§ Mr. David NicholsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what system he has for ensuring that the provision made by him in grants to local education authorities for books and equipment in schools is being allocated by schools and local education authorities for those purposes; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mrs. RumboldEducation support grant is allocated to authorities for specific purposes, including the provision of books and equipment for GCSE. Grant may be claimed only on expenditure which an authority's auditors are satisfied has been made for that purpose. However, it is for individual authorities and schools to decide on the priority to be given to books and equipment within expenditure supported by block grant.