§ Mr. Hooleyasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what percentage of the 16 to 18-year-old age groups is currently continuing in full-time education, at school or elsewhere; and how this figure compares with the figures for each of the other EEC member States. Sweden and Norway.
§ Mr. Oakes:In the United Kingdom in 1976–77, the latest year for which data are available, 37–4 per cent, of the 16 to 18-year-old age group were in full-time education in schools, universities and public sector further education establishments. For the other countries, following is the latest information available for this age group derived from the OECD"Educational Statistics Yearbook ":
Percentage Belgium 1966–67 42.2 Denmark 1970–71 40.6 France 1970–71 45.6 Federal Republic of Germany* 1969–70 22.3 Ireland 1971–72 38.4 Italy 1966–67 27.1 Luxembourg 1970–71 31.0 Netherlands 1970–71 43.5 Norway 1970–71 60.3 Sweden 1972–73 58.3 *Excluding vocational training schools. Because of wide variations between countries in educational structure and policies and of differences in definition which underlie these figures, they should not be regarded as fully comparable indicators.