asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what have been the levels of public expenditure on fee-charging schools by (a) central Government and (b) local government in each of the last five years in constant 1986–87 prices.

The information requested is given in the following table:

Financial Year	DES expenditure (£m)	Local government expenditure (£m)
1982–83	15·0	136·0
1983–84	21·0	135·0
1984–85	27·0	132·0
1985–86	33·0	1125·0
1986–87	42·0	2125·0
1 Provisional.
2 Estimated.

These figures do not include expenditure by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office or the Ministry of Defence on fee-charging schools. Such expenditure is the responsibility of my right hon. Friends the Secretaries of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs and for Defence.