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Forensic Medicine

Ms Primarolo : To ask the Secretary of State for Education what guidelines he has on the training of medical students in forensic medicine.

Mr. Boswell : It is for individual universities to determine the content and organisation of their medical curriculum taking account of guidelines issued by the General Medical Council.

Teachers

Mr. Redmond : To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to his answer of 8 March, Official Report, column 134, when the information about the number of people who graduated or qualified or failed in teacher training in 1993 will be available.

Mr. Robin Squire : The information is expected to become available for statistical use during the summer. The required information will then be placed in the Library.

Appointments

Mr. Matthew Taylor : To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will list each appointment for which a Minister has to approve the appointment or shortlist for the


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appointment, showing for each appointment (a) which Minister exercises the responsibility, (b) the salary, if any, attached to the post, (c) the term of the appointment and (d) the person currently appointed to the post.

Mr. Boswell : The information has been placed in the Library. Ministerial responsibility for approval rests ultimately with my right hon. Friend.

Charing Cross Medical School

Mr. Vaz : To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will make a statement on the future of the Charing Cross medical school.

Mr. Boswell : The Government accepted Sir Bernard Tomlinson's recommendation that Charing Cross medical school should merge with St. Mary's medical school within Imperial college. The Higher Education Funding Council for England is taking forward discussions on the merger with the institutions themselves.

Secondary Schools

Mrs. Bridget Prentice : To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to his answer of 14 March, Official Report, column 532 , which four local authority secondary schools in London he visited in the last 12 months ; and how many he plans to visit during 1994.

Mr. Patten : The four local authority schools that I have visited in London during the last 12 months are : Bishop Thomas Grant secondary school, Lambeth ; The Hague primary school, Tower Hamlets ; Mulberry school for girls, Tower Hamlets ; and Hasmonean school, Barnet.

During the same period I have visited Archbishop Tennison school and Bexley and Erith technical high school for boys which are both self-governing, grant-maintained, schools ; my plans for further visits this year are under consideration.

Music Teachers

Mr. Dalyell : To ask the Secretary of State for Education what is his latest assessment of the shortage of teachers of music.


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Mr. Robin Squire : There is currently no significant shortage of teachers of music. In January 1993 only 0.7 per cent. of music posts were vacant--some 30 posts. Recruitment to initial teacher training in music in 1993 rose by 9 per cent. from the previous year. Applications for entry to initial teacher training in autumn 1994 are higher than this time last year.

Local Management of Schools

Mr. Harry Greenway : To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many grant-maintained schools and schools operating under local management of schools in (a) the primary sector and (b) the secondary and tertiary sectors had a budget (i) surplus and (ii) deficit last year ; how much money was involved in each case ; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Robin Squire : The information requested on local education authority schools could be collated only at disproportionate cost. No grant -maintained school was in cash deficit at the end of the financial year 1992-93. In the interests of effective management of public funds, schools operating under local management of schools are able to carry forward balances from one year to another, as are grant-maintained schools within limits set by the Department.

Schools (Capital Projects)

Mr. Tipping : To ask the Secretary of State for Education for what named capital projects the Greenwood Dale GM school, the George Spencer comprehensive school and the Ravensdale middle school bid in 1994-95 ; what was the total amount of each bid ; and how much finance was allocated to each school.

Mr. Robin Squire : The following are details of the named capital project bids made by the schools for funding in 1994-95 :


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School                              |Bid                                |Description                        |Allocation                                                             

                                    |£                                                                      |£                                                                      

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Greenwood Dale                      |550,206                            |Roof/cladding/boiler repairs       |Nil                                                                    

                                    |144,225                            |Refurbishment of five science      |120,000                                                                

                                                                        |laboratories                                                                                               

                                                                                                                                                                                    

George Spencer                      |119,606                            |Roof works and asbestos removal    |100,000                                                                

                                    |715,117                            |Science/technology provision       |250,000                                                                

                                                                                                                                                                                    

Ravensdale middle                   |129,250                            |Refurbishment of science laboratory|Nil                                                                    

                                                                        |and administration area                                                                                    

                                    |22,372                             |Renewal of defective felt roofing  |20,000                                                                 

Iraqi Students

Mr. Parry : To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many Iraqi students were studying in the United Kingdom at the latest available date ; and what were the numbers five years ago.

Mr. Boswell : The latest available information relates to the 1991- 92 academic year, when there were 174 Iraqi students enrolled as full-time students at universities,


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polytechnics, Scottish central institutions and other colleges maintained or assisted by local authorities or grant- aided by education departments in the United Kingdom. This compares to 1,300 in the 1987-88 academic year.

Pupil Exclusions

Mr. Madden : To ask the Secretary of State for Education what representations he has received about the powers of maintained schools to exclude pupils.


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Mr. Forth : The Department has received a wide range of responses to the draft circular on exclusions, which was issued for consultation in January as part of the "Pupils with Problems" package. Those responses are currently being analysed. From time to time the Department also receives representations from parents or other interested parties about individual exclusion cases.


 

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