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Written Answers to Questions
Wednesday 8 May 1991
OVERSEAS DEVELOPMENT
Advertising
Mr. Dobson : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will give separate figures for the spending by the Overseas Development Administration on (a) television advertising, (b) radio advertising, (c) newspaper advertising and (d) other promotional material in 1979-80 and in each following year ; and what are his latest estimates for 1990-91 and budgets for 1991-92.
Mrs. Chalker : I refer the hon. Member to the reply he received on 25 April from my hon. and learned Friend the Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office.
Privatisation
Mr. Dobson : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what proposals he has to privatise any activities of the Overseas Development Administration.
Mrs. Chalker : I have no proposals to privatise any activities of the Overseas Development Administration.
Ethiopian Relief Organisation
Mr. Cousins : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he has given, or proposes to give, assistance directly to the Ethiopian Relief Organisation after the cancellation of the joint relief partnership scheme by the Ethiopian central Government.
Mrs. Chalker : The joint relief partnership--JRP--has not been cancelled. Latest reports indicate that the JRP continues to operate the southern line relief supply route satisfactorily. We are providing assistance through the southern line and in other ways. I have no plans at present to give assistance directly to the Ethiopian Relief Organisation.
NATIONAL FINANCE
Balance of Payments
Mr. Peter Bottomley : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the relationship between the balance of payments cost of an increase in overseas aid and the domestic balance of taxation and net public spending.
Mr. Mellor : Overseas aid in the form of cash grants counts as a transfer debit in the invisible trade balance of the current account. An increase in such aid would therefore reduce the surplus on invisibles and so increase the current account deficit. It would count as public expenditure. To the extent to which it added to the planning total, it would need to be financed from general taxation.
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Household Incomes
Mr. Austin Mitchell : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) whether he will publish in the Official Report a table showing gross rates as a percentage of equivalised disposable income for each category and each year itemised in table R of the article on household incomes in the March issue of "Economic Trends" ; and if he will add the average for all households in each tenure type ; (2) whether he will publish in the Official Report a table showing gross rates as a percentage of equivalised disposable income for each category and each year itemised in table Q of the article on household incomes in the March issue of "Economic Trends" ; and if he will add the average for all households in each household type ; (3) what is his estimate of the gross and net council tax payable as a percentage of household equivalised disposable incomes by decile groups as defined in the article on household income in the March issue of "Economic Trends", together with the corresponding figures for rates in 1988.
Mr. Mellor : It is not meaningful to compare unequivalised gross rates with equivalised values of income.
Mr. Austin Mitchell : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will publish in the Official Report a table showing the numbers of households in each of the lowest two quintiles in table 3 appendix 1 of the article on household incomes in the March issue of "Economic Trends", receiving a rate rebate of (a) 100 per cent. and (b) 50 to 99 per cent. and the numbers receiving combined housing benefit/rate relief in excess of rates.
Mr. Maples : The figures are as follows :
1988 Quintile groups of equivalised disposable income
Number of households
Percentage of domestic rates |Bottom |2nd
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Rate rebates
1. 100 per cent. |68 |53
2. 50 to 99 per cent. |344 |197
3. 0 to 49 per cent. |1,041 |1,203
|--- |---
|1,453 |1,453
Households where total of rate rebate
and rent rebate/allowance is in excess
of domestic rates |601 |489
Note: Care should be taken in the interpretation of these figures, which are subject to sampling error, and the accuracy of
reporting by households, in the Family Expenditure Survey which is the source of the data. Rate rebates may not always relate
to the same time period as the reported income.
Source: Central Statistical Office.
The 100 per cent. figures include any cases where reported rebates exceed the domestic rates.
Mr. Austin Mitchell : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will publish in the Official Report a table, further to the article on household incomes in the March issue of "Economic Trends", showing the increase in real disposable incomes since 1979 of the top and bottom deciles of households and the increases in the percentage of real disposable incomes taken by gross rates in each case.
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Mr. Mellor : The analysis behind the article on household incomes has not been designed to give reliable estimates of increases in absolute income levels between two years. The remaining information is as follows.
Gross rates as percentage of disposable income in:
1979 and 1988
Decile group of housAlllds
ranked by equivalisehouseholds
disposable income
Per cent. |Bottom |Top
--------------------------------------------------
1979 |9 |3 |4
1988 |15 |3 |5
Note: Rate rebates will significantly reduce the
burden of gross rates for lower income
households.
Mr. Austin Mitchell : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will publish in the Official Report a table showing for each column in each table in the article on household incomes in the March issue of "Economic Trends" the average amount of tax relief in total and per recipient.
