§ Mr. BurstowTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what assessment he has made of the impact of compliance with the Government's target for reducing class sizes to 30 or fewer on the extra funding attracted by class sizes of 30-plus in circumstances where it is used to support specialist staff; and how schools will be compensated for the loss of this funding. [43099]
§ Mr. ByersThe Government will provide the funding required for schools to implement our pledge to reduce infant class sizes to 30 or below. We intend to bring forward the date of implementation to September 2001 at the latest. We have already allocated £22 million in revenue funding for 1998–99 and are now considering applications for the allocation of a further £40 million for capital work.