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Part-time Students
24. Ms Lynne : To ask the Secretary of State for Education what plans he has to assist with funding for training and postgraduate education of part-time students.
Mr. Boswell : Part-time students following designated courses of initial teacher training may qualify for mandatory awards in respect of their maintenance and tuition fees. They may also apply for student loans. Students on other part-time courses may apply for discretionary awards from the appropriate grant-making body. There are no present plans to change these arrangements.
English Teaching
25. Mr. Barry Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will make a statement concerning the teaching of English in secondary schools.
Mr. Forth : The introduction of the national curriculum has already led to improvements in the teaching of English. But experience has shown that there is still room for improvement, and that is why my right hon. Friend commissioned a review of the English curriculum by the National Curriculum Council with the Curriculum Council for Wales. The report of that review is expected shortly.
Repairs (Cornwall)
26. Mr. Matthew Taylor : To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will make a statement on the capital spending limits on Cornwall county council for investment in repairing school buildings in the county.
Mr. Forth : No limit has been put on the level of Cornwall's capital spending on school repairs. We do limit the extent to which all local authorities can borrow to fund their capital programmes. But decisions on priorities between services and projects are for Cornwall.
Education Budget
27. Mr. Clifton-Brown : To ask the Secretary of State for Education what assessment he has made of the comparative weighting of the education budget between higher and further education and the primary and secondary education sectors.
Mr. Boswell : The Government's expenditure plans for education reflect the Government's judgment of the
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relative needs and pressures on the respective sectors, particularly bearing in mind the projected growth from 1992-93 to 1993-94 of 1.7 per cent. in the number of schoolchildren, 7.9 per cent. in the number of further education students, and 8.5 per cent. in the number of higher education students.European Community (Education Systems)
28. Mr. Gallie : To ask the Secretary of State for Education what studies he has made of other educational systems in use in the EC.
Mr. Boswell : My right hon. Friend gathers a range of information through the regular contacts of Ministers and officials with their counterparts in other EC countries, through detailed studies by Her Majesty's inspectorate of schools, and through the EC EURYDICE network for the exchange of information between policy makers about the educational systems of member states.
Special Educational Needs
Mr. Matthew Banks : To ask the Secretary of State for Education what further representations he has received following the announcement of new measures to strengthen support for pupils with special educational needs ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Forth : Ministers and officials have continued to meet numerous organisations concerned with special educational needs to discuss issues arising from the Education Bill. On 11 November 1992 and 7 January 1993 I met the Special Education Consortium, and am meeting it again on 4 March, with my right hon. and noble Friend the Minister of State. We have welcomed the constructive contribution which the consortium has made to this important debate.
Student Fees
Mr. Harry Greenway : To ask the Secretary of State for Education what plans he has to permit universities and other higher and further education institutions to charge full or part fees to students direct other than through local education authorities ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Boswell : It is for universities and colleges of higher education to set their own fee rates. The Government have no power to set the fees charged by institutions. We have no plans to change the current arrangements whereby standard tuition fees are reimbursed from public funds for students holding mandatory awards.
Schools Councils
Mr. Bayley : To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many square feet of (a) offices, (b) meeting rooms and (c) storage are used currently by (i) the National Curriculum Council and (ii) the School Examinations and Assessment Council.
Mr. Forth : The National Curriculum Council has almost 21,000 sq ft of office space, including common areas, 4,500 sq ft of meeting rooms and 8,500 sq ft of storage space, divided between two sites in the centre of York and one on the outskirts of the city.
The School Examinations and Assessment Council has almost 29,000 sq ft of office space, including common areas, 4,000 sq ft of meeting rooms and 1,700 sq ft of storage area, at one site in Notting Hill Gate.
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Mr. Bayley : To ask the Secretary of State for Education what is the cost per square foot of the offices rented by the National Curriculum Council in York.
Mr. Forth : The National Curriculum Council currently leases three properties in York. The cost of Albion Wharf is £15.00 per square foot ; the cost of offices at 5A Museum street is £9.90 per square foot ; and the cost of the Warehouse is £4.00 per square foot.
Mr. Bayley : To ask the Secretary of State for Education when he intends to announce where the headquarters of the Schools Curriculum and Assessment Authority will be based.