Mr. Mellor : The information could be produced only at disproportionate cost.
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However, the average amount of some forms of tax relief--relief at source on mortgage interest under the MIRAS system and life assurance premiums--is given for quintile and decile groups of households for 1988 in tables 3 and 4 of appendix 1 of the article in March's "Economic Trends".Mr. Austin Mitchell : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will publish a table showing for each of the decile groups in table 2 of appendix 3 to the article on household incomes in the March issue of "Economic Trends", the estimated gross amount of council tax payable compared to the gross rate, together with the corresponding tax rebate.
Mr. Mellor : Estimates of council tax are not available.
Mr. Austin Mitchell : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will publish in the Official Report a table showing the numbers of households in each decile of table 2, appendix 3 of the article on household incomes in the March issue of "Economic Trends" that received rate rebates or housing benefit equal to (a) 100 per cent. and (b) 50-99 per cent. of rates.
Mr. Maples : The figures are as follows :
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Decile groups of unadjusted disposable income
1988 Number of households |Bottom |2nd |3rd |4th |5th |6th |7th |8th |9th |Top |All
|households
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total rate rebate and rent rebate allowance, as
a percentage of domestic rates:
100 per cent. or more |301 |392 |267 |126 |60 |34 |19 |14 |6 |2 |1,221
50 to 99 per cent. |107 |59 |42 |30 |18 |12 |12 |4 |2 |2 |288
0 to 49 per cent. |318 |276 |418 |570 |649 |680 |696 |708 |719 |722 |5,756
|------- |------- |------- |------- |------- |------- |------- |------- |------- |------- |-------
Total |726 |727 |727 |726 |727 |726 |727 |726 |727 |726 |7,265
Note: Care should be taken in the interpretation of these figures, which are subject to sampling error, and the accuracy of reporting by households, in the Family Expenditure Survey which is the source of the data. Rate rebates may not always relate to the same time period as the reported income. Some high income households may contain low income benefit
units entitled to rebates, for example lodgers.
Source: Central Statistical Office.
Vote Bundle
Mr. Spearing : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will tabulate in the Official Report the amount charged for the full Vote bundle in each Session of Parliament for 1980-81 to date in cash prices and at 1990-91 prices ; and if he will state the amounts charged during the current Session, its estimated cost and method of calculation.
Mr. Maples : The cost of taking one copy of the Vote bundle throughout each Session of Parliament since 1980-81 is as follows :
Session |Prices |Prices
|charged |charged
|uplifted to
|1991 prices
|£ |£
------------------------------------------------
1980-81 |1,757 |3,221
1981-82 |2,113 |3,510
1982-83<1> |1,509 |2,396
1983-84<2> |3,039 |4,586
1984-85 |2,738 |3,895
1985-86 |2,885 |3,937
1986-87<1> |1,569 |2,058
1987-88<2> |4,664 |5,913
1988-89 |4,128 |4,852
1989-90 |4,304 |4,680
1990-91<3> |3,800 |3,800
<1> 6 month Session due to General Election.
<2> 17 month Session.
<3> Estimated.
Customers are currently charged on the basis of a page price which is set to recover the relatively fixed costs of maintaining a dedicated printing facility, plus a contribution towards central costs and HMSO's financial targets, from the pages produced, which vary with the level of parliamentary activity.
Council Tax
Mr. Austin Mitchell : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will publish in the Official Report a table showing for each quintile group of households in the family expenditure survey ranked by the gross amount of council tax payable the average (i) unadjusted disposable income, (ii) equivalised disposable income, (iii) number of households qualifying for relief and (iv) the amount of relief per qualifying household ;
(2) whether he will publish in the Official Report a table showing for each quintile group within each household type in table 5, appendix 1 of the article on household incomes in the March issue of "Economic Trends", his estimate of the gross council tax to replace gross rates, together with his estimate of the average amount of rebate.
Mr. Maples : Estimates of council tax cannot be made from the data available.
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Mr. Austin Mitchell : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is his estimate of the average increase in the amount payable by (a) council tenants and (b) other householders under the council tax over rates in 1979-80 and 1989-90 ; and if he will provide corresponding figures for each region.Mr. Key : I have been asked to reply.
The information requested is not available.
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Advertising
Mr. Dobson : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will give separate figures for the spending by the Department for National Savings on (a) television advertising, (b) radio advertising, (c) newspaper advertising and (d) other promotional material in 1979-80 and in each following year ; and what are his latest estimates for 1990-91 and budgets for 1991-92.
