§ Mrs. Renée Shortasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will consider commissioning a series of reports on individual local authorities in an attempt to get a fuller picture of the impact of spending cuts on educational provision in their areas; and if he will make a statement.
§ Sir Keith JosephIn real terms local authority expenditure on education showed little change between 1980–81 and 1981–82 despite a fall of nearly 3 per cent. in the school population. There is no automatic link between levels of expenditure and educational performance. Financial provision is only one of many factors influencing educational performance. The balance in the distribution of resources is as important a factor as the level of overall spending and it is for each individual local education authority to decide its policies for expenditure after taking account of local circumstances and the priorities expressed by central Government. Her Majesty's Inspectors already report on the educational response of individual authorities to their particular circumstances, as in the case of the ILEA or the Toxteth area of Liverpool. I expect as many more of these reports as can be carried out within the limits of available Her Majesty's Inspectorate manpower.