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32. Mr. Batiste : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what progress has been made in agreeing new collective bargaining arrangements for the teaching profession.
40. Mr. Spearing : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science when he expects to introduce legislation relating to changes in negotiating procedures in respect of teachers' pay and conditions of service.
46. Mr. Haynes : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science when he is going to announce his plans for the restoration of negotiating machinery for teachers' pay and conditions.
66. Mr. Martyn Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science when he is going to announce his plans for the restoration of negotiating machinery for teachers' pay and conditions.
85. Mr. Flannery : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science when he is going to announce his plans for the restoration of negotiating machinery for teachers' pay and conditions.
Mrs. Rumbold : I refer the hon. Members to the reply given by my right hon. Friend to my hon. Friend the Member for Salisbury (Mr. Key) on 31 January at column 159.
75. Mr. Ian Taylor : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science when he expects to receive the recommendations of the interim advisory committee on school teachers' pay and conditions.
Mrs. Rumbold : I refer my hon. Friend to the reply given by my right hon. Friend to my hon. Friend the Member for Rugby and Kenilworth (Mr. Pawsey) on 16 February at columns 323-26.
34. Mr. Kennedy : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science when he next plans to meet representatives of the University Grants Committee ; and what matters will be discussed.
44. Mr. Doran : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science when he last met the University Grants Committee ; and what subjects were discussed.
Mr. Canavan : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether he will arrange to meet the University Grants Committee to discuss the proposed closure of the school of veterinary medicine at Glasgow university.
Mr. Jackson : My right hon. Friend frequently meets in the course of usual business the chairman of the University Grants Committee and the chairman and chief executive-designate of the Universities Funding Council to discuss a variety of issues relating to university funding and subject provision.
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35. Mr. McAllion : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he has any plans to meet representatives of the principals of Scottish universities.
Mr. Jackson : I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Banff and Buchan (Mr. Salmond) on 31 January at column 164.
37. Mr. Nicholas Bennett : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what representations he has received in response to his consultative paper on student unions ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Jackson : No consultative paper has been issued. My Department is still analysing responses to its questionnaire about student unions. On the basis of the information obtained the Government will reach conclusions on the best action to take and will then consult all those concerned about those conclusions.
41. Dr. Moonie : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will make a statement on the teaching of physics and chemistry in universities.
Mr. Jackson : I refer to the hon. Member to the reply I gave to the hon. Member for Leeds, West (Mr. Battle) on 31 January at column 162.
43. Mr. Squire : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what proportion of all 16-year-olds commenced studying A-levels in (a) September 1988 and (b) September 1978.
Mrs. Rumbold : The proportion of 16-year-olds in England studying A levels was 25 per cent. in 1987-88 and 20 per cent. in 1979-80. Information by age prior to 1979-80 is not available, and information for 1988-89 is not yet available.
45. Mr. Simon Hughes : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he has any plans to introduce legislation to prevent local authorities from appointing nominees from one political party for all places as school governors ; and what representations he has received concerning local authorities which have done this.
Mrs. Rumbold : The Government have received various representations on this matter and has consistently stated that those authorities which nominate only majority party supporters as school governors are not behaving as their electorates would expect. We hope that they can be persuaded to adopt a fairer approach. We are not convinced that this is an appropriate matter for legislation.
47. Mr. Strang : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what representations he has received on the financial problems facing the universities ; and if he will make a statement.
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Mr. Jackson : My right hon. Friend has received many representations about all aspects of university policy, including university funding.
49. Mr. Favell : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what information he has on the level of participation of school children in team sports (a) currently and (b) 30 years ago.
Mrs. Rumbold : This information is not available centrally.
54. Mr. Wigley : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what proportion of his science budget is spent in Wales, Scotland and England, respectively.
Mr. Jackson : In 1987-88, the latest year for which figures are available, 3 per cent. of the science budget was spent in Wales, 9 per cent. in Scotland and 71 per cent. in England.
76. Mr. Morgan : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what increases in real terms are proposed in the science budget in 1990-91 and 1991-92.
79. Mr. Nigel Griffiths : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what increases in real terms are proposed in the science budget in 1990-91 and 1991-92.
Mr. Jackson : The announced allocations for the science budget for 1990-91 and 1991-92 allow for real terms increases of 8.8 per cent. and 7.9 per cent. respectively over the revised allocation for 1988-89.
55. Mr. Turner : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what proposals he has to ensure adequate teacher supply ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Butcher : I refer the hon. Member to the reply that my right hon. Friend gave on 31 January to the hon. Member for Bridgend (Mr. Griffiths) at column 157.
