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Written Answers to Questions
Thursday 24 May 1990
EDUCATION AND SCIENCE
Grant-maintained Schools
Mr. Harry Greenway : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many schools have so far opted for grant-maintained status ; and how many applications are at present being processed.
Mrs. Rumbold : My right hon. Friend has so far approved 37 proposals for grant-maintained status and has announced that he is minded to approve a further three proposals subject to agreement with the governing body about minor modifications to admissions arrangements. Eleven proposals have been published following parental ballots in favour of an application for grant-maintained status and will reach my right hon. Friend for decision shortly. The governing bodies of six schools where parents have voted in favour of an application have yet to publish proposals.
Mr. Harry Greenway : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many primary schools have shown an interest in seeking grant- maintained status.
Mrs. Rumbold : No ballots have so far been held at primary schools on grant-maintained status. Of the 37 schools which my right hon. Friend has so far approved for grant-mantained status, 35 are secondary schools and two are middle-deemed secondary schools. Recently numerous of the larger primary schools have requested copies of the DES booklet "Grant Maintained Schools : Questions Parents Ask".
Mr. Harry Greenway : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what percentage of opt-out ballots have resulted in a decision in favour of grant-maintained status ; and at how many schools there has had to be a second ballot.
Mrs. Rumbold : Parental ballots have been held at 89
schools--parents at 68 of these schools (75 per cent.) have voted in favour of an application for grant-maintained status. Second ballots have had to be held at eight schools because the turnout in the first ballot was below 50 per cent. A second ballot may also be held at a school where at least 12 months have elapsed since the first balloting took place. One school has held a second ballot in such circumstances--in this case parents voted against an application in 1989, but in favour of an application in 1990.
Mr. Harry Greenway : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many of the schools which have opted for grant-maintained status are (a) grammar schools, (b) voluntary-aided schools and (c) single- sex schools.
Mrs. Rumbold : Of the 37 schools which my right hon. Friend has so far approved for grant-maintained status
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(a) 14 are selective and 23 are non- selective schools ; (b) six were voluntary-aided schools, six were voluntary-controlled schools, one was a special agreement school and 24 were county schools ; (c) 13 are single-sex boys' schools, six are single- sex girls' schools and 18 schools are co-educational.Of the three schools which my right hon. Friend has announced that he is minded to approve for grant-maintained status (a) one is a selective school and two are non-selective schools ; (b) all three are county schools ; (c) one is a single-sex boys' school and two are co-educational.
Mr. Harry Greenway : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what is the average turnout figure in parental ballots taken in schools on whether to obtain grant-maintained status.
Mrs. Rumbold : The average participation rate so far in parental ballots is 67.5 per cent.
Mr. Harry Greenway : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what information he has on the level of rises or falls in admissions to grant-maintained schools ; and where such changes have taken place.
Mrs. Rumbold : Information about admissions to grant-maintained schools in September 1990 is not yet available. However, earlier this year the Grant Maintained Schools Trust carried out a survey of applications for places for September 1990 at a number of grant-maintained schools. It found that applications had increased by 40 per cent. on average over last year at those schools for which it had information. For example, at Baverstock school in Birmingham there were 350 applications for 210 places, representing an increase of 50 per cent. over last year. At Hendon school there has been an increase of 100 per cent. in applications over 1989.
Mr. Harry Greenway : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science which local authorities are selling back services to schools which have become grant-maintained.
Mrs. Rumbold : Detailed information is not collected by the Department. But our understanding is that many local authorities are selling services to schools which have become grant-maintained. For example, Lincolnshire LEA is offering to sell a range of services including payroll, school meals, ground and property maintenance, advisory, architectural and financial services and in-service training for teaching staff. Grant-maintained schools in Lincolnshire have bought a number of these services on a selective basis.
Governor Training
Mr. Harry Greenway : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science how much was spent on support grants for governor training in the year 1988-89 ; and how much is planned to be spent in the current year.
Mr. Alan Howarth : No education support grant was allocated for governor training in the financial year 1988-89. Accounts are not yet finalised for 1989-90, but the amount made available through the education support grant programme for governor training in that year was £4,900,000. The amount which is being made available in the 1990-91 financial year is £5,152,700. The programme is scheduled to continue for a further year.
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Schools, North Wiltshire
Mr. John D. Taylor : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many schools were closed in each of the past five years within the constituency of Wiltshire, North.
Mr. Alan Howarth : Information for parliamentary constituencies or other areas within education authorities is not available centrally.
Schools, Leicestershire
Mr. Vaz : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what representations he has received, and from whom, regarding opting out of schools in Leicestershire ; and if he will make a statement.
