§ Mr. DonohoeTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how much the Scottish Office has spent on the operation of the assisted places scheme in each year since 1981; how many pupils have been covered by the scheme in each year since 1981; and what overspend occurred on the budget allocated in each of these years.
§ Lord James Douglas-HamiltonThe information for school years 1981–82 to 1992–93 is as follows:
School sessions Total cost (£) Number of assisted pupils 1981–82 799,023 790 1982–83 1,718,485 1,450 1983–84 2,454,386 1,900 1984–85 3,298,461 2,265 1985–86 4,217,234 2,620 1986–87 4,861,150 2,626 1987–88 5,310,061 2,680 1988–89 5,758,542 2,695 1989–90 6,681,213 2,841 1990–91 7,641,895 2,861 1991–92 18,716,185 12,916 1992–93 19,811,185 13,043 1993–94 110,099,167 13,024 956W
1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 11991–92 11992–93 11993–94 School Number of assisted pupils Amount paid £ Number of assisted pupils Amount paid £ Number of assisted pupils Amount paid £ Number of assisted pupils Amount paid £ Number of assisted pupils Amount paid £ Number of assisted pupils Amount paid £ Aberlour — — 5 17,501 8 27,331 7 27,865 10 35,082 11 35,870 Albyn 16 31,116 20 41,376 23 51,747 20 55,279 18 52,377 17 55,571 Ardvreck — — 1 2,777 2 5,785 3 9,180 3 12,017 5 21,819 Beaconhurst — — 3 3,756 6 11,676 6 18,589 10 30,475 11 34,588 Belhaven — — 4 11,989 3 8,484 3 9,798 2 7,921 1 4,862 Belmont 18 36,917 21 46,918 20 49,083 23 60,329 23 68,170 26 76,102 Blairmore — — 2 5,948 5 15,058 4 11,202 3 5,931 School closed Butterstone — — 2 6,348 4 12,624 5 18,283 2 8,297 3 13,433 Cargilfield — — 3 10,425 4 17,547 4 19,128 4 19,557 4 18,002 Cliftonhall — — 6 11,312 7 18,637 7 22,755 8 28,546 6 24,437 Craigclowan — — 6 10,839 9 16,225 9 20,000 9 22,000 12 25,256 Craigholme 31 51,317 39 67,548 39 85,924 37 96,643 38 109,527 44 128,506 Crawfordton — — 8 13,420 6 19,219 6 22,456 6 25,225 5 22,238 Croftinloan — — 4 13,350 4 15,278 5 16,359 6 20,500 6 20,471 1Provisional—Final claims to be submitted.
The Assisted Places Scheme in Scotland is cash limited and there were no overspends in budget provision for the scheme in financial years 1981–82 to 1992–93.
§ Mr. DonohoeTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what level of fees was charged by each institution covered by the assisted places scheme in Scotland in the current academic year.
§ Lord James Douglas-HamiltonFees charged to the assisted places scheme by each school vary according to the income levels of individual parents whose children benefit under the scheme.
§ Mr. DonohoeTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what safeguards are available to the Scottish Office to ensure that schools covered by the assisted places scheme meet recognised educational standards.
§ Lord James Douglas-HamiltonBefore a school can participate in the assisted places scheme in Scotland it requires to satisfy certain criteria, including certain standards of achievement, breadth of curriculum and teachers' qualifications. The schools are also subject to inspection by Her Majesty's inspectors of schools.
§ Mr. DonohoeTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list the schools in Scotland which had pupils under the assisted places scheme for each academic year since 1989; how many pupils have been supported at each institution in each year; and how much it has cost the Scottish Office to provide this support in each year.
§ Lord James Douglas-HamiltonThe information requested is set out in the table.
