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Special Educational Needs (Information) Bill

I am glad that that is going to happen, but I fear that it is an unnecessarily prolix way of dealing with the matter. The information about the Dore programme is already available, and, ahead of the initiative that the Minister has mentioned, the Welsh Assembly has been holding a detailed inquiry into the whole issue. In evidence given to the Assembly on 7 November last year, Professor David Reynolds gave a short presentation in which he put the whole issue in context. He said:"““The problem, historically, with dyslexia and other learning problems has frankly been one of huge unmet need and an absence of proven scientifically-based treatments. More recently, the problem has been intensified by the arrival of a new treatment promising outcomes, and the controversy surrounding that treatment, which has shown that the area continues to have problems in agreeing.””" Certain things are clear, however. Dyslexia is prevalent among some 10 per cent. of the population. Later in his evidence, Professor Reynolds said that it would be prohibitively expensive if all, or a high proportion of, dyslexia sufferers took advantage of the Dore programme. That may be so, but on the other hand local authorities are having to teach English and a foreign language to scores of new pupils who have come to this country as a result of the Government's immigration policies, and we have not had the opportunity—