asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what is her estimate of the level of absenteeism by the children in London's secondary schools.

My Department does not regularly collect statistics on absences from school. A survey of attendance at all middle and secondary schools in England and Wales in January 1974 showed that about 10 per cent. of pupils were absent on the day of the survey—just over 2 per cent. of whom had no known legitimate reason.