Mrs. Rumbold : My right hon. Friend has so far received one application for grant-maintained status from a school in Leicestershire. The proposal for GM status from Longfield high school in Melton Mowbray, and the objections received, were given careful consideration by my right hon. Friend before he announced his decision to approve the request for grant-maintained status with effect from August 1990.
Rothera Point Airstrip, Antarctica
Mr. Simon Hughes : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will make a statement on the containment capacity of the retaining berm for the fuel tank farm under construction at the Rothera Point airstrip in Antarctica.
Mr. Jackson : The retaining berm for the fuel tank farm at Rothera Point has a capacity of approximately 125,000 imperial gallons.
Mr. Simon Hughes : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what measure he proposes to take to reduce the incidence of dust covering the site of the Rothera Point airstrip in Antarctica ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Jackson : Measures to be employed by the contractor to reduce the incidence of dust during construction of the Rothera Point airstrip in Antarctica are given in the final comprehensive environmental evaluation published in September 1989 by the NERC. A copy is in the Library.
Schoolgirls (Achievement)
Ms. Armstrong : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science (1) what steps the Government are taking to encourage schools to enable girls to achieve across the curriculum ;
(2) what advice the Government have given to local education authorities regarding equal opportunity for girls across the curriculum.
Mrs. Rumbold : The duties of local education authorities and others under the Sex Discrimination Act of 1975 were explained in circular 2/76 (WO 20/76).
The broad and balanced education provided by the foundation subjects of the national curriculum is intended to prevent premature specialisation by either boys or girls. The non-statutory subject working groups established to
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advise on the national curriculum have been asked to bear in mind that the curriculum should provide equal opportunities for boys and girls ; and circular 6/89, which accompanied the mathematics and science orders laid under section 4 of the Education Reform Act 1988, advised that it would be particularly important to ensure that boys and girls have equal opportunity and equal encouragement to undertake the full model A science course.The criteria for initial teacher training specify equal opportunities as an example of a cross-curricular dimension that students should be able to incorporate into their teaching by the time they qualify. It is also required that students learn to guard against preconceptions based on gender.
Government objectives in this area are also supported by the DE Training Agency-funded technical and vocational education initiative (TVEI). One criterion of TVEI, in which nearly all local education authorities are now involved, is that action will be taken to avoid sex stereotyping both in curriculum options and in teaching and learning styles.
Local Management of Schools
Mr. Brandon-Bravo : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will make a further statement on local management of schools.
Mrs. Rumbold [pursuant to her reply, 8 May 1990, c. 8-10] : My right hon. Friend has been asked by several local education authorities to make the necessary regulations to permit them to include special schools in their statutory local management of schools schemes. Before making his decision, he intends to give very careful consideration to all the implications, both for special schools and for pupils with statements of special educational need in primary and secondary schools. He has therefore invited Touche Ross Management Consultants to undertake a detailed feasibility study, and to report their findings to him. Copies of that report will be placed in the Library and will also be sent to LEAs and special schools in both England and Wales. In the light of that report the Government will consider whether, and, if so, when, it will be appropriate to make enabling regulations.
Mr. Harry Greenway : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science how great a percentage of the average school budget, excluding those which have opted for grant-maintained status, is controlled by the local authority under local management of schools.
Mrs. Rumbold : I refer my hon. Friend to the reply that I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Epping Forest (Mr. Norris) on 5 February 1990 at column 451.
Cash Limits
Mr. Hanley : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether there are any changes to the cash limits for his Department's votes.
Mr. MacGregor [pursuant to his reply, 2 February 1990, c. 397-98] : Subject to parliamentary approval to the necessary revised estimate, the cash limit for class XI vote 1 : schools, research and miscellaneous services, will be reduced as follows :
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|Class XI
|Vote 1
|(£)
-------------------------------------------
Current cash limit |653,421,000
Change |-80,000
Revised cash limit |653,341,000
The reduction results from the appropriation in aid of receipts originally expected in 1989-90 from private sector cash sponsorship for the project to build a school in Armenia following the 1988 earthquake. These more than offset increased gross provision in 1990-91 for the project which is nearing completion.
ATTORNEY-GENERAL
Mr. K. J. Warne
Mr. Steen : To ask the Attorney-General if he will provide the hon. Member for South Hams with a copy of the original signed judgment of the appeal to the social security commissioners by Mr. K. J. Warne of 61 Clobeills, South Brent, South Devon ; and the supporting material sent to Mr. Warne by his office during the week commencing 14 May.
The Attorney-General : Yes. I have written to the hon. Member enclosing the documents requested.
Cash Limits
Mr. Michael Brown : To ask the Attorney-General whether any changes will be made to the Lord Chancellor's Department's cash limit and running costs limit for 1990-91.
