§ Dr. KumarTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what progress he has made in reducing infant class sizes in the constituency of Middlesbrough, South and Cleveland East; and if he will make a statement. [131203]
§ Ms Estelle MorrisWe are well on course to deliver our pledge to limit infant classes to 30 pupils. We have since January 1998 already reduced the number of children in infant classes of over 30 pupils by 300,000. £620 million is available to support the pledge, and allocations so far to Middlesbrough LEA amount to some £750,000. This has helped to reduce the size of the average Key Stage 1 class in Middlesbrough, South and Cleveland, East to 25.6. The figure in January 1998 was 26.8.