asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will state the number of mentally and physically handicapped children attending local authority special schools, and the average pupil-teacher ratio in these schools; and if he will make a statement about teacher shortages in this sphere of education.

The latest information available to me is published in Tables 5 and 13 of Scottish Educational Statistics 1969. Table 13 shows that at 24th January, 1969, less than 9 per cent, of the classes for mentally handicapped pupils and none of those for the physically handicapped exceeded the maximum numbers permitted by the Schools (Scotland) Code.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what steps he is taking to ensure that there is no shortage of books or equipment in local authority special schools for mentally and physically handicapped children.

This is a matter for the education authorities. If Her Majesty's Inspectors reported any serious deficiency I would, of course, bring the matter to the attention of the authority concerned.