§ Mrs. Renée Shortasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science how much currently is being spent on sponsoring the use of computers for handicapped children; and if he will give details of the work being done.
§ Mr. William SheltonSubject to the identification of suitable projects, it is expected that between £0.5 million and £1 million—current prices—will be spent on work in the field of special education under the microelectronics education programme for England, Wales and Northern Ireland on curriculum development and on the establishment of four regional resource centres. Projects so far commissioned or agreed in principle* include work on the development of computer-based materials for the deaf—university of Hull—and the severely subnormal—Huddersfield polytechnic—and a programme of work by local education authorities in the West Midlands concerned with the role of microcomputers in assisting perceptual development.
* at a total estimated cost of £0.15 million.