asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what is, for each of the years 1946, 1956, 1966, and 1976 in England and Wales (a) the number of children of compulsory school age, (b) the number of full-time teachers in primary and secondary schools, (c) total expenditure on education in money terms and (d) the percentage of public expenditure represented by the total expenditure on education.

In January of each of the years specified the estimated numbers of children of compulsory school age in England and Wales were: 1946–5,030,000, 1956–6,799,000, 1966–7,065,000, 1976–8,921,000. At the same dates, the numbers of full-time teachers in maintained primary and secondary schools were 175,000, 257,000, 305,000 and 424,000 respectively.As total public expenditure includes the cost of items, such as defence, which concern the United Kingdom as a whole, the information on expenditure given below relates to the United Kingdom.