Mr. Maples : Figures for the years 1981-82 to 1991-92 are as follows. No breakdown by advertising medium is available for the years 1981 -82 to 1983-84 and no total figures prior to 1981.
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£000s
|TV |Press |Radio |Outdoor |Point-of sale|Total spend
|Advertising |Advertising |Posters |etc.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1991-92 |<1>5,500 |<1>3,500 |- |- |<1>1,826 |<1>10,826
1990-91 |5,242 |4,226 |- |- |1,412 |10,880
1989-90 |5,813 |4,842 |- |- |642 |11,297
1988-89 |5,389 |4,745 |- |1,063 |3,090 |14,287
1987-88 |6,575 |4,029 |- |1,705 |660 |12,969
1986-87 |5,145 |7,706 |- |2,104 |3,518 |18,473
1985-86 |1,727 |6,197 |- |1,847 |1,936 |11,707
1984-85 |1,998 |6,021 |- |1,728 |2,419 |12,166
1983-84 |n/a |n/a |n/a |n/a |n/a |9,693
1982-83 |n/a |n/a |n/a |n/a |n/a |8,479
1981-82 |n/a |n/a |n/a |n/a |n/a |8,279
<1> estimated
Mr. Dobson : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will give separate figures for the spending by the Inland Revenue on (a) television advertising, (b) radio advertising, (c) newspaper advertising and (d) other promotional material in 1979-80 and in each following year ; and what are his latest estimates for 1990-91 and budgets for 1991-92.
Mr. Maude : Information relating to the financial years 1979-80 to 1985-86 inclusive is not readily available and cannot be obtained without disproportionate cost. The spend on advertising, omitting staff and accommodation-related costs, for the remaining years is as follows :
£ thousand
|Televison |Rado |Newspaper |Other
|promotional
------------------------------------------------------------------------
1986-87 |0 |0 |15 |300
1987-88 |0 |0 |15 |350
1988-89 |0 |0 |20 |250
1989-90 |0 |0 |30 |400
1990-91<1> |4,376 |0 |2,155 |692
1991-92<2> |0 |0 |20 |300
<1> Forecast outturn
<2> Budget
The figures for 1990-91 include expenditure of £6.95 million on an advertising campaign to increase public awareness of the new arrangements for non-taxpayers to register for payment of bank and building society interest without deduction of income tax.
Mr. Dobson : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will give separate figures for the spending by Her Majesty's Customs and Excise on (a) television advertising, (b) radio advertising, (c) newspaper advertising and (d) other promotional material in 1979-80 and in each following year ; and what are his latest estimates for 1990-91 and budgets for 1991-92.
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Mrs. Gillian Shephard : Her Majesty's Customs and Excise has not used television, radio or newspaper advertising for promotional purposes. The information available on other promotional material is as follows :
|Estimate
|expenditure
|£
------------------------------------
1984-1985 |21,000
1985-1986 |29,000
1986-1987 |28,000
1987-1988 |29,000
1988-1989 |47,000
1989-1990 |31,000
1990-1991 |44,000
1991-1992 |54,000
The figures do not include recruitment advertising. The figures for 1979-84 are not available.
Mr. Dobson : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will give separate figures for the spending by Her Majesty's Stationery Office on (a) television advertising, (b) radio advertising, (c) newspaper advertising and (d) other promotional material in 1979-80 and in each following year ; and what are his latest estimates for 1990-91 and budgets for 1991-92.
Mr. Maples : HMSO has not used television or radio advertising. Expenditure on advertising in newspapers and journals and on other promotional material for each financial year was :
Year |Advertising in |Other promotional
|Newspapers and |material
|Journal<1>
|£000 |£000
------------------------------------------------------------------------
1983-84 |42 |151
1984-85 |45 |125
1985-86 |69 |191
1986-87 |61 |160
1987-88 |83 |172
1988<2> |89 |142
1989 |<3>1,027 |563
1990 |406 |658
<1>Details of expenditure on newspaper advertising as opposed to
journal advertising are not available.
<2>HMSO changed its financial year from the fiscal to the calendar in
1988 (9 months).
<3>Includes expenditure on a major campaign to launch new health and
safety posters.
Figures for the years 1979-80 to 1982-83 could be provided only at disproportionate cost. The comparable budgeted figures for 1991 are £539,000 and £589,000 respectively.
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The greater part of the expenditure is incurred in publicising publications and HMSO would normally expect to recover the costs through sales.Mr. Dobson : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will give separate figures for the spending by the Department for National Savings on (a) television advertising, (b) radio advertising, (c) newspaper advertising and (d) other promotional material in 1979-80 and in each following year ; and what are his latest estimates for 1990-91 and budgets for 1991-92.
