§ Mr. DafisTo ask the Secretary of State for Education (1) if he will establish a target date by which time all schools in the United Kingdom will be wheelchair-accessible;
(2) what plans he has to seek to amend the Education Act 1981 so as to remove from the category of children with special educational needs those children whose only problem is that the school that they wish to attend does not offer full and equal physical access;
(3) if he will place an obligation upon local education authorities to (a) seek professional advice on adapting a mainstream school for the needs of a child with special educational needs, (b) make an assessment of the child's mobility needs and (c) receive an estimate from a professional builder of the cost of the adaptation work to be undertaken at the school, prior to taking a decision under section 2 of the Education Act 1981.
§ Mr. ForthThe Government do not intend to set a target date by which time all schools should be adapted to allow wheelchair access. Government policy is to encourage local education authorities to improve access to school buildings to facilitate the integration of disabled pupils into mainstream provision. When established, the Funding Agency for Schools will also contribute to the furtherance of this policy.