§ Mr. BennettTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what representations he has received from local education authorities on the range of support 415W funding now generated by the additional educational needs factor in the standard spending assessments methodology; and if he will make it his policy to look afresh at the validity of the small number of proxy indicators employed and the very heavy weighting then given to this AEN factor in determining overall assessments.
§ Mr. Curry[holding answer 28 June 1993]: As part of the current review of standard spending assessments—SSAs—we have received representations from more than 140 local authorities, including 57 local education authorities, on all aspects of the SSA system.
We made clear at the start of the review that we would take this opportunity to consider the range of social factors used within SSAs including the additional educational needs index and the weight placed upon them.