§ Mr. DafisTo ask the Secretary of State for Wales what plans he has to increase available resources to local education authorities in Wales to assist with promoting policies of integrating children with special educational needs in mainstream schools; and how much has been allocated to each local education authority for this specific purpose in each of the last five years.
§ Sir Wyn RobertsResources for local authorities are not hypothecated and it is for authorities to determine funding for integration in the light of local circumstances and priorities. For 1993–94, under the grants for education support and training—GEST—programme, the Welsh Office is making grant available to local education authorities to support expenditure of £223,000 on projects for the integration of children with special educational needs into mainstream settings. The Department has also invited applications from county joint planning teams for pump priming funding under the mental handicap strategy for integration in education.