To ask the Secretary of State for Education what assessment the curriculum authorities have made of the importance of a knowledge of grammar and of syntax in contributing to an understanding of English literature.

This would have been one of the issues considered by the National Curriculum Council in drawing up its recommendations for revisions to the English curriculum, which formed the basis of proposals published by my right hon. Friend in April. In the programme of study for reading, the importance of a knowledge of grammatical structure to the full un-derstanding of literature is recognised from the earliest stage.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education what steps he is taking to improve the teaching of spelling, punctuation and grammar in English.

; My right hon. Friend has recently published proposals for revisions to national curriculum English which give a strengthened emphasis to spelling, punctuation and grammar. In addition, 5 per cent. of the marks in all GCSE written examinations are now allocated to these matter.