asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what recent discussions she has had with local education authorities on expansion of schools' curricula into new subjects.

None, Sir. I have, however, invited local education authorities to review and report on their arrangements for the school curriculum, including ways of promoting an appropriate balance between the basic skills and other curricular areas.

I thank the Secretary of State for her reply. In the general debate about the desirability of introducing new subjects from time to time, does the right hon. Lady agree that, by contrast, there is very great anxiety amongst parents, employers and the children themselves that they should have a proper grounding in the three Rs plus the fourth R, which is religious instruction? What does the Secretary of State intend to do to promote those desirable objectives as well as anything else?

In the Green Paper we have made it clear that we have put very great emphasis on the achievement of basic literacy and numeracy. My Assessment of Performance Unit has sent out a consultative document about the first set of questions on the assessment of achievement in mathematics. As for religious instruction, I have made it clear that I believe that religious education should remain a compulsory part of the curriculum.

Has not my right hon. Friend noticed that even the Conservative Party is concerned about too narrow a school curriculum and that it is concerned, too, about political illiteracy in schools? Can we hear a little less about the Gradgrind regime of the nineteenth century and give greater consideration to a balanced curriculum?

It is very important to have a balanced curriculum. It is becoming more and more widely accepted that one aspect of that curriculum needs to be the education of children in the society of which they are a part, and not least in the political democracy to which they belong.

Does the Minister recall that in June last year she or her junior Minister—I cannot remember which—expressed some sympathy with my suggestion that elementary law and commercial practice should be taught in our schools? As these subjects will affect children for the rest of their lives in one way or another, when she has discussions will she urge and encourage the inclusion of these subjects even at elementary level in our State schools?

The hon. Gentleman will, I think, accept that, at least in some general studies courses, there is reference to current law, not least to law of the sort that will affect children as citizens. He illustrates the dilemma of all Secretaries of State for Education that there are always far more subjects that ought to be contained in the curriculum than can be contained in it. It is important that we should have as far as possible a sense of priority.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if she is in a position to announce when she intends to introduce legislation to resolve the difficulties which arise at present over parental choice of schools.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if she will introduce legislation to increase parental choice of schools.

I intend to introduce legislation on school admissions arrangements when the parliamentary timetable permits.

Why has there been so much delay in introducing this legislation? Will the Minister give an assurance that the legislation that she eventually introduces will extend to parents the maximum possible freedom of choice?

There has not been delay. In the debate on the Loyal Address on 4th November 1977, I made it clear that if there was time this Session a Bill would be introduced but I also indicated that, in view of the legislation that was to be taken this Session, it might not be possible to do so. That remains the position.

Surely there is now time to introduce a short Bill amending Section 76 of the Education Act 1944 and setting out a parent's right to choose his child's school.

The matter is more complicated than that. Amendments would be required to Sections 37 and 68 of the Education Act 1944 as well as to Section 76. In addition, it is clear that we shall have to bring in legislation concerning the planned operating capacity of schools, and at a time when rolls are falling rapidly.

Does my right hon. Friend agree that if it were left to the Conservatives, 80 per cent. of parents would have no choice whatsoever as to where their children went to school, as used to be the case? Even under present legislation there is more choice in the matter than there has ever been in history. Does my right hon. Friend agree that what the Conservative Party wants is elitism, to go back to what happened previously and give it special favours?

I would certainly agree with my hon. Friend in that only one school in five even had a sixth form under the selective system, and the great majority of children had no opportunity to continue their studies beyond compulsory age. In my view, however, what we want is to permit parents to express their preferences about schools within the comprehensive system. I do not accept that the proper way is by selection, as the Conservative Party has indicated.

Does the right hon. Lady agree that not only do we need legislation governing how parents express their choice when their child reaches the age of 11 but that it is important that local education authorities should find out parents' wishes while their children are still in the early years at primary schools, so that the variety of comprehensive or secondary schools can be adjusted to match more accurately what parents want, rather than forcing them to make a choice three or four months before their child transfers?

I follow what the hon. Gentleman is driving at. The Government have said that parents should be fully informed at all stages about schools, what they offer and the courses available in them. Last November the Government issued a circular asking schools to provide information. I believe that that was the first time it had been done under any Administration.

Does my right hon. Friend agree that for many parents and their children freedom of choice is restricted by economic circumstances? Before she moves in the direction requested by the Opposition, will she deal with those Tory authorities which refuse to introduce effective and cheap school transport?

