§ Mr. Freudasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many members of staff in his Department work on appeals under the Education Act 1981.
§ Mr. DunnThese appeals form part of the regular work of 16 people in the Division dealing with special education.
§ Mr. Freudasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what is the average length of time between a parent appealing to him under (a) section 5(6) and (b) section 8(6) of the Education Act 1981 and the announcement of the result of the appeal.
§ Mr. DunnThe average for all appeals received since the Act came into force in 1983 is(a) section 5(6): 19 weeks, (b) section 8(6): 18 weeks. The latter figure includes two instances where the parents withdrew the appeal and later renewed it. The average, excluding those cases, is 17 weeks.