56. Mr. Steinberg : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what plans he has for assisting local authorities in reducing surplus places in schools ; and if he will make a statement.
74. Mr. Barron : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what plans he has for assisting local authorities in reducing surplus places in schools ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Butcher : Local education authorities are aware of the high cost of under-used capacity at schools with a substantial proportion of surplus places. They recognise therefore that it is very much in their own interests to continue to come forward with proposals to rationalise their school provision where appropriate. The Government's public expenditure plans assume that authorities collectively will achieve the national targets for the removal of surplus places.
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57. Ms. Ruddock : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what progress he has made on his plans for city technology colleges ; and if he will make a statement.
61. Mrs. Ann Taylor : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what progress he has made on his plans for city technology colleges ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Butcher : I refer the hon. Members to the answer my right hon. Friend gave earlier this afternoon to the hon. Member for Coventry, North- West (Mr. Hughes).
81. Mr. Clelland : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what representations he has received from the City Technology Trust with regard to funding ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Butcher : The City Technology College Trust was established, with charitable status in April 1987. In August 1987 the chairman, Mr. Cyril Taylor made a request for grant-aid towards work that was being undertaken.
Agreement was given in March 1988 for a grant of up to a maximum of £200,000, or 2/3 of the trust's total relevant expenditure, during the four years from 1987-88 to 1990-91. Grant is payable towards the trust's activities in finding sites for CTCs and providing advice and support to CTC projects. A request has recently been received concerning the extension of funding for a further two years.
58. Mr. Hardy : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many letters he has received during the last six months on the subject of student finance.
Mr. Jackson : Since 1 September, about 4,000.
60. Mr. Janman : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will (a) make it his policy to encourage exam boards to make the O-level exam available in competition with the GCSE and (b) continue to allow education authorities, schools and parents to opt for either exam ; and if he will make a statement.
Mrs. Rumbold : Section 5 of the Education Reform Act provides for the statutory approval of qualifications and syllabuses for children of compulsory school age in maintained schools. My right hon. Friend has asked the School Examinations and Assessment Council to advise what qualifications--GCSE and other--should be approved. He will consider that advice, which he expects to receive by May, in the context of his intention that GCSE and equivalent qualifications should constitute the principal method of assessment of pupils' attainment at age 16.
62. Mr. Cox : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what discussions he is having with the London borough of Wandsworth about its plans for running the education services in the borough ; and if he will make a statement.
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Mrs. Rumbold : The Department is in regular contact with Wandsworth, as with other inner London boroughs, on a range of issues relating to their preparations for the transfer of education responsibility. These issues include the boroughs' development plans, the future of specific services, detailed arrangements for the transfer of functions and property and staffing matters.
65. Mr. Ashley : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he plans to make any change in the local education authority training grants scheme so as to encourage an enhanced take-up of places for in-service training to become a specialist teacher of deaf children.
Mrs. Rumbold : Training to become a qualified teacher of deaf children will again be a national priority area under the scheme in 1989-90 and grant-aided allocations to support our target number of 110 trainees were announced to authorities last autumn. My right hon. Friend will shortly consider detailed arrangements for the scheme in 1990-91.
69. Mr. Arbuthnot : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what progress has been made by London boroughs in preparing for taking over the responsibilities currently undertaken by the Inner London education authority.
Mrs. Rumbold : The inner London councils are required, under section 165 of the Education Reform Act, to publish a development plan for education in their area. Ten have already done so, and the remaining three have confirmed that they will do so later this week. All the councils have consulted locally about their proposed plans and have also reached joint agreement on a range of important issues of common concern. They continue to discuss arrangements for certain services currently provided on a cross- borough basis. The Government are making available £25 million specific grant for the councils in 1989-90 to support continued planning and preparation ; all are making senior appointments to their education departments and are preparing to take on further staff to work on transfer arrangements. The Government look to the inner London councils to maintain and indeed increase this momentum in the coming months.
70. Mr. Bowis : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will give the latest figure for spending per secondary pupil in inner London and the comparable figures for the rest of London and for the former metropolitan authorities.
Mr. Butcher : The average net institutional expenditure per pupil in maintained secondary schools in 1986-87, the latest year for which information about actual spending is available, is given in the table :
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|c|Average net institutional expenditure<1> per secondary pupil<2>|c| |£ per pupil 1986-87 cash |terms --------------------------------------------------------------------------- ILEA |2,350 Outer London boroughs |1,550 Metropolitan districts |1,355 <1> Net institutional expenditure includes the cost of salaries and wages, premises and certain supplies and services. It does not include the cost of school meals, central administration and inspection, debt charges or revenue contributions to capital outlay. <2> The figures are based on LEA expenditure returns to DOE and pupil number returns to DES.