I congratulate my hon. Friend on his subtlety in asking a supplementary question about school transport on this Question. He will be aware that the Government have put forward proposals for flat-rate school transport fares which would be fair across the board to local authorities. We are still waiting for their response. May I make it quite clear that, in my view, the expression of parental wishes must be taken alongside the comprehensive principle, the need to operate schools efficiently and the need to make sure that we have a planned operating capacity for schools.

Whilst I sympathise with the right hon. Lady on the defeat she is reported to have sustained in this matter at the hands of the Secretary of State for Energy and his relations, may I ask her to make it quite plain that if she ever manages to get a Bill past Cerberus she will have no intention, under the pretext of rationalising the law, of doing away with the limited amount of parental choice that parents have under present legislation?

I am sure, in view of the hon. Gentleman's high moral qualities, that he would not wish to associate himself with some of the wilder suggestions which appear in the Press. Therefore, I refer him to my speech on 4th November 1977, in the debate on the Loyal Address, when I said:

"We believe that parents should be given a proper opportunity to express a preference for a school and to have that preference taken fully into account, along with all the other relevant factors such as the need for local authorities, as school rolls fall, to be able to deploy their resources effectively, to run an efficient education service, and, in the case of secondary schools, to operate a satisfactory comprehensive system".—[Official Report, 4th November 1977; Vol. 938, c.170.]

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if she is satisfied with the education facilities for disabled children.

No, Sir. My right hon. Friend will continue to seek ways of improving the quality of special education.

Is my hon. Friend aware that the National Union of Teachers has said that the resources and facilities for the education of children in hospital are appallingly inadequate? Therefore, will she consult the Department of Health and Social Security to see what can be done to remedy this difficult problem of children's education being damaged in hospital?

I am aware of the report recently published by the NUT. Like my hon. Friend, I consider it to be a good and useful piece of work. However, my hon. Friend will be aware that the Warnock Committee is sitting, and we hope that it will report later this year. It is also considering the question of hospital special schools. We shall look at the NUT report in the light of the Warnock Report and hope to make some addition to the progress made in recent years in providing education for children in hospitals.

Is the hon. Lady aware of the radio link method of teaching deaf children? What steps is she taking to extend its use?

I am aware that there are a variety of methods of teaching deaf children. I am not familiar with the one the hon. Gentleman quotes, but if he will write to me about its particular values I shall look into the matter.

Will my hon. Friend look into the refusal by Nottinghamshire County Council to provide taxis for at least one mentally handicapped child? It has put him into a mental hospital instead, because it is too mean to provide taxis.

If my hon. Friend will write to me about that case, I shall consider it. But there are children who are perhaps better provided for in hospital. Certainly, many of the good schools that exist in association with hospitals exist where there are hospitals dealing with mentally handicapped children. I should not wish to leap to conclusions about a particular case without knowing the details.

Does the hon. Lady agree that there is a need for a great deal of flexibility in interpreting the regulations, as it is not always possible clearly to define the dividing line between different categories?

Yes, Sir. It would be hard to disagree with that. One of the principal problems affecting hospital schools and hospital teaching is that so many children are in hospitals for a very brief time and that those who are in for a sustained period have such a variety of problems to cope with.

Does my hon. Friend agree that disabled children possibly more than other children need the support and sustenance of their home and as far as possible should be educated not at boarding schools but at day schools? Is she aware that in my constituency, in Tamworth, many children are being forced to board at Needwood School for the Deaf, about 15 miles away, when both parents and children would like the Staffordshire Education Committee to provide the children with daily transport to and from the school?

I accept my hon. Friend's case that this is a particularly difficult aspect of providing education for handicapped children. It would certainly always be our view that handicapped children should remain as closely as possible in touch with their homes and as much as possible in touch with children in other ordinary schools. But undoubtedly some authorities face problems at present in providing adequate education for the numbers of children involved. Sadly, some of them have decided on expenditure grounds, as my hon. Friend says, not to make available provision which perhaps has been available in the past. We regret this.

Will the hon. Lady say anything about the supply of peripatetic teachers for this purpose, and what she is doing to encourage teachers to take up this type of teaching?

As a general rule, the supply of peripatetic teachers is a little hard to assess because it depends on the number of teachers that authorities are prepared to keep on their books. It is, therefore, information that they will have rather than information that is likely to be easily available to us. There is no question but that we are anxious to encourage as many teachers as possible, whether peripatetic or permanent, to work with children with these difficulties. Although it is very difficult, it is rewarding work for those involved.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what representations have been made to her by the General Secretary of the National Union of Teachers about the employment of unqualified teachers in special schools; what assurances she gave in reply; and if she will make a statement.

