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Royal Mail

Mr. Hutton: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what contingency plans exist to ensure the payment of benefits during industrial action at Royal Mail sorting offices. [4581]

Mr. Andrew Mitchell: This is a matter for Peter Mathison, the chief executive of the Benefits Agency. He will write to the hon. Member with the information requested.

Letter from Peter Mathison to Mr. John Hutton, dated 7 December 1995:


8 Dec 1995 : Column: 436

EDUCATION AND EMPLOYMENT

Nursery Education

Mr. Blunkett: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment (1) what was (a) the number and (b) the percentage of four-year-olds in maintained pre-school provision (i) in each local education authority and (ii) nationally at January 1995; [3998]

Mr. Robin Squire: Information on pupils aged three and four in maintained nursery schools and nursery classes in each local education authority in England in January 1995 is shown in the following table. The Department does not publish information on participation rates of individual age cohorts by local education authority.

Pupils aged three and four in maintained nursery schools and nursery classes in maintained primary schools in each local education authority in England--January 1995 (provisional)

Pupils (age at 31 August 1994) Percentage of population aged 3 and 4 at 31 December
Age 3(11)Age 4(12)1994
Camden845425
Greenwich2,22974648
Hackney1,8981135
Hammersmith and Fulham 1,069 271 46
Islington1,4738037
Kensington and Chelsea 603 153 27
Lambeth1,60349031
Lewisham1,86961237
Southwark2,3239142
Tower Hamlets2,45626758
Wandsworth2,0565435
Westminster80118731
Barking and Dagenham 2,046 6 46
Barnet2,0244432
Bexley1,413623
Brent2,4591737
Bromley16222
Croydon1,9991221
Ealing3,143746
Enfield1,620322
Haringey2,3545044
Harrow1,006318
Havering46439
Hillingdon1,4301,92349
Hounslow2,362040
Kingston upon Thames 1,028 14 35
Merton1,86038755
Newham2,9251,20652
Redbridge97031020
Richmond upon Thames 653 1 18
Sutton8161,14741
Waltham Forest1,73889939
Birmingham10,4711734
Coventry1,910024
Dudley2,6261137
Sandwell3,84413654
Solihull1,877336
Walsall3,505259
Wolverhampton3,175654
Knowsley2,3362362
Liverpool4,941446
St. Helens1,489335
Sefton2,290536
Wirral2,156126
Bolton2,703341
Bury1,448030
Manchester5,1161,76454
Oldham2,455337
Rochdale2,0741033
Salford2,9222253
Stockport1,972327
Tameside2,377139
Trafford2,0563043
Wigan2,050425
Barnsley1,97586948
Doncaster3,647144
Rotherham2,1761,11046
Sheffield3,8881,47342
Bradford5,14263444
Calderdale1,945136
Kirklees3,9853140
Leeds7,14754947
Wakefield3,38997654
Gateshead1,675236
Newcastle upon Tyne2,761739
North Tyneside2,306055
South Tyneside1,971353
Sunderland3,300142
Avon4,8445221
Bedfordshire3,0102,00332
Berkshire3,0433,72132
Buckinghamshire1,7851,20116
Cambridge2,174812
Cheshire4,5287521
Cleveland7,179560
Cornwall(13)1,39317515
Cumbria2,9714025
Derbyshire6,5152,16838
Devon1,99885512
Dorset72605
Durham6,3562946
East Sussex1,4245410
Essex1,6049817
Gloucestershire2700
Hampshire1,750675
Hereford and Worcester 868 770 9
Hertfordshire6,7342,67334
Humberside6,3432,30838
Isle of Wight15037
Kent1,853435
Lancashire7,2352421
Leicestershire3,1191,91321
Lincolnshire1,9173314
Norfolk1,1191197
North Yorkshire3,09648922
Northamptonshire3,024418
Northumberland2,411741
Nottinghamshire7,8074,99550
Oxfordshire1,6681,52119
Shropshire1,33266918
Somerset52125
Staffordshire6,6029425
Suffolk1,6501,42217
Surrey2,42334512
Warwickshire2,109417
West Sussex8283087
Wiltshire3971584
England(13)(14) 277,37646,06427

(11) Includes pupils who became four years of age by 1 January 1995.

(12) Excludes pupils who became five years of age by 1 January 1995.

(13) Includes Isles of Scilly.

(14) Includes Corporation of London.


8 Dec 1995 : Column: 438

Student Accommodation

Mr. Cynog Dafis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what statutory provisions govern the responsibility of university authorities for damage done by students to student accommodation. [4311]

Mr. Forth: None. As independent bodies, universities are responsible for their own internal affairs. In the private rented sector landlords have recourse for damage caused by students through tenancy agreements and the legal system, as the would for any other renting accommodation.

Schools Funding

Mr. Blunkett: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment (1) if she will make a

8 Dec 1995 : Column: 439

statement on the local authority allocations and capital grants to (a) voluntary-aided and (b) grant-maintained schools in 1996-97; [4506]

Mrs. Gillan: Central Government support for schools in 1996-97 is broken down as follows:

Type of school Capital budget £ million
Grant-maintained schools138
City technology colleges2
Aided schools61
County and controlled schools423
Non-maintained special schools1
Total625

The figures do not include the capital element included within the budget for the "specialised schools" programme, which includes both capital and recurrent expenditure on specialist schools in the grant-maintained and maintained sectors, and which has been allocated £23 million in 1996-97.


Individual allocations for aided schools will be announced shortly. Allocations to grant-maintained schools are a matter for the Funding Agency for Schools.


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