§ Mr. AshleyTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science (1) what steps he proposes to take to increase the number of qualified teachers of deaf-blind people;
(2) what steps he has taken to improve the education of deaf-blind people; and how many qualified teachers for deaf-blind people there are in Britain;
(3) what discussions he has had with SENSE, the organisation for deaf-blind people; and if he will meet its officials to discuss funding;
(4) if he will conduct a special survey of the educational requirements of deaf-blind adults and children to evaluate their needs and to enable him to make adequate provisions.
§ Mr. ButcherI refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave on 9 March to my hon. Friend the Member for Hyndburn (Mr. Hargreaves) at column604. Officials of the Department have met representatives of SENSE on a number of occasions. They were particularly helpful in assisting the Department prepare its statement on the educational needs of deaf-blind children, a copy of which I have sent to the hon. Member. This is relevant to the points he raises.
The funding of provision of services for the deaf-blind is the responsibility of local authorities. The statement does not envisage that the development of services for the deaf-blind should involve significant additional expenditure. However, the Department intends to follow up progress on local education authorities' consideration of the Department's statement.