To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what action he has taken in schools to discourage children from the abuse of solvents and lighter fuels; and if he will make a statement.

The orders for national curriculum science and technology require that pupils should understand the risks associated with abuse of solvents, their effects on the human body and the need for their safe storage and use. More broadly, the National Curriculum Council has recommended that solvent and other substance misuse should be a key component in schools' health education programmes. The Department of Education and Science is supporting up to £7 million LEA expenditure in 1990–91 on preventive health education, including education about solvent abuse; and has contributed funding towards the production of a schools' video and other resources on this subject. The Department has also issued guidance to LEAs and schools on the safe handling of volatile substances.