My right hon. Friend has received representations from the General Secretary of the National Union of Teachers about the continued employment of two unqualified teachers in special schools under Regulation 16A(2) of the Handicapped Pupils and Special Schools Regulations 1959. She has informed him that the local education authority concerned has now advertised for qualified teachers suitable to replace them and that she will be keeping a close watch on the matter. I am not aware of a comparable situation in any other locality.

Is my hon. Friend aware that the London borough of Bexley claims that it is empowered to employ unqualified teachers to teach in its special school under the 1959 regulations concerning special schools? Is she further aware that to dismiss them would encourage those who are dismissed to appeal to an industrial tribunal on the ground of wrongful dismissal? Will she make a statement about it?

I am aware that the London borough of Bexley has held this view in the past, but it has now discarded it and has reached the view that it is not so empowered to employ these teachers. It is taking steps to advertise the posts so that qualified people may take them up. This is a difficult situation. As I understand it, the problem has been that these teachers had open-ended contracts as opposed to the recommendation of my Department for fixed-term contracts. It is a complicated matter, but it is now about to be resolved.

Does the hon. Lady recognise that some unqualified teachers are perfectly adequate to teach? Will she look back to the debates in 1966, at which time the National Union of Teachers tried to get rid of all unqualified teachers in primary schools? At that time her predecessor, now Lord Glenamara, very wisely allowed them to stay on. Many of them are very good.

I accept that many such teachers have been very helpful to schools in the past. Nevertheless, the hon. Gentleman will be aware that although, at the time he mentioned, it was accepted that many such teachers were employed in schools and doing a good job, it was agreed that the arrangements for allowing them to stay should be comparatively short term, that they should, when possible, be replaced by qualified teachers, and that the teachers who found themselves in those circumstances should be encouraged to seek qualifications. That, I understand, has been the position in this case.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science why the Advisory Board for Research Councils has had its budget reduced for the two years after 1979.

So far from reducing the science budget, the recent public expenditure White Paper, Cmnd. 7049, increased it by £4 million in each year from 1978–79 above the level projected a year ago in Cmnd. 6721. The further special addition of £4·5 million for capital expenditure which has been made in 1978–79 explains why the figure for that year is higher than the figures for 1980–81 and 1981–82.

Is not the Secretary of State aware that those statistics for the ensuing two years from now will only take care of the rate of inflation? I draw to her attention the fact that there is a very serious fall in the morale of those who work in the science research councils. They are also concerned that expenditure has dropped over the past four years in real terms. At a time when the country should be expecting more wealth from North Sea oil revenue, from 1980–81 onwards, should not some of the profit from the North Sea be used to increase expenditure in the science area?

No, the hon. Gentleman has got it wrong. This is the first increase in real terms. If the hon. Gentleman will cease shaking his finger, I will tell him the facts. The year 1978–79 reflects the first increase in real terms in the past four years. That increase will continue onwards. What the hon. Gentleman has not allowed for is that next year's budget reflects the emergency construction programme, and I cannot say what the capital programme will be in the continuing years. In revenue terms there has been a turn-up, allowing for the effects of inflation.

But how far do these increases simply compensate for the extra payments across the exchanges to international bodies which resulted from the decline in the value of sterling?

In 1977–78 that was true, in the sense that the fall in the value of sterling increased the real proportion which had to go to international subscriptions, but in the light of the improved performance of sterling, for which the Government take credit, I do not believe that that will be the case in the coming budget, to which the question is addressed.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science when she intends to announce the Arts Council's grant for 1978–79; and what representations she has received about the need to improve Arts Council support.

Subject to parliamentary approval, the grant-in-aid for 1978–79 will be £49 million. As is the usual practice, details will be announced when the Supply Estimates are presented to Parliament. The increase of £7·3 million over the current year's total takes account of the Arts Council's case for a substantial increase and of the current financial restraints.

I am obliged to my right hon. Friend for her reply, but is she aware that the increase she has announced is not sufficient to take account of the rate of inflation that the arts have experienced, which has been agreed at 21 per cent.? Will she undertake to put further pressure on the Chancellor of the Exchequer to see that the inflation rate is met and that over and above that there will be room for expansion? The present amount allows no room for expansion over and above the inflation rate.

