§ Mr. Gerald HowarthTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how many(a) maintained and (b) independent special schools there were in (a) 1970 and (b) 1999; how many children attending those schools came from broken homes; and what was the cost of the maintained special schools in both years. [119769]
§ Jacqui SmithIn 1999 there were 1,148 maintained special schools and 84 independent approved schools. Latest expenditure available for costs in relation to maintained special schools is for 1998–99 and shows a unit cost of £10,350 per pupil. We do not have comparable figures for 1970 and we do not collect information on the domestic arrangements for children who attend these schools.