Mr. Forth : My right hon. Friend has this morning announced that the School Curriculum and Assessment Authority will be based in London. He has also announced that the Funding Agency for Schools will be based in York.
Mr. Bayley : To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many staff will be employed by the Schools Curriculum and Assessment Authority when it is set up.
Mr. Forth : The detailed staffing structure will be a matter for the chairman designate to discuss with my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State. It is expected that the School Curriculum and Assessment Authority will employ fewer staff than the National Curriculum Council and the School Examinations and Assessment Council combined.
Mr. Bayley : To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many square feet of (a) offices, (b) meeting rooms and (c) storage he expects to be required by the Schools Curriculum and Assessment Authority when it is set up.
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Mr. Forth : It will be for the chairman and chief officer of the School Curriculum and Assessment Authority finally to identify the amount of space required and the uses to which that space is put. My right hon. Friend's decision on the location of the School Curriculum and Assessment Authority was, however, informed by an estimate of the amount of space likely to be required by the new body.
The estimate is that 14,000 to 17,000 sq ft will be needed for offices, and something over 3,000 sq ft will be needed for facilities including meeting rooms, storage areas and administration facilities. On top of this, space will be required for circulation.
Mr. Bayley : To ask the Secretary of State for Education what is the cost per square foot of the offices rented by the School Examinations and Assessment Council in London.
Mr. Forth : The cost per square foot of the offices rented by the School Examinations and Assessment Council is £25.00.
Mr. Bayley : To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will publish a table showing the staff turnover by grade at (a) the National Curriculum Council and (b) the School Examinations and Assessment Council in 1990-91 and 1991-92 and so far in 1992-93.
Mr. Forth : The table shows, by grade, the numbers of staff who have left employment in the NCC and the SEAC in the years indicated.
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Grade National School
Curriculum Council Examinations and
Assessment Council
|1990-91|1991-92|1992-93|1990-91|1991-92|1992-93
----------------------------------------------------------------
G2 |- |1 |- |- |1 |-
G3 |1 |- |- |- |- |-
G4 |- |1 |- |- |1 |-
G5 |- |1 |- |- |- |-
G6 |2 |3 |- |- |- |1
G7 |3 |3 |2 |1 |1 |2
SEO |3 |2 |- |- |- |1
HEO |4 |4 |1 |1 |2 |-
EO |2 |5 |2 |2 |7 |11
AO |3 |1 |2 |1 |2 |1
AA |1 |2 |1 |4 |1 |1
WPO/SPS |- |- |1 |1 |1 |-
SEB/SGB |- |1 |1 |1 |1 |-
|-------|-------|-------|-------|-------|-------
|19 |24 |10 |11 |17 |17
Mr. Bayley : To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many finance staff are employed by (a) the National Curriculum Council and (b) the School Examinations and Assessment Council ; and how many staff at each grade in each body are qualified accountants.
Mr. Forth : The finance section of the National Curriculum Council comprises eight full-time and two part-time staff. Of these, three of the full-time staff are qualified accountants, one at grade 5, one at SEO, and one at HEO.
The finance section of the School Examinations and Assessment Council comprises seven staff. Of these one, at grade 6, is a qualified accountant.
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Mr. Bayley : To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many staff are employed currently by (a) the National Curriculum Council and (b) the School Examinations and Assessment Council.
Mr. Forth : The National Curriculum Council currently employs 104 staff. The School Examinations and Assessment Council currently employs 147.4 staff.
Schools
Mr. Byers : To ask the Secretary of State for Education what is the total number of maintained (a) primary and (b) secondary schools ; how many of each are (i) voluntary aided, (ii) voluntary controlled and (iii) grant maintained ; and how many in each category are Anglican, Roman Catholic, other denominational and
non-denominational.
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Mr. Forth : In England in January 1992, the latest date for which full information is available, there were 18,926 and 3,847 maintained primary and secondary schools respectively, including 143 self-governing state--grant-maintained--schools. The following table gives a breakdown of those schools by status and denomination.
