§ Mr. LawsTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what targets for a reduction in(a) primary and (b) secondary school class sizes she has set for each of the next five years; and if she will make a statement. [5690]
§ Mr. TimmsWe have introduced legislation to ensure that the size of infant classes for 5, 6 and 7-year-olds is limited to 30 or fewer by this September at the latest. Since January 1998 the Government have reduced the 779W number of infants in large classes by around 450,000: in January 2001 as few as 36,000 (2 per cent.) infants were in classes of 31 or more compared to 485,000 (29 per cent.) in January 1998. No further class size targets have been set.