§ Mr. Ancramasked the Secretary of State for Scotland what response he has received from Scottish interested parties to the recommendations of the Warnock committee on the education of handicapped children and young people; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. YoungerConsultations with interested bodies in Scotland produced responses which were, as in England and Wales, almost wholly favourable. In particular, the central recommendation that the statutory categorisation of handicapped pupils should be abolished met with very widespread approval. The only reservation commonly expressed was that many of the advances recommended could not be accomplished by local authorities and the various other public bodies responsible unless augmented resources were made available to them.
I have decided, therefore, that in legislation which I hope to lay before the House in due course I shall provide for the abolition of categories of handicap. There will, of course, be consultations on
(1) Grants from the European regional development fund for transport projects: 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 £ £ £ Piers and harbours … … … … 813,143 882,634 238,084 Roads … … … … 286,189 995,859 338,396 Port and railhead facilities … … … 1,012,703 3,528,816 970,621 Airports … … … … 999,506 — 1,576,904 3,111,541 5,407,309 3,124,005
(2) Loans from the European Investment Bank: 1976 1977 1978 £ million £ million £ million United Kingdom railway projects (from which Scotland benefits directly) … … … 11.6 7.2 36.90 Sumburgh airport project … … … — — 10.75 Local authority infrastructure projects (roads, water supplies, sewerage systems, harbour development—not possible to identify separately the roads or harbours element of these loans) — — 10.00
§ Mr. George Robertsonasked the Secretary of State for Scotland whether he has considered the European Commission's proposals for a transport infrastructure fund; what projects his Department has put forward for consideration for Community aid; whether he is satisfied with the projects indicated
84Wthe practical implications of this and I hope that these consultations would extend to questions relating to the rights of parents in the special education field. This is a matter on which separate consulation is about to be put in hand in relation to children in ordinary schools and it would be necessary to consider whether and to what extent similar arrangements can appropriately be applied in both these fields.
Many of the other recommendations in the report, for example those relating to nursery education, teacher training and further and higher education, have substantial implications for central and local government expenditure and must be considered in the light of the overall economic situation and the need for restraint which it entails.