Maintained primary and secondary schools by status and
denomination-England January 1992
|Primary |Secondary
--------------------------------------------------------
Voluntary Aided
Church of England |1,905 |109
Roman Catholic |1,809 |330
Other denominational |21 |4
Non-denominational |21 |43
|--- |---
Total |3,756 |486
Voluntary Controlled
Church of England |2,759 |86
Roman Catholic |1 |-
Other denominational |27 |-
Non-denominational |44 |91
|--- |---
Total |2,831 |177
Self-Governing State (GM)
Church of England |2 |9
Roman Catholic |1 |7
Other denominational |- |-
Non-denominational |10 |114
|--- |---
Total |13 |130
Special Agreement
Church of England |1 |15
Roman Catholic |1 |49
Other denominational |- |1
Non-denominational |- |-
|--- |---
Total |2 |65
County
Non-denominational |12,324 |2,989
Total |18,926 |3,847
Grant-maintained Schools
Mr. Byers : To ask the Secretary of State for Education what is the total number of schools which have held ballots on grant-maintained status ; and how many of them are (a) Anglican and (b) Roman Catholic, listing in each category how many are (i) now operating as grant-maintained schools, (ii) have received approval for grant-maintained status, (iii) have published proposals and are awaiting a decision, (iv) have voted for grant- maintained status but not yet published proposals, (v) have had their proposals rejected and (vi) have voted against grant-maintained status.
Mr. Forth : A total of 928 schools have held ballots on grant- maintained status, of which 87 are Anglican and 91 are Roman Catholic. Detailed information is given in the table.
|Anglican |Roman Catholic
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Operating |30 |18
Approved and minded to
approve |2 |12
Proposals published |19 |26
Proposals awaited |13 |19
Proposals rejected |7 |2
No votes |16 |14
Pre-School Education
Mr. Gapes : To ask the Secretary of State for Education what percentage of children in the London borough of Redbridge are in pre-school education ; what is the national average ; what is the comparable figure for each EC country ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Forth : In 1992 the age participation rate for maintained schools was 34 per cent. for Redbridge and 49 per cent. for England. The participation rate for England for all forms of education and group day care for the under-fives was over 90 per cent. Comparable figures for all EC countries are not available : where participation rates for education are known, the range in 1989 was from 27 per cent. to 99 per cent.
Palmerstone Special School
Mr. Alton : To ask the Secretary of State for Education why Thomas Kelleher has been excluded from Palmerstone special school, Liverpool ; what provision is being made for his education ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Forth : This is a matter for Liverpool local education authority. However, it has told the Department that Thomas Kelleher was withdrawn from the school by his parents on 22 February and that an alternative placement is being negotiated. I hope that the matter can be resolved quickly and satisfactorily.
Nursery Education
Mr. Byers : To ask the Secretary of State for Education what plans he has to include in the parents charter an entitlement to nursery education for three and four-year-olds.
Mr. Byers : To ask the Secretary of State for Education what research his Department has carried out into the benefits of nursery education ; and if he will commission new research.
Mr. Forth : Within the last 10 years the Department has supported the child health and education study cohort project which included work on shorter and longer-term effects of pre-school provision. It also supported a review of this and other research projects in 1985-87 by Professor Margaret Clark, whose report "Children under five : Educational Research and Evidence" is available in the Library. The Department keeps under review the need for research on these as on other issues.
Mr. Byers : To ask the Secretary of State for Education what plans he has to provide finance to allow grant-maintained primary schools to provide nursery places.
Mr. Forth : Self-governing schools providing nursery education receive in annual maintenance grant an
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amount based on the level of funding they could have expected to receive for that provision from the former maintaining local education authority. The Department recoups the full cost of annual maintenance grant from the relevant LEA.Mr. Byers : To ask the Secretary of State for Education if a proposal to no longer maintain nursery provision in a primary school would be regarded as a significant change of character.
Class Sizes
Dr. Wright : To ask the Secretary of State for Education (1) what has been the average size of class taught by one teacher in primary schools in Staffordshire in each year since 1983 ;
(2) what percentage of single-teacher classes in Staffordshire comprised more than 30 children in each year since 1983.
Mr. Forth : Information about classes being taught by one teacher in maintained primary and secondary schools in Staffordshire local education authority for the years 1983 to 1992 is given in the table.
