§ Mr. Austin Mitchellasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will estimate the cost of raising the school leaving age to 17 years; to what extent this would be offset by the reduction in the cost of youth opportunity and other programmes; and how many additional teachers would be required.
§ Mr. William SheltonThe net recurrent cost of providing for all young people to remain in full-time education in England—in school or college—until 17 is estimated to be of the order of £600 million—£700 million at current prices, allowing for savings of some £300 million on other programmes. About 30,000 additional teachers/lecturers would be needed in a wide range of subjects. There would also be substantial additional capital costs.