71. Mr. Hinchliffe : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what are the implications for medical research financed by the Medical Research Council of new proposals for the funding of the hospital service.
Mr. Rooker : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what arrangements he has made to protect medical research supported by the Medical Research Council with co-operation in clinical aspects by the National Health Service, in the light of the Government's new proposals for the funding of hospital services.
Mr. Jackson : The White Paper "Working for Patients' (Cm. 555) makes it clear that the Government are firmly committed to maintaining the quality of medical education and research. In the light of the proposals in the White Paper, the Government will be considering how best to ensure that costs associated with research in the National Health Service are met, and that appropriate arrangements exist between the MRC and the Health Service for the effective prosecution of research.
73. Mr. Darling : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will make a statement on future Government support for clinical medical research.
Mr. Jackson : The main agency through which the Government support medical research, including clinical medical research, is the Medical Research Council. My right hon. Friend announced on 7 February 1989 that the council's grant-in-aid for 1989-90 will be £176 million. This is an increase in real terms of 12 per cent. on the 1988-89 figure of £150 million. The council's cash planning figures for 1990-91 and 1991 -92 are £181 million and £185 million respectively ; these will be subject to review in the usual way in the public expenditure survey. The allocation of the council's funds between clinical and other research is a matter for the council, but I understand that it is planning to increase its emphasis on clinical research. Some support of clinical research is also provided through UGC block grants to universities and medical schools, and through regional health authorities' spending.
77. Mr. Latham : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether he will make a statement on the implementation of the circular on charging by local education authorities, following the enactment of the Education Reform Act 1988.
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Mr. Butcher : The circular on charges for school activities describes provisions in the Education Reform Act 1988 which come into force on 1 April. My right hon. Friend will be monitoring the implementation of these provisions.
78. Ms. Abbott : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will make extra capital allocations to inner London boroughs to programme improvements to school buildings ; and in the case of Tower Hamlets, if he will provide immediate resources to allow further expansion of the inner London education authority's school building programme.
Mrs. Rumbold : My right hon. Friend has announced the education block capital allocation for the inner London education authority for 1989- 90. In making this allocation he took account of expected changes in pupil population, including those in Tower Hamlets. From 1 April 1990, the Government propose new arrangements for local authority capital expenditure ; the Local Government and Housing Bill, currently before the House, sets out these arrangements.
80. Mr. Bellingham : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what further steps he plans to take to encourage small village schools.
Mr. Butcher : Responsibility for educational provision in maintained schools in rural as well as in other areas rests with local education authorities. My right hon. Friend is continuing to support through education support grant some £1.5 million expenditure per annum on pilot projects in a number of LEAs with a view to improving the quality and range of the curriculum in small rural primary schools. My right hon. Friend is also proposing to support a research project by the university of Leicester to evaluate the pilot projects with a view to making recommendations on practices which could successfully be replicated in other LEAs.
82. Miss Lestor : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will take steps to ensure that children who have been in the care of several local authorities are not disbarred from access to discretionary local authority grants.
Mr. Jackson This is a matter for individual local education authorities.
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83. Mr. Cohen : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether he will make a statement on teacher supply in London and the south-east.
87. Mr. Corbyn : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether he will make a statement on teacher supply in London and the south-east.
Mrs. Rumbold : We recognise that there are problems of teacher supply in London and in the south-east more widely. Much can be done locally through good recruitment and deployment measures. Our current action programme to combat teacher shortages focuses on regions with recruitment difficulties.
84. Mr. Boateng : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science, what specific initiatives he intends to fund, beyond that which the local authorities are undertaking, to overcome the shortage of primary education teachers in London.
Mr. Butcher : There is no shortage of primary teachers nationally, though we recognise that there are problems in London and the south-east. Officers of the DES and the teaching as a career unit discuss recruitment measures with local education authorities. Our publicity and advertising continues to emphasise the demand for primary school staff in London.
Mr. Amos : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will publish a list of local education authority expenditure per capita, together with their position of relative examination success, for the past five years for which figures are available.
Mrs. Rumbold : The information gives the average cost per secondary school pupil for the financial year 1986-87 ; and the three-year average, over the academic years 1984-85, 1985-86 and 1986-87, of the proportion of school leavers who attained five or more higher grades at O-level/CSE. The latter figures are drawn from a 10 per cent. sample of pupils at each school. Sampling error is a major consideration where information in respect of individual local education authorities is concerned. While presentation of the figures in the form of a three-year average may help to mitigate the effects of sampling error, information presented over five individual years, as requested, would be subject to excessive fluctuation for valid year to year comparisons.