I recognise my hon. Friend's championship of the arts, but I think many hon. Members will recognise that a 17½ per cent. increase in the arts budget is not bad going against the comparative rate of inflation.

Is the Secretary of State aware of the disservice occasioned to the arts by the late announcement of the grant-in-aid? Is she further aware of the distress that this causes to provincial repertory theatres and to the national operatic companies, which would dearly like to have known before this date what they could expect?

The hon. Gentleman might have been a little more generous, because this is the earliest date at which the arts budget has been declared for many years. I am sure that it would be helpful to declare it yet earlier, but I hope that he will give the Government some credit for making the announcement at the earliest date yet.

Is my right hon. Friend satisfied with the extent to which the provinces, as distinct from Greater London and the cities, get their fair share of touring theatre, which is grant-aided by the Arts Council? If she is not so satisfied—and I am not satisfied—will she take steps to put that position right?

I think it is worth saying that there has been a steady shift towards regional support for the arts, although I recognise that many hon. Members would like it to go further. It is fair to put on record that there has been a shift proportionately to areas outside the capital, and I am all in favour of that.

I support very strongly what was said by the hon. Member for Wolverhampton, North-East (Mrs. Short), who has made such an important contribution to our discussion of the arts in this House. I also, in an ecumenical mood, support the hon. Member for Isle of Ely (Mr. Freud) on the question of timing, because I believe that his point was a valid one.

I can see that there is a strong argument for what the hon. Gentleman suggested in the second part of his question, but he will recognise that we have not waited for the Estimates to be presented to Parliament before making an overall statement about the arts budget. There are difficulties in giving detailed statements when this budget, like so many others, is tied to the Supply Estimates. Perhaps the hon. Gentleman would like to speak to his own party on this matter, and I shall be happy to speak to mine about it.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether she is now satisfied that all colleges and departments of education scheduled for closure will be retained for other educational purposes.

As I explained to my hon. Friend in reply to his Question on 30th November, it is for the individual maintaining authorities and voluntary bodies to determine the future of premises which become available in due course, and lengthy negotiations are often involved. To date, alternative educational use is firmly in prospect for 15 colleges or annexes and parts of three other colleges. Most of the remainder are as yet undecided.

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for that answer. Will he accept that there is absolutely no cause for complacency in the present position? Is there nothing which could be done by the Department of Education and Science to convince local authorities of the necessity of retaining educational capital for educational purposes rather than selling it off to make a quick buck for some ratepayers?

I agree with my hon. Friend. Of a further 17 colleges, six parts of five others and one annexe yet to be decided, 13 are being considered for other educational purposes. Therefore most educational authorities are doing as he suggests. However, we shall be writing to education authorities who have redundant colleges, pointing out the strong hope of my Department that they will be retained for educational use.

In view of the changing economic climate which we are led to expect by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, will my hon. Friend reconsider the closure programme so that we may have a real breakthrough in the teacher supply situation and have reduced class sizes on a scale that we have never known before?

I do not think so. The House considered this matter after long negotiations last summer. To reopen the question would do a great disservice to higher education.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if she will make a statement on her policy on correspondence courses.

Well-run correspondence courses can play a useful part in the education system as a whole. The Council for the Accreditation of Correspondence Courses, which receives an annual grant from my Department, plays an important part in encouraging the maintenance and improvement of educational standards.

Is the Minister aware of the cost-effectiveness of these courses? Is he satisfied that local education authorities are using their full powers under the 1944 Education Act to make discretionary grants to students using these courses?

As the hon. Gentleman has said, local education authorities have these powers. I hope that they will consider applications from students on their merits. But I do not think it would be appropriate for me to offer them any general policy guidance on the matter. They are discretionary awards, and this is a matter for the local education authorities.

Is my hon. Friend aware that Open University fees, which are linked to correspondence courses, are now exorbitantly high? A substantial number of disabled people who could obtain education are being denied the opportunity because of the high charges now being imposed by the Open University. What action will he take about this?

Unfortunately Open University fees, along with other fees, had to be increased because of the economic situation. I am not aware that substantial numbers of people are being turned away for this reason. If my hon. Friend writes to me, I shall look into the matter. There may be some cases where the fee is such that the person concerned cannot afford the course.

Is the Minister aware that many schools find it difficult to cope with gifted children within the ordinary school situation? Will he give consideration to the facilities of the Open University being used by gifted children within the school situation, because often the original secondary school curriculum runs out and these children have nothing to do between finishing the course and going on to university?

