HC Deb 15 October 2001 vol 372 cc989-90W
Mr. Brady

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many children of compulsory school age were(a) statemented for special educational needs or (b) assessed for special educational needs for each of the last five years. [7258]

Mr. Timms

Information on the number of children of compulsory school age (5–15 years) with a statement of special educational needs in the last five years is as follows:

Year Number of children
1996 208,204
1997 215,909
1998 221,334
1999 231,312
2000 234,615

The number of children (some of whom are not of compulsory school age) for whom a statement was made for the first time for the years for which figures are available is as follows:

Year Number of children
1996 36,636
1997 35,648
1998 36,178
1999 35,421
2000 1
1 Not yet available

The number of children of compulsory school age assessed for special educational needs is not collected centrally. However the total number of children assessed for special educational needs (some of whom are not of compulsory school age) is as follows:

Year Number of children
1996 38,643
1997 37,339
1998 37,826
1999 37,069
2000 1
1Not yet available