§ 64. Mr. Meacherasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many coloured schoolchildren are at present attending schools for the educationally sub-normal; what proportion this figure is of the total number of coloured children at school in Great Britain at the present time; and what is the correspond- 402W ing number and proportion for native white schoolchildren.
§ Mr. van StraubenzeeDepartmental statistics of immigrant pupils do not refer to colour but to children born overseas or born in this country to parents who had lived here for less than 10 years. In January, 1970, there were 3,087 immigrant pupils of New Commonwealth origins in schools for the educationally sub-normal in England and Wales. This was 1.3 per cent. of the total numbers of immigrant pupils of New Commonwealth origins in maintained schools in England and Wales. Comparative figures for children who fall outside the Departmental definition of immigrant pupils—not all of whom will be white or of British origin—were 50,281 and 0.6 per cent.