§ Mr. Dobsonasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science (1) whether he is satisfied that local education authorities fund schools sufficiently for them to provide essential teaching materials;
(2) whether he is satisfied with the level of the provision of books in schools.
§ Mr. Bob DunnThe level of provision of books in some schools by some authorities is a cause for concern. Therefore, the last two RSG settlements envisaged some improvement in the level of provision for new books and equipment if other costs, especially pay, were contained. However, it is for local educaion authorities to determine how the total resources available to them should be deployed, in the light of local circumstances and in view of other demands on their resources.