§ Mr. Kilroy-Silkasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science (1) which local authorities have not yet reached the 1971 guideline figures on places for the education of mentally handicaped children of school age (a) in the community for children with severe mental handicap living in the community, (b) for children 432W coming by day from hospital and (c) in hospitals for day patients;
(2) what is the total number of places for the education of mentally handicapped children of school age (a) in the community for children with severe mental handicap living in the community, (b) for children coming by day from hospital and (c) in hospital for (i) in-patients and (ii) day-patients.
§ Mr. MacfarlaneMy Department does not maintain statistics of school places provided by or available to local education authorities for particular groups of handicapped children, as distinct from the total numbers of such children who have been ascertained as requiring special educational treatment. The planning figures given in table 5 of the 1971 White Paper " Better Services for the Mentally Handicapped" do not provide a direct test of the adequacy of the educational provision made in their areas by authorities since this will be affected by variable factors such as the location of hospitals for the mentally handicapped and the pattern of local provision for the residential accommodation of children with mental disability.