---

Mr. David Martin : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he is proposing any change to the Central Office of Information cash limit for 1991-92.

Mr. Maples : Subject to parliamentary approval of the necessary Supplementary Estimate the cash limit for class XVIII, vote 14, will be increased by £7,400,000 from £20,709,000 to £28,109,000. The increase is made necessary as a result of the difference between the actual value of assets and liabilities transferred to the Central Office of Information (trading fund) and those anticipated at the time the Trading Fund Order was passed by the House. The increase is within the forecast outturn for the planning total included in the Chancellor's autumn statement today.

Press and Publicity Staff

Mr. Dobson : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether any member of the Treasury's press and publicity staff accompanied him in Blackpool during the Conservative party conference.

Mrs. Gillian Shephard [holding answer 5 November 1991] : No.

Public Opinion Survey

Mr. Dobson : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list the public opinion surveys carried out by Her Majesty's Treasury since 12 July 1991.

Mrs. Gillian Shephard [holding answer 5 November 1991] : The following public opinion surveys have been carried out on behalf of HM Treasury in connection with the forthcoming sale of shares in BT :

August 1991, surveys covering public attitudes to BT, privatisation and awareness of the forthcoming BT sale ; October 1991, Survey covering public expectations about level of incentives in BT sale ;

October and November 1991, further surveys covering awareness of and interest in participation in BT sale.

ENERGY

Departmental Land Holdings

Dr. David Clark : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy if he will give the hectarage, number of holdings and numbers of tenants of holdings of agricultural land owned by (a) his Department and (b) British Coal in each county or region in the United Kingdom in (a) 1980 and (b) 1990.

Mr. Wakeham : My Department has no holdings of agricultural land ; holdings by British Coal are a matter for the corporation.

Cash Limits

Mr. John Marshall : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy whether any changes will be made to his Department's cash limits for 1991-92.

---

Column 134

Mr. Wakeham : Subject to parliamentary approval of the necessary winter supplementary estimate, the cash limit for class V, vote 9 will be increased by £4,000,000 to £5,000,000. This extra provision is sought to meet further expenditure on advisers' fees in connection with the privatisation of the coal industry.

The increase is within the forecast outturn for the planning total included in the Chancellor's autumn statement today.

EDUCATION AND SCIENCE

Correspondence

Mr. Mudd : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science when the hon. Member for Falmouth and Camborne can expect replies to his letters of 18 January, 29 March and 24 September regarding funding for the Falmouth school of art and design.

Mr. Alan Howarth : My hon. Friend has received interim replies. I will write again to him as soon as possible and no later than the end of November.

Development Education

Mr. Lester : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether development education falls within the remit of Her Majesty's inspectorate for schools ; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Eggar : Her Majesty's inspectorate inspects all aspects of pupils' learning within and across the national curriculum. The national curriculum offers pupils considerable opportunity to develop ideas, knowledge and understanding about development education particularly within the study of geography, but also in their study of cross-curricular themes and issues.

Mandatory Grants

Mr. Batiste : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will list the local education authorities which were more than seven days late in sending cheques for mandatory grants to students in higher education.

Mr. Alan Howarth : This information is not available centrally. Most local education authorities are coping with the record numbers of students seeking grants for higher education. I am, however, most concerned by reports that some students may be in difficulty because their grant cheques have not arrived from certain authorities. My officials are following up such reports and seeking assurances that the authorities concerned are taking action, including making provisional payments where necessary, to ensure that students do not suffer hardship.

World Affairs (Teaching)

Mr. Lester : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science how his Department utilises the resources and information from the Foreign Office to teach British schoolchildren about world affairs.

Mr. Eggar : It is for schools to determine how best to deliver the statutory requirements of the national curriculum so as to meet the needs of all pupils. It is they who are therefore charged with selecting the most effective teaching methods and the resources and information necessary to support them.

---

Column 135

Mr. Lester : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what scope there is within the national curriculum for world development issues to be studied in British schools.

Mr. Eggar : The national curriculum allows ample scope for world development issues to be studied. National curriculum geography is the main vehicle for this, although other subjects may play a part. The attainment targets and programmes of study in geography afford a balanced perspective of development--its causes, constraints and effects--in a wide range of countries at different levels of economic development.

Health Education

Miss Lestor : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he has any plans to protect school children from exploitation by commercial groups sending teaching materials into schools by setting up a national accreditation scheme for health education materials.

Mr. Atkins : No. My right hon. and learned Friend believes that judgments about the use of such materials are best left to individual schools.

