§ 37. Mr. EdwardsTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will make a statement about the implementation of the Government's policy to reduce class sizes to below 30 for five, six and seven-year-olds. [75612]
§ Ms Estelle MorrisWe are providing a total of £620 million to enable the limit to be met ahead of schedule. The £150 million allocation we have announced for 1999–2000, which will provide an extra 2,500 teachers and build over 1,000 extra classrooms next year, will reduce the number of pupils in infant classes from 757W 485,000 in January 1998 to fewer than 200,000 pupils in September 1999. The limit will be achieved in full in September 2001, ahead of our pledge to the electorate.
§ 38. Mr. AmessTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what recent representations he has received on classroom sizes. [75613]
§ Ms Estelle MorrisThe Department has received just one representation as part of our autumn 1998 review of The Education (School Premises) Regulations 1996.