§ Mr. William Sheltonasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what will be the impact on standards in schools of the Government's plans for 598W public expenditure in 1980–81; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Mark CarlisleExpenditure on education in England and Wales—with universities in Great Britain—is expected to fall in real terms from £7,965 million in 1978–79 to £7,685 million in 1980–81, that is by £280 million or about £3½ per cent. Current expenditure by local authorities accounts for about four-fifths of the total.
The Government's aim is to stabilise the total volume of public expenditure. Our objectives for education are to maintain and improve its quality and to promote higher standards of achievement. Accordingly my intention is that the bulk of the required reduction in expenditure should be made in areas not directly concerned with teaching in the classroom. Of the fall of £280 million between last year and next, the aim is that about 80 per cent. should be found from school meals, milk and transport areas, in which local authorities will be given much greater discretion under the Bill which I have just presented to Parliament.
It is for local authorities to decide precisely how to implement these changes in expenditure. Nationally the overall pupil-teacher ratio should remain at its best-ever level of 18.7:1, the figure estimated for the current year, compared with 18.9:1 in 1978–79, since I have taken some account of the unavoidable diseconomies of staffing as pupil numbers fall by 4.7 per cent. between 1978–79 and 1980–81. Government plans mean that over the same period the teacher force should fall by 3.7 per cent., from nearly 471,000 to 453,000. But, since natural wastage averages about 30,000 a year, I see no need for significant numbers of teachers to be made redundant.
Similar allowance for diseconomies has been made for other expenditure in schools where it should be possible also for standards of provision per pupil to rise by 2 per cent. compared with 1978–79. But it will be necessary to step up the rate at which surplus school places are taken out of use.
School building programmes in 1980–81 will total nearly £120 million, compared with £126 million this year.
The maintenance of quality depends on the way in which resources are used 599W as well as on the actual level of resources. I am confident that these expenditure plans give us scope for achieving our objectives set out above.