Hearnville School

Mr. Cox : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will ask for all of the views expressed by parents of children attending Hearnville school, Balham, London SW12 before approving any decision made by Wandsworth council to close this school ; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Eggar : Wandsworth council has not published proposals relating to the closure of Hearnville school. If it does so, parents of children attending the school will have the opportunity to make their views known during the two-month objection period following publication. My right hon. Friend will take those views into account in determining any proposals which come before him.

School Buildings (Regulations)

Mr. Cartwright : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what steps his Department is taking to review the Education (School Buildings) Regulations 1981 ; which bodies are being consulted ; and when new draft regulations will be proposed.

Mr. Eggar : Work is currently in progress on a range of topics as part of the review of the School Premises Regulations. The following organisations were sent a consultation letter by DES. Others were consulted by the Welsh Office.

Local Authority Associations

Association of Metropolitan AuthoritiesAssociation of County Councils

Local Education Authorities

Chief Education Officers--England

School Governors

National Association of Governors and Managers

GM Schools

Grant Maintained Schools Trust

City Technology Colleges

CTC Trust

---

Column 136

Religious Bodies

Catholic Education CouncilGeneral Synod of the Church of EnglandLondon Board of Jewish Religious EducationMethodist Church Division of Education and Youth

Teachers Associations

National Union of TeachersSecondary Heads Association Professional Association of TeachersNational Association of School Masters/Union of Women TeachersNational Association of Head TeachersAssistant Masters and Mistresses Association

Special Education Needs

Local Authority Social Services DepartmentCentre for Studies of Integration in EducationNational Council for Special EducationRoyal National Institute for the BlindRoyal National Institute for the DeafThe Spastics SocietySpecial Educational Needs National Advisory CouncilNational Association of Independent and Non-Maintained Special Schools

Local Authority Professional Associations

perSociety of Education Officers

Society of Chief Architects in Local Authorities (SCALA) Association of Heads of County Property Departments

Society of Chief Electrical and Mechanical Engineers

Society of Chief Building Surveyors

Ethnic Minority Organisations

Afro-Caribbean Teachers Association

Asian Teachers Association

British Association of Muslims

Board of Deputies of British Jews Education Office

Federation of Bangladeshi Associations

Caribbean Teachers Association

Greek Cypriot Teachers Association

National Association of Hindu Associations

National Muslim Education Council for UK

Sikh Education Council

Standing Conference of Asian Organisations UK

The Islamic Academy

The Council of Mosques : UK and EIRE

The Islamic School Trust

Muslim Educational Trust

Muslim Educational Services

Muslim Education Co-ordinating Council UK

Other

The Chartered Institute of Building

National Confederation of Parent Teacher Associations

Association of Community Councils in Rural England (ACRE) Organisations maintaining non-maintained special schools Royal National Institute for the Blind

Barnardo's

National Children's Home

The Shaftesbury Society

Invalid Children's Aid Nationwide

Order of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary (Essex)

Order of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary (Merseyside) The English Province of the Daughters of the Cross

The Sisters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul

Order of the Dominicans

Royal London Society for the Blind

Christian Service Union

Boys' and Girls' Welfare Society

The Royal Eastern Counties Schools Ltd

Mind

Henshaw's Society for the Blind

The Birmingham Royal Institute for the Blind

The Smith Foundation

The Royal Catholic Diocese of Arundel and Brighton

---

Column 137

Other Bodies

Local authority social services departments.

The results of the review are expected to be available towards the end of next year, at which stage decisions will be taken about the necessary action.

GCSE

Mr. Spearing : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what consultations he conducted and what evidence he assembled for his appraisal of the function of course work as a part of the GCSE ; and if he will place the material in the Library.

Mr. Eggar : I refer the honourable Member to my reply of 21 October to the hon. Member for Leeds, Central (Mr. Fatchett), Official Report, column 362.

My right honourable and learned Friend is currently considering advice on GCSE coursework from the School Examinations and Assessment Council.

Parents Charter

Mr. Worthington : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science (1) if he will make a statement on the reasons for the differences in the form and substance of the parents charter commitments on the publication of examination and test results in England, Wales and Scotland ;

(2) whether performance tables on school examination results will be published in the same way throughout Great Britain if the parents charter is enacted.

Mr. Eggar : The parents charters for England, Scotland and Wales all contained a commitment that performance information about schools would be published in order to help parents choose a school for their child and monitor the school's performance. The necessary new powers are included in the Education (Schools) Bill which was introduced today. Detailed arrangements for implementing the commitment will be set out in regulations in due course ; these may vary according to the particular circumstances in each country, but will all be subject to parliamentary scrutiny.

---