Classes being taught by one teacher in maintained
primary and
secondary schools in Staffordshire local
education authority
Position as at January each year
Year Average siPercentage of
classes inclasses with over
schools 30 pupils
|Primary |Secondary
--------------------------------------------------
1992 |26.6 |20.4 |6.9
1991 |26.3 |18.4 |6.2
1990 |26.0 |19.8 |5.9
1989 |25.5 |16.8 |6.0
1988 |25.4 |17.8 |6.7
1987 |25.4 |18.0 |8.0
1986 |25.3 |17.7 |7.8
1985 |24.5 |13.4 |8.6
1984 |24.1 |12.9 |8.7
1983 |23.9 |13.2 |9.2
Dr. Wright : To ask the Secretary of State for Education what plans he has to commission research on any relationship between class size and school effectiveness.
Mr. Forth : My right hon. Friend has no plans to commission such research.
Examination Results
Dr. Wright : To ask the Secretary of State for Education what steps he will take to include a measurement of added value in the publication of examination and test results for schools.
Mr. Forth : The consultation documents published by the Department on 19 February make it clear that we intend to keep under review the question of measuring added value, as national curriculum assessment and the performance tables of test and examination results are developed year on year. Progress in this complex area will depend in large part on the degree of consensus which can be secured.
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EMPLOYMENT
Industrial Injuries
Mr. Cryer : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what action she is undertaking to increase reporting of industrial injuries following the publication of the Health and Safety Executive supplementary report to the 1990 labour force survey.
Mr. McLoughlin : Since publication of the initial results of the Health and Safety Executive supplement to the 1990 labour force survey in the Health and Safety Commission annual report 1990-91, the HSE's operational divisions have emphasised the reporting requirements at visits and have continued to inquire into accident reporting practices and closely examine records as a routine part of inspection. Where appropriate prosecution for failure to report an injury is instituted. Detailed information on the reporting requirements is provided to every new employer that comes to the HSE's attention. Local authorities have taken similar action in premises for which they are the enforcing authority.
The HSE has also commissioned research into employer's awareness and understanding of the requirements. The results are likely to influence legislative proposals, to simplify both the reporting requirements and the reporting arrangements, to be brought forward later this year by the HSC.
Mr. Cryer : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what is the number of estimated working days lost through industrial injury under the labour force survey and Health and Safety Executive supplementary report ; what action she proposes to reduce this figure ; and if she will make a statement.
Mr. McLoughlin : A supplement to the 1990 labour force survey, sponsored by the Health and Safety Executive, showed that employed people in Great Britain took around 23 million days off work as a result of workplace injury in the year to spring 1990.
Responsibility for maintaining and improving health and safety standards rests with employers and others concerned at the workplace.
The Health and Safety Commission's priorities for promoting improvements in health and safety at work are set out in its plan of work for 1993-94 and beyond, which will shortly be submitted to my right hon. Friend for approval and is expected to be published in the spring.
Employment Training
Mr. Madden : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what arrangements exist in Bradford for those undertaking employment training to be supplied with tools necessary for their training and with necessary equipment for undertaking courses of study as part of their ET ; and if she will make a statement.
Mr. McLoughlin : The contract with Bradford and District training and enterprise council, which is responsible for delivering adult training in Bradford, requires that the TEC sets out in any contract with a training supplier the arrangements to be made for the provision of any necessary protective clothing and/or equipment for participants on adult training. If to follow the training programme a participant requires protective clothing and/or equipment it will be provided.
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Mr. Dobson : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many people who got jobs after doing employment training still had that job six months later, in this year and each preceding year.
Mr. McLoughlin [holding answer 1 March 1993] : Although there is information on jobs immediately after leaving an ET scheme and on jobs six months after leaving a scheme, there is no information on whether it is the same job. Therefore, the information requested is not available.
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Mr. Dobson : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many places were available on the employment training scheme in the current year and in each preceding year ; in each year, how many trainees started the course ; how many completed it ; and how many got jobs at the end of it in each year.
Mr. McLoughlin [holding answer 1 March 1993] : The information requested is given in the following table.
