§ Mr. John H. Osbornasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what is her policy towards the payment of attendance allowance to sixth formers, as planned by Sheffield Education Authority; and if she will make a statement.
§ Mr. OakesThe payment by Sheffield Education Authority of means-tested awards to those who stay on beyond minimum school-leaving age in school or further education is legally a decision for the authority under its existing dis-
460Wpossible to say at any given time how many sandwich students will be on the training component of their courses. Accordingly, the following information relates to the total numbers on sandwich courses and their total costs to the education service. As data are not collected separately on sandwich course costs, the costing figures here are estimates, derived by applying to known overall costs, by all modes of attendance, a weighting based on the proportion of sandwich students in various groups of subjects. They should therefore be treated with some caution.
cretionary powers and within present financing arrangements. At the same time, my right hon. Friend is at present, as she told the House on 12th May—[Official Report, Vol. 949, c. 617]—discussing with the local authorities the possible introduction of a statutory awards system, for the 16–18 age-group, and the arrangements about to be adopted in Sheffield seem close to those which might feature in a national system. My right hon. Friend accordingly congratulates the Sheffield authority on its timely initiative and will watch with interest the progress of its scheme.