The Attorney-General : Yes. Subject to parliamentary approval of the necessary supplementary estimate, the cash limit for the Lord Chancellor's Department, class X, vote 1 will be increased by £1,832, 000 from £319,300,000 to £321,132,000.
The increase reflects transfers from other Departments, of £1,915, 000 from the Property Services Agency to cover responsibilities formerly exercised by that agency and of £20,000 from the Department of Trade and Industry for work to be undertaken by the Law Commission. It also reflects a transfer of £103,000 to the Department of Social Security for additional work falling to the legal aid assessment office.
The supplementary estimate also gives effect to an increase of £2, 000,000 in the Department's provision for departmental estate maintenance which is fully offset by an increase of £2,000,000 in net recoveries from civil fees. These increases will not therefore add to the planned total of public expenditure.
The running costs limit for the Department will be increased by £1, 898,000 from £279,084,000 to £280,982,000.
ENVIRONMENT
Office Complex, Warwick
Sir Dudley Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment why he decided not to call in the planning decision of Warwickshire county council to allow the firm Conoco to build an office complex at the Warwick technology park.
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Mr. Michael Spicer : Outline planning permission for Warwick technology park was granted by Warwickshire county council in 1986. It is very rare for the Secretary of State to call in a reserved matters application and this application by the county council did not appear to justify such an exceptional procedure.
Sir Dudley Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether any officials of his west midlands regional staff have been disciplined as a result of the advice given, or failure to give advice, arising from Warwickshire county council's decision to allow Conoco plc to build an office complex at Warwick.
Mr. Michael Spicer : No. I am, however, writing separately to my hon. Friend with a full explanation of the events in question.
Business Rates
Mr. Atkinson : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what recent representations he has received on the 100-day rule for liability for the business rate for bed-and-breakfast establishments ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Chope : My right hon. Friend has received a number of representations on this matter ; and I have met several of my hon. Friends to discuss their concerns.
Many home owners providing bed-and-breakfast have argued for a more generous exemption but others, particularly the hotel trade, believe that any exemption in this area could lead to unfair competition. The tourist authorities have represented that the rule could lead to a shortening of the season in which such accommodation is available. We are considering these arguments and others that have been put to us.
Mr. Atkinson : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list those organisations which responded to his consultation paper of December 1988 on the application of the business rate for bed-and- breakfast establishments.
Mr. Chope : The following organisations responded to the consultation paper on "The boundary between domestic and non-domestic property", issued in December 1988 :
The Association of District Councils
The Association of County Councils
The Association of Metropolitan Authorities
The National Association of Local Councils
Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council
Blackpool Borough Council
Bournemouth Borough Council
Cambridge City Council
Carrick District Council
City of London
Cleethorpes Borough Council
Eastbourne Borough Council
East Dorset District Council
Fylde Borough Council
Borough of Great Yarmouth
Hertfordshire County Council
Huntingdonshire District Council
Kennet District Council
Lancaster City Council
Borough of Luton
Middlesbrough Borough Council
Borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme
New Forest District Council
North Norfolk District Council
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Penwith District CouncilPreston Borough Council
Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council
Somerset County Council
South Herefordshire District Council
Tendring District Council
Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council
Vale Royal Borough Council
West Somerset District Council
Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead
Wyre Borough Council
Country Landowners Association
The Incorporated Society of Valuers and Auctioneers
Institute of Housing
The Institution of Civil Engineers
The Rating Officers Guild
The Rating Surveyors Association
The Rating and Valuation Association
The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors
Edward Erdman Surveyors
Gerald Eve Chartered Surveyors
Grimley J. R. Eve Chartered Surveyors
Matthews and Goodman Chartered Surveyors
J. P. Sturge Chartered Surveyors
Association of Independent Businesses
British Holiday & Home Parks Association Ltd.
The British Hotels Restaurants and Caterers Association British Property Federation
British Retailers Association
British Self Catering Federation
Chalfont St. Peter Chamber of Commerce
Cumbria and Lakeland Self-Caterers Association
Federation of Cornwall Hotels and Tourism Associations
Historic Houses Association
The Land Institute
London Chamber of Commerce
The National Association of Warehouse Keepers
The National Council of Hotels Associations
National Federation of Retail Newsagents
The National Federation of Self Employed and Small Businesses Limited
The National Licensed Victuallers' Association
Skegness Holiday Flat Owners Association
The Water Companies Association
Action With Communities in Rural England
British Mountaineering Council
Committee of Vice-Chancellors and Principals of the Universities of the United Kingdom
Forestry Commission
Oxford Polytechnic
Royal National Institute for the Blind
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