To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many children in each education and library board area were receiving special educational needs assistance in each of the past six years; and what funding was made available by his Department for special educational needs assistance over the same period.

The number of children receiving special educational needs assistance in each education and library board (ELB) in each of the past six years is as follows:

These figures are in respect of children at all stages (1-5) of the Code of Practice on the Identification and Assessment of Special Educational Needs (COP) as reported in the annual school census for grant-aided schools and reported by the ELBs for children with statements of special educational needs outside the grant-aided sector.

The following table shows how much funding has been reported by the education and library boards (ELBs) in their accrued expenditure reports to the Department of Education as having been allocated to special needs education in Northern Ireland in each of the last six years. The response provided is therefore by education and library board area and is rounded to the nearest million.

Figures for 2006-07 are not yet available so I have provided figures for the last six years available.

Over the same six-year period additional funding of approximately £19 million has been allocated by the Department of Education to support statemented pupils in the voluntary grammar and grant-maintained integrated sectors.