§ Mr. Ashdownasked the Secretary of State for Scotland what has been the annual expenditure, in 1987 prices, from 1975–76 to date on repair, maintenance and improvement work on maintained schools in Scotland; what is his Department's estimate of the expenditure needed to bring the condition of maintained schools in Scotland to a fully reconditioned and repaired state, complying with up-to-date building standards, not including the reconditioning of those schools for which there is no intention to recondition or repair, but where the proper course is demolition or otherwise disposal, or the expected depreciation of school buildings in this financial year; what is his Department's estimate of the annual expenditure to prevent the condition of maintained schools in Scotland from deteriorating, excluding those schools for which there is no intention to recondition or repair, but where the proper course is demolition or otherwise; and what is the capital value of maintained school buildings in Scotland.
§ Mr. John MacKayThe information available is given in the following table, which has been compiled from local authority financial returns for the period from 1976–77, the first full year after local government reorganisation in Scotland, to 1985–86. The information collected centrally on capital expenditure incurred by local authorities does not record separately capital expenditure on the maintenance or improvement of school buildings or on the capital value of school buildings in Scotland. The data which would be required in order to make the estimates requested by the hon. Member in the latter part of his question are not held centrally.
478W
Current expenditure on repair and maintenance of local authority school buildings at 1986–87 prices £ million 1976–77 58.771 1977–78 22.549 1978–79 67.529 1979–80 66.028 1980–81 62.430 1981–82 60.209 1982–83 60.602 1983–84 67.387 1984–85 67.388 1985–86 61.002