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|c|Secondary schools in England|c| Examination results: average over the academic years 1984-85, 1985-86, 1986-87 Local education |Expenditure per pupil (£)|Percentage of school |Ranking authorities |in the financial year |leavers attaining 5+ |1986-87 |higher grades at |O-level/CSE ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Barking |1,470 |9.9 |96 Barnet |1,510 |41.0 |1 Bexley |1,370 |26.6 |24 Brent |1,805 |19.1 |74 Bromley |1,420 |30.5 |10 Croydon |1,535 |22.9 |52 Ealing |1,650 |19.6 |68 Enfield |1,380 |23.7 |45 Haringey |n.a. |17.3 |83 Harrow |1,600 |37.8 |2 Havering |1,510 |23.9 |44 Hillingdon |1,520 |21.2 |62 Hounslow |1,505 |21.5 |61 Kingston-upon-Thames |1,530 |34.8 |3 Merton |1,325 |24.9 |37 Newham |n.a. |12.4 |93 Redbridge |1,465 |25.6 |32 Richmond-upon-Thames |1,330 |26.5 |25 Sutton |1,300 |34.4 |4 Waltham Forest |1,915 |11.0 |94 Birmingham |1,345 |16.9 |85 Coventry |1,485 |19.9 |67 Dudley |1,350 |21.5 |59 Sandwell |1,410 |13.4 |92 Solihull |1,280 |29.4 |11 Walsall |1,430 |19.1 |73 Wolverhampton |1,395 |15.4 |89 Knowsley |1,515 |10.6 |95 Liverpool |1,445 |17.0 |84 St. Helens |1,340 |23.6 |46 Sefton |1,275 |27.0 |22 Wirral |1,280 |23.5 |48 Bolton |1,230 |24.9 |36 Bury |1,340 |28.4 |15 Manchester |1,660 |17.3 |82 Oldham |1,255 |16.1 |87 Rochdale |1,460 |20.2 |64 Salford |1,385 |18.9 |76 Stockport |1,270 |24.3 |41 Tameside |1,325 |23.5 |47 Trafford |1,315 |31.7 |7 Wigan |1,460 |27.2 |19 Barnsley |1,325 |15.7 |88 Doncaster |1,325 |19.2 |72 Rotherham |1,230 |17.4 |81 Sheffield |1,490 |18.9 |75 Bradford |1,235 |16.7 |86 Calderdale |1,330 |19.3 |70 Kirklees |1,250 |24.1 |43 Leeds |1,230 |21.5 |58 Wakefield |1,290 |15.4 |90 Gateshead |1,360 |18.8 |77 Newcastle-upon-Tyne |1,530 |17.7 |80 North Tyneside |1,455 |21.9 |57 South Tyneside |1,430 |18.1 |79 Sunderland |1,305 |19.3 |71 ILEA |2,345 |15.4 |91 Avon |1,310 |24.7 |38 Bedfordshire |1,250 |25.9 |29 Berkshire |1,280 |27.5 |18 Buckinghamshire |1,320 |31.6 |8 Cambridgeshire |1,205 |24.4 |40 Cheshire |1,235 |26.6 |23 Cleveland |1,355 |27.5 |17 Cornwall |1,175 |25.5 |33 Cumbria |1,315 |24.2 |42 Derbyshire |1,305 |21.5 |60 Devon |1,225 |23.4 |49 Dorset |1,190 |28.4 |16 Durham |1,225 |20.0 |66 East Sussex |1,235 |25.7 |31 Essex |1,255 |25.1 |35 Gloucestershire |1,260 |28.6 |14 Hampshire |1,220 |26.0 |28 Hereford and Worcester |1,180 |25.7 |30 Hertfordshire |1,350 |28.9 |13 Humberside |1,270 |21.1 |63 Isle of Wight |1,150 |18.3 |78 Kent |1,145 |27.1 |20 Lancashire |1,255 |24.7 |39 Leicestershire |1,390 |22.9 |51 Lincolnshire |1,185 |25.3 |34 Norfolk |1,230 |21.9 |56 North Yorkshire |1,240 |31.4 |9 Northamptonshire |1,250 |20.0 |65 Northumberland |1,230 |29.0 |12 Nottinghamshire |1,365 |19.6 |69 Oxfordshire |1,350 |26.5 |26 Shropshire |1,285 |27.0 |21 Somerset |1,195 |22.2 |53 Staffordshire |1,255 |23.4 |50 Suffolk |1,165 |22.0 |55 Surrey |1,260 |34.4 |5 Warwickshire |1,220 |26.2 |27 West Sussex |1,220 |32.1 |6 Wiltshire |1,230 |22.1 |54
Mr. Fatchett : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether the safety nets to be introduced for the inner London boroughs, to coincide with the introduction of the community charge and the abolition of the Inner London education authority, will be based on the actual level of spending by the Inner London education authority, or the Government's assessment of educational needs in individual boroughs ; and if he will make a statement.
