§ Mr. Barry Jonesasked the Secretary of State for Wales what is his estimate of the amount of cash expended by the local education authorities in Wales on Welsh language education in the current year.
§ Mr. Wyn RobertsMy right hon. Friend makes no separate estimate of local government expenditure on Welsh language education.
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§ Mr. Barry Jonesasked the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make available extra money to Welsh local education authorities to enable them to develop and extend Welsh language teaching in their schools.
§ Mr. Wyn RobertsNo. It is for the local authorities themselves to determine their spending priorities within the resources available to them. The per capita grant-related expenditure assessment for county councils in Wales are considerably higher than for comparable authorities in England, which in part reflects the cost of their bilingual policies.
§ Mr. Barry Jonesasked the Secretary of State for Wales if he has any plans to meet local education authorities to discuss the funding of Welsh language teaching in Wales, and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Wyn RobertsFunding of Welsh language teaching is the responsibility of the local education authorities and it is for them to determine their spending priorities within the resources available to them. However, I expect to meet representatives of the eight authorities and the Welsh Joint Education Committee shortly to discuss with them the scope and nature of the Welsh Joint Education Committee's enhanced role in offering advice on policies and priorities in Welsh language education development and in particular on the direction of grant paid under section 21 of the Education Act 1980.