957W
1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 11991–92 11992–93 11993–94 School Number of assisted pupils Amount paid £ Number of assisted pupils Amount paid £ Number of assisted pupils Amount paid £ Number of assisted pupils Amount paid £ Number of assisted pupils Amount paid £ Number of assisted pupils Amount paid £ Daniel Stewart and Melville Coll, and Mary Erskine 542 1,089,782 291 647,807 274 686,814 276 766,689 282 840,210 296 883,974 Dollar 63 115,546 63 130,54 68 145,185 59 150,044 71 182,827 72 203,044 Drumley Home — — 6 12,828 5 15,116 3 10,049 3 10,79 2 9,259 Edinburgh Academy 43 113,014 46 134,944 48 166,508 50 191,777 52 209,884 56 227,475 Fernhill 40 63,937 28 46,687 29 55,159 30 63,846 34 79,573 34 84,084 Fettes 26 101,191 32 134,472 32 151,61 33 174,548 40 199,763 39 209,031 Fort Augustus Abbey 38 107,45 34 105,345 33 134,983 34 170,4 28 139,717 School closed George Heriots 226 427,484 237 486,666 236 531,754 247 596,848 247 656,167 256 689,744 George Watsons Included in DSME 240 506,852 243 575,268 238 639,74 245 717,925 236 681,386 Glasgow Academy 41 74,168 42 89,605 37 107,175 89 301,839 98 346,458 99 346,172 Glenalmond 36 143,697 34 145,745 30 166,502 33 190,588 33 215,022 38 241,406 Gordonstoun 23 91,513 24 108,155 26 124,412 29 144,094 28 160,425 28 170,862 Hamilton College — — 11 12,591 12 15,725 14 22,101 15 27,653 14 25,036 High School of Dundee 164 330,043 174 387,281 182 454,337 180 462,132 197 552,324 193 580,250 High School of Glasgow 46 87,364 40 71,268 38 82,074 39 102,007 45 127,101 49 136,969 Hutchesons Grammar 143 223,351 135 255,370 135 301,004 138 356,361 152 415,271 146 436,454 Keil 60 129,698 71 152,685 66 174,156 67 198,819 66 223,879 64 229,599 Kelvinside 54 121,290 58 137,390 58 161,317 67 213,982 80 266,852 85 304,930 Kilgraston 57 114,354 52 120,21 51 142,624 53 164,519 59 185,757 51 193,287 Kilquhanity 19 39,002 18 41,146 18 41,398 18 46,218 20 50,548 20 54,729 Lathallan — — 6 16,874 5 17,536 5 19,869 6 25,72 6 27,102 Laurel Bank 63 151,674 59 160,687 54 161,490 53 173,919 53 167,453 58 202,029 Lomond 42 97,986 43 105,236 39 101,807 44 133,431 49 158,944 56 183,036 Loretto 24 94,012 29 118,549 31 139,628 33 159,046 35 186,283 33 198,181 Merchiston Castle 50 180,744 56 218,085 60 249,586 62 281,393 65 315,586 65 319,636 Morrisons Academy 166 295,408 177 339,309 164 347,79 172 416,876 162 434,381 157 432,788 New Park — —. 3 7,888 3 10,017 3 10,944 4 14 5 18,25 Oxenfoord Castle — — 5 11,987 11 25,838 13 38,622 12 41,626 School closed Park Lodge — — 1 1,809 — — 1 2,598 1 621 — — Park School 63 147,616 61 152,808 72 192,881 68 217,964 68 238,977 67 244,675 Rannoch 26 77,343 27 101,463 28 119,766 30 139,248 31 158,770 35 173,990 Robert Gordons 61 94,486 58 116,513 63 128,557 64 150,951 63 169,147 65 183,112 Rudolf Steiner 60 110,877 61 127,413 56 136,397 57 159,714 59 179,42 57 182,188 St Aloysius 139 259,995 154 295,9 160 330,424 166 380,134 165 433,125 170 443,938 St Columbas 36 80,870 40 95,467 32 83,327 42 115,778 39 121,144 36 122,860 St Dennis and Cranley 25 56,241 28 76,908 30 91,509 28 99,836 31 120,775 29 122,162 St. Georges 18 37,227 17 40,371 20 52,13 25 64,959 29 85,210 31 92,536 St. Leonards 23 63,324 24 75,795 31 113,765 35 131,000 37 147,826 36 168,406 St. Margarets (Aberdeen) 13 24,235 18 33,545 19 41,987 22 42,501 22 53,678 20 56,823 St. Margarets (Edinburgh) 59 121,628 65 154,491 68 182,386 70 213,688 72 241,22 66 245,883 St. Marys — — 2 6,030 4 9,936 1 21 2 7,602 2 7,652 Strathallan 35 136,72 41 187,165 42 215,432 42 243,000 46 272,640 47 287,146 Wellington 43 84,849 49 108,121 48 129,636 44 144,149 55 183,265 54 197,928 Westbourne 63 151,073 57 137,705 60 172,304 Amalgamated with Glasgow Academy 1Provisional figures.
§ Mr.DonohoeTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what is the annual cost to the Scottish Office of publicising and administering the operation of the assisted places scheme.
§ Lord James Douglas-HamiltonThe estimated cost to the Scottish Office of administering the assisted places scheme in 1993–94 financial year is £44,000. This total includes the cost of producing the "Brief Guide for Parents" advice booklet for 1993–94 school session of £655.
§ Mr. DonohoeTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what assessment the Scottish Office has made of the assisted places scheme.
§ Lord James Douglas-HamiltonThe aim of the assisted places scheme is to widen the range of educational opportunity for children by allowing them to attend independent schools which would normally be beyond the reach of their parents' financial circumstances. The Scottish Office carries out regular audit and monitoring procedures to ensure that the scheme meets the criteria set for it.
In November 1992, published results from an independent survey commissioned jointly by the Scottish Office Education Department and the Scottish Council of Independent Schools confirmed that the main policy objectives of the scheme were being achieved.