To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what is the cost per pupil of education in Northern Ireland at (a) primary and (b) secondary levels; what were the equivalent figures five and 10 years ago in cash and real terms; and if he will make a statement.

The recurrent cost figures are as follows:

	1976–77 £	1981–82 £	1986–87 £
Cash prices
Primary	257·28	560·60	794·18
Secondary	404·30	853·05	1,312·08
Real terms
Primary	630·84	716·27	794·18
Secondary	991·32	1,089·93	1,312·08

Unit expenditure in 1986–87 (the latest year for which figures are available) has more than trebled in cash terms from 1976–77 levels. In real terms the increases are over 25 per cent. and should be against a backcloth of falling enrolments, down more than 8 percent. (or 31,000 pupils) in these 10 years. This is clear evidence of the Government's continuing commitment to education in the Province.