§ Mrs. GormanTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what is the average cost of administration per pupil in(a) the Essex local education authority, (b) all local education authorities and (c) those local education authorities which comprise the group of authorities which contains Essex.
§ Mr. FallonThe average budgeted cost of central administration per pupil, as reported in its local management of schools annual budget statement for 1990–91, is £69 in Essex. This is calculated by dividing the figure on the statement by the number of pupils attending maintained schools in Essex on 18 January 1990. On the same basis, the average cost of central administration per pupil in the 36 shire counties for which a statement is available is £66. The coverage of the central administration figure in the statements differs between authorities. It is not possible to give a comparable national figure because authorities without schemes for the local management of schools are not obliged to publish this information.