§ Mrs. Helen JacksonTo ask the Secretary of State for Education how many children who have received assistance through the assisted places scheme are from households in the bottom 10th disposable income levels, according to Department of Social Security statistics.
§ Mr. Robin SquireThe information is not available in the form requested. Parental income for the purposes of the assisted places scheme is assessed on total family income from all sources, gross of all allowances. Non-taxable social security benefits are excluded and no adjustments for the inputed value of free school meals are made as is the case with the DSS statistics.
For the school year 1993–94, the latest for which information is available, more than 11,800—40 per cent.—assisted pupils were entitled to a completely free place because their families' income fell below the threshold of £9,225 per annum. Over 80 per cent. of parents in the scheme have earnings below the equivalent national average household income.