HC Deb 29 March 1977 vol 929 cc124-6W
Mr. Roy Hughes

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if she will list those local education authorities with establishments in their areas suitable for dual use who were implementing that concept before the White Paper "Sport and Recreation" was published in 1975; if she will list those authorities that began implementing the policy after the publication of the White Paper; and if she will list those authorities with suitable accommodation who are still not implementing the policy.

Miss Margaret Jackson

The dual use of existing educational premises, particularly for adult education and youth service work, has been practised, as far as I am aware, by all education authorities since well before the publication of the White Paper. The joint provision of new facilities, such as sport and community centres, by education authorities and other bodies, has now been encouraged by my Department for over 10 years. The local authority associations' report "Towards a Wider Use" which was issued in 1976 is devoted mainly to a description of the extent to which authorities have implemented joint provision schemes, what difficulties they had encountered, and how they had been overcome. Out of the 82 replies received from a survey the associations carried out, some 70 education authorities reported undertaking joint provision schemes since 1964. Detailed decisions about dual use in particular cases are matters for the

PUPIL TEACHER RATIOS IN MAINTAINED SCHOOLS IN CUMBRIA AND THE NORTH-WEST REGION OF ENGLAND
January 1975 January 1976
Primary Secondary Primary Secondary
Metropolitan districts
Knowsley 24.2 17.0 24.0 16.6
Liverpool 22.0 17.1 22.1 16.8
St. Helens 25.4 17.3 24.6 16.8
Sefton 25.1 17.7 25.3 17.9
Wirral 25.5 17.5 25.2 17.7
Bolton 26.3 16.6 25.7 16.8
Bury 25.9 17.6 24.4 17.2
Manchester 24.3 16.4 23.6 16.1
Oldham 25.6 18.0 24.8 17.0
Rochdale 25.1 16.6 24.4 16.0
Salford 26.9 17.3 25.7 16.7
Stockport 27.0 17.0 27.0 17.1
Tameside 25.3 18.6 24.4 16.9
Trafford 25.1 17.0 23.1 17.0
Wigan 25.1 17.1 24.5 16.6
Counties
Cheshire 24.3 17.5 24.1 17.5
Cumbria 23.3 16.4 22.7 16.2
Lancashire 25.4 17.2 25.0 16.9
Where appropriate, middle schools have been included as "deemed".

local education authority; we have no evidence to suggest that authorities generally are unresponsive to local needs in this respect within the limits of their resources.

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