§ Mr. Ernie Rossasked the Secretary of State for Scotland what is his estimate of the number of secondary school pupils in each of the next 10 years in Scotland; if he will publish the annual percentage change taking place; and if he will provide similar figures for each education authority.
§ Mr. Alexander FletcherThe figures for Scotland and for individual education authorities can be derived from table 3 of SED Statistical Bulletin No. 4/B2/1980, copies of which are available in the Library. They show that the number of secondary pupils is expected to decline from the present level of 403,000 to 289,000 by 1990–91, which represents an average drop of 2.8 per cent. each year.