§ Mr. DonohoeTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what assessment he has made as to whether his Department has assessed how many of those pupils currently covered by the assisted places scheme would have entered private education without the support offered by the scheme.
§ Lord James Douglas-HamiltonThe number of such pupils is impossible to assess accurately but they must be very few. Over 80 per cent. of the families of pupils receiving assisted places in 1993–94 have incomes below £18,000 per annum, and about 45 per cent. have incomes below the £9,522 threshold which entitles a pupil to a free place. Such families would not be able to meet school fees without assistance.