I think that my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State answered a similar Question only last month. I would point out that the Open University is for post-school studies, not for school studies.

Will my hon. Friend consider the possibility of extending the Open University to lower levels of education so that it can take up correspondence courses to deal with questions of adult literacy? In allocating the fourth television channel, we might think of using it as an educational medium.

My hon. Friend is talking about another matter—open colleges. We are experimenting with this and looking at it. I remind the House that the Question relates to correspondence colleges, which are independent institutions.

Is the Minister aware that one of the problems about discretionary grants in both Labour and Conservative authorities is that money is not being given to people for these correspondence courses? I believe that 5,000 people are doing them. Since these courses are the most cost-effective, when discretionary grants are considered can the question of mandatory grants to certain correspondence courses and the Open University be included?

In the last rate support grant we tried to improve the amount of money available—it was a small amount but nevertheless an increase—for discretionary grants. At this stage, I do not think that there would be any question of extending mandatory grants to correspondence courses.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether she is satisfied with the teaching of technical skills in secondary schools.

Considerable attention is given by secondary schools to the teaching of technical skills, but there is still room for improvement. Twelve new courses for retraining existing teachers as specialists in craft, design and technology were started during 1977.

Is it not alarming that employers have to say to new entrants that they should forget all that they have learnt in school? Is there not some merit in considering the teaching of technical subjects from a more centralised basis within a given area and in conditions more akin to the conditions of the workplace?

That is indeed alarming. I do not know whether I would agree with the school or the employer when a statement like that is made. I agree with the hon. Gentleman that technical skills are as important as academic skills. I also agree that sometimes sufficient emphasis is not given to the youngsters who may make and repair things with their hands as distinct from the person who uses his mind.

Apart from the unsatisfactory situation of skills for teaching technical subjects, does my hon. Friend agree that the building regulations specifying sizes of workshops in schools are not realistic? Will he look at this so that the advice which he receives can be assessed?

I was not aware of that, but I shall have a look at it.

Since the great debate referred to industrial experience among teachers, will the Minister particularly bear in mind that, as well as technical teaching in schools, some outside employment is particularly important if the boys are to have confidence in the teachers?

I agree with the hon. Gentleman that that is important. As I have pointed out to the House, it is a shortage subject and new courses are being provided for an additional 280 teachers, particularly those who have industrial skills.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many qualified teachers who left college in the past three years (a) are not employed in teaching and (b) are unemployed.

I regret that this information is not available. However, in December 1977 10,513 people were registered with the Department of Employment as unemployed and seeking school teaching posts. This represents just under 2 per cent. of the teacher force in England and Wales.

Does my right hon. Friend agree that our aim, and apparently the aim of the Conservative Party, is to make education much better? Some months ago, in answer to one of my hon. Friends, it was pointed out that we would require an extra 55,000 teachers in order to cater for classes if they were brought down to 30, which is a reasonably manageable size? Will my right hon. Friend endeavour to do something in this direction, because the number of teachers who are unemployed are ready to teach? That would inevitably improve the whole quality of education and—dare I say it?—stop some of the nonsensical criticisms that are coming from the Conservative Party.

Not only would I be pleased to do that, but I have already taken steps in that direction. In the rate support grant settlement for 1978–79 we have provided for the employment of 1,000 additional teachers in deprived areas, 3,500 additional teachers to allow in-service and induction training to expand, 6,800 additional teachers to offset the effects of the falling schools rolls and, in addition, special courses in shortage subjects amounting to 1,000 places. That is a total of more than 12,000 additional posts for teachers. I do not think it is a bad start, and I hope that my hon. Friend will say so.

I acknowledge the personal disappointment of those who have been trained to teach and who find themselves without a job. None the less, does the Secretary of State agree that the important thing is to raise the quality of education and perhaps eventually move towards a graduate teaching profession? Is that not much more important than the sort of vague aspirations of the hon. Member for Sheffield, Hillsborough (Mr. Flannery)?

That is our policy. In 1979 the entry to teaching will be all-graduate, with the exception of some mature teachers and some from ethnic minorities whom we believe have special contributions to make, especially in the inner cities. I am pleased to indicate to the hon. Gentleman that this year, for the first time in all our schools, there will be the beginning of regular structured induction courses for all professional teachers.

