§ Mr. Silvesterasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he is now able to publish details of the numbers of pupils to be assisted at the music schools referred to in his reply to the hon. Member for Manchester, Withington on 8 August 1980, and the scales of fee remission and other assistance that will be available for such pupils.
§ Mr. Mark CarlisleI hope shortly to make and lay before the House regulations which will replace the present scheme of fee remission for pupils at the Yehudi Menuhin school and the Royal Ballet school—lower division—from September 1981 and also provide for assistance to limited numbers of pupils entering certain440W other specialist music schools from the same time. The other schools concerned and the number of pupils to be assisted at each are as follows:
Chetham's School of Music, Manchester—up to 60 entrants a year in 1981–82 and 1982–83 and 55 a year thereafter, with an upper limit of 240;Wells Cathedral School, Somerset—up to eight entrants a year with an upper limit of 50;Purcell School, Harrow—up to six entrants a year with an upper limit of 36.After consultation with the schools concerned I propose that the fee remission scale illustrated in the following table should apply to pupils receiving assistance to attend these schools in the 1981–82 school year.
Parental contribution to qualifying fees with one child being assisted Relevant income* £ Day pupil £ Boarding pupil £ 4,150 0 15 4,500 0 30 5,000 0 100 5,150 15 130 5,600 60 220 6,000 100 300 6,600 160 420 7,100 210 510 8,000 300 600 9,000 400 700 10,000 500 800 11,000 600 900 13,000 800 1,100 Thereafter £1 for every additional £10 of relevant income * Defined as for the assisted places scheme. Parental contributions will be rounded down to the nearest multiple of £3.
Parents with two children being assisted under these arrangements will pay for each only ¾ of the fee they would otherwise pay.
Assistance will also be available with some incidental expenses. Assistance with the cost of school clothing will be available on the same basis as under the assisted places scheme, namely, grants in the first year of up to
£80, where the relevant income does not exceed £4,600;£60, where that income exceeds £4,600 but does not exceed £4,800;£40, where that income exceeds £4,800 but does not exceed £5,000;£20, where that income exceeds £5,000 but does not exceed £5,200.For relevant incomes of £4,600 and £4,800 grants of £40 and £20 respectively will also be available every alternate year thereafter.
Assistance with the cost of school meals will be available for day pupils on the same basis as under the assisted places scheme, namely, that pupils whose parents are receiving supplementary benefit or family income supplement will be entitled to free meals and pupils for whom the relevant income is £4,000 or less will be entitled to meals at half price.
In relation to school transport, day pupils will be entitled, as under the assisted places scheme, to assistance with the cost of journeys of up to 25 miles each way where they live more than three miles walking distance from the school, as under the assisted places scheme. Boarding pupils will be entitled to assistance with the cost of up to six return journeys a year in this country. In both cases assistance will be subject to a means test, and parents will be expected to contribute to eligible expenditure on a scale 441W of £1 in £12 of relevant income above £4,600, except that parental contributions of less than £15 a year will be waived.