Education Expenditure (Hansard, 16 December 1980)

§ Mr. Mark Carlisle

In his statement on 24 November—[Vol. 994, c. 312–171—my right hon. and learned Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced, amongst other measures, that the Government were seeking a reduction of about 3 per cent. in the volume of local authority current expenditure between 1980–81 and 1981–82 as against a reduction of about 2 per cent. envisaged in Cmnd. 7841. Whilst it is for individual local authorities to decide the distribution of this between and within services, the Government's plans assume a further reduction in education expenditure of £87 million, compared with figures published in Cmnd. 7841. In addition, the £37 million assumed as a saving in school transport will, following Parliament's decision not to give local education authorities discretion to charge for such services, have to be found elsewhere in the education budget.

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My right hon. and learned Friend also announced a reduction of £52 million in Vote and other expenditure on education and science compared with the Government's earlier plans for 1981–82. So far as this reduction is concerned my decisions are as follows:

i. a reduction of £30 million in university current expenditure;
ii. a reduction of nearly £2 million in voluntary and direct grant college expenditure;
iii. a reduction of £2 million in the money allocated to the science budget;
iv. savings amounting to some £18 million in miscellaneous items.

So far as local education authorities are concerned, following consultation with representatives of the authorities on their expenditure, my proposals compared with Cmnd. 7841 for 1981–82 are:

i. no reduction in planned school or other education building programmes;
ii. provision for the youth service to be maintained broadly at the planned level that is the same as in 1978–79 and 1979–80;
iii. a reduction of £12 million in advanced further education (in polytechnics and other maintained colleges);
iv. nearly £20 million of additional income to be expected from full implementation in 1981–82 of the recommendation of the Council of Local Education Authorities on catering and residence charges in maintained higher and further education;
v. a reduction of about £25 million in non-advanced further education to reflect a fall in the number of students in 1979–80 as against that assumed in Cmnd. 7841;
vi. the remaining £65 million—£70 million to come from the broad area of current expenditure in schools.

The Government accept that such a reduction in school current expenditure and in post-school education will have some impact on educational provision and on the numbers employed in the service but believe that the total figure for planned expenditure on education and science for 1981–82 of £8,185 million at 1980 survey prices accords with what the nation can afford at this time.

Before the next White Paper on public expenditure is published there will be further discussion with the local authority associations.