Can my right hon. Friend give any indication of how Tory education committees on local authorities have responded to the additional teaching posts that she has mentioned, because the Tory County Council of Avon has made it quite clear that with regard to further education it has no intention of making any further appointments?

I take my hon. Friend's point. I have to say that we do not yet know for certain because, as he will know, education budgets are at present being drawn up. I should like to underline the point he makes that we have now made provision for more than 11,000 new teaching posts and that these have been agreed with the local authorities. We shall now hope to see, in practice on the ground, those additional teachers actually employed in the classrooms.

Does the Secretary of State agree that some of those who have not found jobs in teaching over the past two years are among the best products of colleges and that the profession will be the loser if two whole years of good teachers have been missed from its intake? Is she satisfied that she has done enough raiding of the funds of the Department of Employment for special schemes which could have helped in this?

I agree with the hon. Gentleman. There is no doubt that some excellent young people are coming out of colleges of education with a very high motivation for teaching. Taking up the second part of the hon. Gentleman's question, we are looking at the possibility of the continuation of these special crash courses in shortage subjects. I shall bear in mind what he said.

Although the Opposition welcome the Government's programme for in-service training in the context of this very serious teacher unemployment, which surely is nearer 30,000 than 10,000 since many married women do not register for unemployment benefit, may I ask whether the right hon. Lady is considering taking powers to ensure that allocations for in-service training at the local level are spent on that purpose?

Taking up the first part of the hon. Gentleman's question. I think he will find it difficult to sustain the figure of 30,000. We have no evidence that that is right, unless we count everyone trained as a teacher who may be working in, say youth service, further education and so on. But that is not our evidence.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what proportion of educational buildings now meet the standards recommended in the Department's Building Bulletin 55 "Energy Conservation in Educational Buildings".

This information is not available, but the proportion is likely to be small. A recent sample survey of 15 local authorities showed that in the design of new educational buildings more than half the authorities provided roofs and over one-quarter provided walls with a standard of insulation at or above that recommended in the bulletin.

Does the hon. Lady accept that the rising price of fuel means that better insulation is highly cost-effective and that it would save the taxpayer many millions of pounds in running costs if all school buildings came up to the recommended standards? How long will this programme take?

Not only do I accept it, we have made money available under the energy conservation programme—£8 million in 1978–79 and £17 million for each of the three years after that—for this very purpose. In Oxfordshire, where an experiment has been running between my Department and two secondary schools, one of the schools has saved 12 per cent. in a year on its energy bill and the other has saved 29 per cent. I recommend to other local authorities that they study the examples of Oxfordshire and Warwickshire which are involved in joint projects with their schools and offering to share half of the savings on energy with the schools involved.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what estimates are available of the number of children additionally entitled to school meals following recent changes in entitlement conditions; and what proportion of these additional children is taking school meals.

About ½ million more pupils were expected to be taking free meals as a result of the recent changes in entitlement. The numbers now taking free meals will not be known until the results of the January census are available.

Although we all approve of increasing the number of children entitled to free meals, may I ask whether my hon. Friend accepts that too small a proportion of those entitled actually take up the meals? Does she agree, therefore, that the only real answer is to keep down the prices of school meals and, if possible, in view of the very serious fall-off in the number taking them, consider decreasing again the price of these school meals?

I accept what my hon. Friend says. Until 100 per cent. of the people entitled to free meals claim them, we shall not be satisfied and shall continue to attempt to increase the number. However, although, like my hon. Friend, we are aware of the concern about the level of the cost of school meals, I cannot consider that we would contemplate going back on the increase at this stage.

What is the actual value of the school meal at the latest date for which figures are available?

The average cost of the school meal over the country as a whole is 49p. Its value is very considerable in that it offers children a substantial meal in the middle of the day.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if she has received any substantial evidence that the quality of students entering higher education is unsatisfactory or, despite increased numbers, below that of such students in the past.

No. Over the past few years there has been little change in the A-level performance of students entering university courses and CNAA first degree courses, but I appreciate there is some concern about aspects of mathematical education which some students have received.

Is not that answer generally reassuring, not least because it sheds necessary light upon the immoderate and ill-informed carping of the latter-day Squeers on the Opposition Front Bench?

I agree with my hon. Friend. For further illustration, the University Grants Committee has said that there is no decline in the general level of intellectual ability and enthusiasm amongst students. Between 1971 and 1976, the overall proportion of first-and upper second-class CNAA honours degrees increased from 24 per cent. to 28·7 per cent.