Mr. Maples : Figures for the years 1981-82 to 1991-92 are as follows. No breakdown by advertising medium is available for the years 1981 -82 to 1983-84 and no total figures prior to 1981.
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£ thousands Televisionadvertising Press
advertising Radio Outdoor
posters Point-of
sale etc. Total spend
1991-92 5,500 3,500 -- -- 1,826 10,826
1990-91 5,242 4,226 -- -- 1,412 10,880
1989-90 5,813 4,842 -- -- 642 11,297
1988-89 5,389 4,745 -- 1,063 3,090 14,287
1987-88 6,575 4,029 -- 1,705 660 12,969
1986-87 5,145 7,706 -- 2,104 3,518 18,473
1985-86 1,727 6,197 -- 1,847 1,936 11,707
1984-85 1,998 6,021 -- 1,728 2,419 12,166
1983-84 n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 9,693
1982-83 n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 8,479
1981-82 n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 8,279
Estimated
Privatisation
Mr. Dobson : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what proposals he has to privatise any activities of the Department for National Savings.
Mr. Dobson : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what proposals he has to privatise any activities of Customs and Excise.
Mrs. Gillian Shephard : In common with other Departments, Customs and Excise carries out a continuing programme of market testing reviews of its activities. Where market testing identifies areas where value for money could be improved by contracting out work to the private sector, the feasibility of doing so will be examined.
Oil and Gas
Mr. Doran : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the total amount paid in (a) petroleum revenue tax, (b) royalties and (c) corporation tax arising out of oil and gas operations in the United Kingdom continental shelf in each year since 1979 ; and what is his estimate of the total amount of each tax to be paid in fiscal year 1991-92.
Mr. Maples : The information required (in £ millions) is contained in the table :
Fiscal Year |<1>Petroleum |Royalties |<2>Corporation
|Revenue Tax |Tax
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
1979-80 |1,435 |628 |250
1980-81 |2,410 |992 |341
1981-82 |4,415 |1,396 |681
1982-83 |5,669 |1,632 |521
1983-84 |6,017 |1,904 |877
1984-85 |7,177 |2,426 |2,432
1985-86 |6,375 |2,057 |2,916
1986-87 |1,188 |919 |2,676
1987-88 |2,296 |1,024 |1,298
1988-89 |1,371 |602 |1,210
1989-90 |1,050 |575 |768
1990-91 |866 |606 |849
1991-92<3> |0 |500 |900
<1>Including supplementary petroleum duty in 1981-82 and 1982-83.
<2>Before ACT set-off.
<3>Forecast.
Premium Bonds
Sir Peter Blaker : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the policy of Her Majesty's Government with regard to the reinvestment of £50 prizes won under the premium bond scheme.
Mr. Norman Lamont : I have decided that winners of £50 prizes should be permitted to reinvest them in additional bonds if they so wish. Amendments to the regulations to effect this change will be laid before Parliament shortly.
Civil Research and Development
Mr. Wray : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what are the comparative figures for expenditure on civil research and development, as a percentage of their gross
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national product, of the United Kingdom, Canada, Belgium, France, Germany and Sweden, for each year since 1974.Mr. Maples [holding answer 7 May 1991] : Separate data for civil R and D expenditure by industry in the United Kingdom were collected for the first time in 1989. Provisional figures indicate that total civil R and D expenditure from all sources in 1989 represented 1.7 per cent. of gross domestic product. Standard international comparisons of R and D expenditure are usually given in terms of gross domestic product and not gross national product.
EDUCATION AND SCIENCE
Local Education Authorities
Mr. Butcher : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science, pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Wyre Forest (Mr. Coombs) of 12 February, Official Report , columns 437-38 , if he will list all local education authorities in England in rank order of central administration expenditure on education per secondary pupil per year, starting with the highest spending authority.
Mr. Fallon : Expenditure for central administration is collected only as a single figure for all education services. That figure is not allocated to individual sectors of the education service, so expenditure attributable to a single sector such as secondary schools is not available.
Mr. Butcher : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science, pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Wyre Forest (Mr. Coombs) of 12 February, Official Report , columns 437-38 , if he will list all education authorities in England in rank order of total combined expenditure per secondary pupil per year on school meals, central administration, debt charges or revenue contributions to capital outlay.
Mr. Fallon : Expenditure figures for the central services identified in the question are collected only as single totals for all education services. The figures are not allocated to individual sectors of the education service, so expenditure attributable to a single sector such as secondary schools is not available.
