§ Mr. MaxtonTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what was the total capital expenditure on schools in Scotland in each year since 1978 in real terms.
§ Mr. Michael ForsythThe information is given in the following table which has been compiled from local authority financial returns. The reduction in expenditure in real terms during the period reflects a substantial and progressive decline in pupil numbers which in turn reduced the requirement for new school building.
Capital expenditure by local authorities on schools Year £ million at 1988–89 prices 1978–79 114.260 1979–80 89.576 1980–81 83.169 1981–82 87.486 1982–83 70.754 1983–84 58.204 1984–85 56.680 1985–86 59.838 1986–87 52.489 1987–88 51.697 1988–89 59.392 1989–901 60.519 1 Provisional. The figures include expenditure on nursery, primary, secondary and special schools.
Outturn figures have been converted to 1988–89 prices using the GDP deflator.