Mrs. Rumbold : Proposals have been put to the local authority associations about the basis for the national safety net adjustments to revenue support grant which will apply from 1 April 1990. The proposals do not envisage that the safety net spending assumption will be based on local authorities' needs assessments but the two options put forward do assume that safety nets will be based on a measure of spending in 1989-90 uprated for inflation. One option is to base the safety net spending assumption on the 1989-90 RSG settlement spending assumption ; the other option is to base the safety net spending assumption on the actual domestic rate poundage levied in 1989-90.
Mr. Fatchett : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science (1) whether he has received any representations from the borough of Wandsworth about the funding of the transitional arrangements in 1989-90 for the abolition of the Inner London education authority ; and if he will make a statement ;
(2) whether he has received any representations from the borough of Wandsworth about the levels of funding for education following the abolition of the Inner London education authority in 1990 ; and if he will make a statement ;
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(3) whether he has any plans to meet representatives from the borough of Wandsworth to discuss funding for education following the abolition of the Inner London education authority in 1990 ; and if he will make a statement.Mrs. Rumbold : Wandsworth's director of education wrote to the Department on 20 January, welcoming the specific grant for preparatory costs which was announced before Christmas. There has been correspondence between the borough and the Department on matters relating to capital expenditure from April 1990. No other specific representations have been received from Wandsworth, although my right hon. Friend and I have had a number of meetings with representatives of the inner London boroughs, including Wandsworth, at which the financing of education in inner London from April 1990 has been among the subjects discussed. A further such meeting is likely to take place soon.
Mr. Fatchett : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what estimates have been made by the London borough of Wandsworth of the cost of running education services in the borough in 1990-91 ; and what sum his Department has estimated for such provision.
Mrs. Rumbold : Estimates made by the London borough of Wandworth are a matter for that borough. The Department is discussing with the inner London boroughs generally the basis of the revised needs assessments for education from 1 April 1990 and an appropriate disaggregation of ILEA spending. The cost of running education after transfer will depend on the policies adopted by each borough and the efficiency with which they are delivered.
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Mr. Kirkwood : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what representations he has received in the last six months concerning United Kingdom research into the greenhouse effect.
Mr. Jackson : My right hon. Friend has received eight representations on matters which raise issues relevant to United Kingdom research into the greenhouse effect.
Mr. Andrew F. Bennett : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will make a statement about the level of those aged 16 years staying on in full-time education.
Mr. Jackson : I refer the hon. Member to the reply given by my right hon. Friend to my hon. Friend the Member for Rugby and Kenilworth (Mr. Pawsey) on 10 February at cols. 846-850 . The Government are committed to encouraging young people to pursue both full and part-time courses of education and training beyond the age of 16.
Mr. Franks : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science when Her Majesty's inspectorate's latest annual report will be published.
Mr. Kenneth Baker : Her Majesty's inspectorate's annual report covering the academic year 1987-88 has been published today. Copies are available in the Vote Office. The report draws on evidence from the inspection and other activity of Her Majesty's inspectorate and on the reports published by Her Majesty's inspectorate throughout the academic year. As I announced in October 1987, this is a new-style annual Her Majesty's inspectorate report which takes the place of previous reports which were based on inspections carried out in just one term.
Mr. Steinberg : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if, on a similar basis to his answer to the hon. Member for Bradford, West (Mr. Madden) on 22 June, Official Report , columns 575-80 , he will publish figures showing the average total weekly benefit payable to disabled claimants in (a) Durham and (b) England, before and after the social security reforms of April were completely phased in.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : I regret that this information is not available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. The Department's published "Impact of the Reformed Structure of Income-Related Benefits", a copy of which is in the Library, shows the estimated effects of the reformed benefit system on, among others, the sick and disabled. Tables 9A and 9B show in both cash and structural terms the estimated average change in disposable income of the sick and disabled.
Mr. Martyn Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many people have lost transitional protection at the most recent date.
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