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what additional (a) loan sanction and (b) grant has been granted to Doncaster local education authority for education purposes for (i) the current financial year (ii) the last financial year and (iii) for the year 1992-93.
Mr. Fallon : Details of the annual capital guidelines--ACGs--and the educational grants made to Doncaster for 1990-91 and 1991-92 are set out in the table. Grants and ACGs for 1992-93 have not yet been determined.
£ thousands
|1990-91|1991-92
------------------------------------------------------
(a) Annual Capital Guidelines
ACGs |860.0 |375.0
(b) Grants
VA capital allocations<1> |345.0 |145.0
ESGs<2> |1,272.0|-
LEATGs<3> |1,417.0|-
GEST<4> |- |2,715.0
Travellers<5> |58.1 |60.9
Section 11<6> |17.8 |22.0
Notes:
<1> The figures represent planned expenditure by the
Governors of voluntary aided or special agreement
schools. Grant is paid up to a maximum of 85 per cent
on such expenditure.
<2> ESG-Education Support Grants.
<3> LEATGS-LEA Training Grants Scheme
<4> GEST-Grants in Education Support and Training.
This incorporates the ESG and LEATGs schemes.
<5> The figures represent approved expenditure. Grant
aid is paid at the rate of 75 per cent.
<6> Grant under Section 11 of the Local Government
Act is administered by the Home Office. Grant is paid
at the rate of 75 per cent. on approved salary costs.
The figure for 1991-92 is a provisional estimate.
Urban programme grant is allocated to local authorities for economic, environmental, social and housing projects. Doncaster received £2 million in each of 1990-91 and 1991-92. Detailed statistics are not available to isolate the education component from the total urban programme grant.
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what is the total amount of moneys that his Department has allocated to Doncaster local education authority for the maintenance and repair of school buildings for the current financial year ; and what was the amount for the last financial year.
Mr. Fallon : The Government do not allocate to LEAs separately identified recurrent funds for repairs and maintenance : it is for each authority and, under local management, its schools, to determine what proportion of the total recurrent funds available to them to allocate for that purpose.
As far as capital works on school buildings is concerned, Doncaster local education authority has been given an education annual capital guideline-- ACG--of £375,000 for 1991-92 to contribute towards capital spending in schools. The authority is free to spend its overall capital resources as it chooses, and can supplement its annual capital guidelines from capital receipts and other sources of funding, including its revenue budget. The LEA also received an allocation of £145,000 for projects at voluntary aided--VA--and special agreement--SA--schools.
For 1990-91 Doncaster received an ACG of £860,000--of which £780,000 was for schools, and an allocation for VA and SA schools of £345,000.
Geography
Mr. Spearing : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what assessment he has made concerning the unit costs of material, textbooks, samples, maps or other aids including films, videos or filmstrips, models, globes or other equipment required as capital and revenue expenditure in order to provide for the geography curriculum and programme of study specified in SI 1991, No. 678.
Mr. Eggar : My right hon. and learned Friend had general regard to the resource implications of the attainment targets and programmes of study specified in the document attached to SI 1991, No. 678. However, it is
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for each school to decide what, if any, additional equipment it requires to deliver the national curriculum. In 1991-92, grants will be available to support up to £15 million of expenditure by local education authorities on equipment for the national curriculum.Mr. Spearing : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will state the amount of specialised space required by current school building regulations in respect of studies in geography consequent on the requirements of SI 1991, No. 678 in terms of room units or floor space, including storage space, per thousand pupils or similar ratio.
Mr. Eggar : The minimum teaching accommodation requirements set out in the Education (School Premises) Regulations 1981 refer only to the overall area to be provided. The requirements do not specify space standards for particular subjects of the curriculum.
Mr. Spearing : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will state the relationship between the programme of study and attainment targets specified in his approved geography curriculum, as set out in SI 1991, No. 678, and the general certificate of secondary education in geography.
Mr. Eggar : Although GCSE courses in geography are currently unaffected, with effect from autumn 1994 all GCSE geography syllabuses will have to reflect the curriculum requirements outlined in SI 1991, No. 678.
Personal Achievement Records
Mr. Cousins : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science when he expects each child in local education
authority-supported schools to have a record of personal achievement ; and what guidance he is offering to local education authorities.
Mr. Eggar : Regulations laid last summer require parents to be given reports on the achievements of all children in years 1, 2, 3, 7 and 8 and sixth formers, and will extend progressively to cover all years by 1994. The accompanying circular 8/90, "Records of Achievement", offers guidance both on the legal framework and how it might be developed at schools' discretion. All secondary schools have in addition been encouraged to give all their school leavers a national record of achievement from this summer.
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