§ 40. Mr. Butcherasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what is the estimated reduction in the child population of the United Kingdom's schools next year as compared with the current year; and what is the expected reduction in both teaching and non-teaching staff in the service for the same period.
§ 42. Mr. Hawksleyasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what is the estimated reduction in the child population of the United Kingdom's schools next year as compared with the current year; and what is the expected reduction in the number of teachers for the same period.
§ Dr. BoysonPupil and teacher numbers are each projected to fall by a little under 3 per cent. in England and Wales between 1979–80 and 1980–81. Non-teaching staff are employed by local authorities to carry out a wide variety of functions concerned with schools. They are not separately identified in the annual statistics available to my Department and it is not possible to estimate the combined effect of decisions taken by individual authorities on their aggregate numbers. Figures for Scotland and Northern Ireland are the responsibility of my right hon. Friends the Secretaries of State for Scotland and for Northern Ireland.