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Employment training: planned entrants, entrants, job outcomes for Great Britain
(numbers and percentage)
Year proportion of |Planned entrants |Actual entrants |Proportion |Into a job<1>
all leavers |completing training|immediately after
|their training
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
September 1988 to March 1989<2> |300,000 |238,600 |n/a |n/a
April 1989 to March 1990 |560,000 |430,600 |<3>44 |<3>37
April 1990 to March 1991 |430,000 |394,100 |<4>38 |<4>33
April 1991 to March 1992 |260,000 |<7>291,600 |<5>55 |<5>31
April 1992 to March 1993 |248,000 |<6><7>210,700 |n/a |n/a
<1> Jobs includes full-time, part-time and self-employment.
<2> ET started in September 1988.
<3> Surveying of leavers did not start until July 1989 and this was done three months after they left their programme.
<4> Results from leavers three months after leaving training.
<5> From January 1991 leavers were surveyed six months after leaving their training.
<6> January 1993 is the latest period for which starts information is available. Survey data is not available for 1992-93 leavers.
<7> Provisional estimates.
Source: Training Statistics 1990; OSMOSIS, Scottish and Welsh MIS; National Follow-up Survey; PES.
Labour Statistics
Mr. Tyler : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if she will list in order the top 100 travel-to-work areas in England in terms of highest male, female and total unemployment figures for the latest month available.
Mr. McLoughlin : Claimant unemployment rates for the areas requested can be obtained from the NOMIS database in the Library.
Mr. Dobson : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment, pursuant to her answer of 23 February, Official Report, column 570, if she will break down the overall figures on non-manual worker unemployment, by region.
Mr. McLoughlin [holding answer 1 March 1993] : The regional breakdown of non-manual workers who are unemployed on the internationally standard ILO definition is given in the following table.
thousands Region |Number ----------------------------------------- Great Britain |822,000 Northern |40,000 Yorkshire and Humberside |52,000 East Midlands |54,000 East Anglia |26,000 South East |332,000 -Greater London |163,000 -Rest of South East |169,000 South West |70,000 West Midlands |72,000 North West |75,000 Wales |27,000 Scotland |74,000 Source: Summer (June-August) 1992 Labour Force Survey (not seasonally adjusted).
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Aircraft Industries
Mr. Cousins : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many people were employed in the aircraft, aerospace and aviation equipment industries in each of the years since 1987 ; and if she will give an estimate of the distribution of this employment by occupation, socio- economic group and income band relative to manufacturing industry as a whole.
Mr. McLoughlin [holding answer 1 March 1993] : The latest employment figures are from the biennial census of employment for the aerospace equipment manufacturing and repairing industry. The available information is as follows :
Employees in employment in
Great Britain
|Number
-------------------------------
September 1987 |158,000
September 1989 |163,000
These figures represent 3.1 per cent. and 3.2 per cent. respectively of all employees in manufacturing industries. Estimates for later dates are aggregated with other transport industries and cannot be identified separately. Figures for 1991 will be available after the publication of the September 1991 census of employment in April.
Information on the distribution of earnings can be found in tables 66 to 73 of part C of the new earnings survey for each of the years requested. A copy of the survey is available in the Library. Figures on the distribution of employment by occupation within socio-economic group is being extracted, but the work will take some time to complete. I will write separately with the information and place a copy in the Library.
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Defence Industries (Alternative Employment)
Mr. Denham : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what assistance her Department is providing to former employees of defence- related industries in Hampshire in finding alternative employment.
Mr. McLoughlin [holding answer 1 March 1993] : In Hampshire, as elsewhere, the employment service and training and enterprise councils deliver a wide range of employment, enterprise and training programmes, which are designed to take account of special local circumstances to help former employees of any industry find the best and quickest route back to employment.
Unemployment, Southampton
Mr. Denham : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment where the Southampton, Itchen and Southampton, Test, constituencies come in the order of English constituencies ranked by unemployment on the latest available figures.
Mr. McLoughlin : [holding answer 1 March 1993] : For areas with different-sized work forces, such as parliamentary constituencies, the only meaningful comparisons are based on unemployment rates. Official estimates are not available at the level of parliamentary constituencies.
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Youth Training
Mr. Dobson : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many people went on the youth training scheme in the current year and each preceding year ; in each year, how many completed the course ; how many went on to get a job at the end of the course ; and how many were still in employment at the end of six months.
Mr. McLoughlin [holding answer 1 March 1993] : The information requested is given in the following tables.
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