§ Sir Raymond Gowerasked the Secretary of State for Wales what evidence has been furnished to him of shortages of school books and equipment due to inadequacy of capitation allowances and in relation to how many schools.
§ Mr. John Stradling ThomasSuch shortages have been noted in reports by Her Majesty's Inspectorate, and in the large volume of correspondence dealing with education matters the Department has received. School capitation allowances are determined by the local education authorities from within the resources available to them. In real terms, the level of local authority current expenditure on education, excluding school meals and milk, has remained virtually constant for a number of years, while the number of pupils in schools has declined markedly. A school by school analysis of the correspondence could be made only at disproportionate cost.