§ 56. Mr. SumbergTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what assessment he has made of the extent to which increased truancy and problems of discipline among secondary pupils are attributable to drug abuse and alcohol consumption; and what measures his Department is taking, and plans to take, to counter such activity among school children.
§ Mr. DunnThe information available to us from Her Majesty's Inspectorate's reports, and from research, has 393W not suggested that either of these matters is a major factor in truancy or indiscipline. We shall be looking to the committee of inquiry into discipline in schools to recommend action to promote good discipline.
Initiatives taken by the Department to counter drug abuse and alcohol consumption include funding for the appointment of drugs education co-ordinators in each local education authority in England at a cost of £6.7 million over three years; the allocation of £2 million per year since 1987 for teacher training in drug related problems; research funding; the funding of pamphlets and other materials; and encouragement to schools to promote health education as a necessary element in both the primary and secondary school curriculum.