§ Mr. Alfred Morrisasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science, pursuant to the reply by the Under-Secretary to the right hon. Member for Manchester, Wythenshawe, what the total additional resources amount to for schools to achieve integrated education; what, in detail, the additional resources are used for; and how many children have been able to attend mainstream schools instead of special schools as a result of these additional resources.
§ Mr. DunnThe information is not available in the precise form requested. Under the Government's in-service teacher training grants scheme, about £2 million is available to local education authorities in the current academic year towards the cost of replacing teachers released to one-term courses concerned with teaching children with special educational needs in ordinary schools. Under the education support grants scheme £2.25 million has been made available in the financial year 1985–86 to local education authorities to provide new or specially adapted microelectronic aids for children with special educational needs. This includes aids to permit integrated placements. In addition, provided costs are contained and savings made elsewhere, the government's expenditure plans for the current financial year should allow a substantial increase, compared with 1982–83, in the number of educational psychologists employed by local authorities. This should enable them to offer a better service to children with special educational needs. Information about the numbers of children who have benefited from these measures is not available.