for projects to start in these two financial years. The revised authorised levels of starts for the West Riding are £2.6 million and £3.5(m) compared with programmes as originally announced of £3.8 (m) and £2.9 million. I gave priority to "roofs over heads" projects where plans were sufficiently advanced for building to start in the financial year. Projects deferred were mainly for the improvement or replacement of old schools, but included some for "roofs360W over heads" where building could not start in the year. I did not make the revisions by reference to some fixed percentage.