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LORD PRESIDENT OF THE COUNCIL
Chauffeur-driven Cars
Mr. MacShane: To ask the Lord President of the Council what the cost of chauffeur-driven cars used by his Department was in each of the past five years. [5859]
Mr. Newton: The information is as follows:
| £ | |
|---|---|
| 1991-92 | 146,000 |
| 1992-93 | 151,000 |
| 1993-94 | 158,000 |
| 1994-95 | 167,000 |
| 1995-96(16) | 101,000 |
(16) To date.
EDUCATION AND EMPLOYMENT
Construction and Engineering Courses
Mr. Beggs: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment (1) how many colleges of further education in the United Kingdom have facilities for students who wish to pursue vocational qualifications in construction and engineering at N/SVQ levels 2 and 3; [6074]
(2) what measures are being taken to safeguard those who wish to pursue lifetime learning in construction and engineering at local colleges of further education. [6072]
Mr. Paice: Information on the number of further education colleges in the United Kingdom which provide courses in construction and engineering is not held centrally. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State is responsible only for further education in England.
Details of the type of provision available in further education colleges in England are matters for the Further Education Funding Council. I am therefore asking the council's chief executive to write to the hon. Member.
Grant-maintained Schools
Mr. Blunkett: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment which bodies will be involved in the investigation into allegations of misinformation concerning the grant maintained ballot at Hurworth school; what are their terms of reference; and how much the investigation will cost. [5778]
20 Dec 1995 : Column: 1217
Mrs. Gillian Shephard [holding answer 14 December 1995]: My officials have written to the chairman of the governing body of Hurworth school and the local education authority inviting their comments on the allegations. This is in accordance with normal departmental procedures. As with all other such investigations, officials will review the evidence submitted taking account of any other available information. The costs of the investigation to the Department will largely depend on the time spent by the officials concerned as part of their normal duties and cannot readily be identified.
Mr. Blunkett: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how many complaints about disinformation she has received in connection with ballots on grant-maintained status; how many such complaints she has investigated; how many of the complaints investigated have been upheld; and how much, in total, investigations into such complaints have cost. [5779]
Mrs. Shephard [holding answer 14 December 1995]: My Department receives a considerable volume of correspondence about ballots on grant-maintained status, and information on the number of letters complaining about misinformation is not available. Since the implementation in January 1994 of section 31(1)(g) of the Education Act 1993, my Department has received complaints of misinformation leading to a formal investigation concerning 35 ballots. Of the completed cases, two complaints relating to misinformation have been upheld and the ballots--one of which resulted in a yes vote, and in one a no vote--were declared void. The costs of such investigations to the Department largely depend on the time spent by the officials concerned as part of their normal duties and cannot readily be identified.
Ms Estelle Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment in respect of each school which has been the subject of a formal inquiry by her Department into the running of its ballot on opt-out status, in which instances was (a) a letter sent by her to the local hon. Member informing them of the setting up of the inquiry, (b) was the letter also released to the press and (c) did the letter contain references to the hon. Member's spouse or child. [5937]
Mrs. Shephard [holding answer 14 December 1995]: In the case of Hurworth school in Durham, serious allegations had been made in the press relating to its ballot for grant-maintained status, and it was reported that the head teacher of the school had written to the right hon. Member for Sedgefield (Mr. Blair) expressing his concern. In the light of these circumstances, I considered it appropriate to write to the hon. Member as I did.
Ms Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment in respect of each school which has been
20 Dec 1995 : Column: 1218
the subject of a formal inquiry by her Department into the running of its ballot on opt-out status, in which cases the setting up of the inquiry also announced in a press release; how long the inquiry took; and how was the outcome of the inquiry was made public. [5939]
Mrs. Shephard [holding answer 14 December 1995]: The available information indicates that inquiries into ballots on grant-maintained status have been announced in press releases relating to the following schools:
Eastwood School, Nottinghamshire
George Spencer School, Nottinghamshire
Grangefield School, Cleveland
Laisterdyke Middle School, Bradford
Abbs Cross School, Havering
Sacred Heart High School, Hammersmith and Fulham
George Tomlinson School, Bolton
Canon Slade School, Bolton
All Saints Schools, Sheffield
Rutlish School, Merton
St. Thomas Becket School, Knowsley
Codsall High School, Stafordshire
Great Wyrley High School, Staffordshire
Calday Grange Grammar School, Wirral
Wirral Grammar School for Boys, Wirral
Hurworth School, Durham.
Ms Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what has been the total cost so far to her Department of the decision to hold an inquiry into the ballot at Hurworth school. [5935]
Mrs. Shephard [holding answer 14 December 1995]: The cost to my Department of the decision to hold an inquiry into the ballot at Hurworth school cannot readily be identified because the work has been undertaken by a number of officials as part of their normal duties.
Ms Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if she will list each school which has been the subject of a formal inquiry by her Department into the running of its ballot on opt-out status, and in each case indicating (a) who or what prompted her Department to launch a formal inquiry, (b) what had been the result of the ballot into which the inquiry was held and (c) what was the outcome of the inquiry, (d) what was the parliamentary constituency of the schools. [5936]
Mrs. Shephard [holding answer 14 December 1995]: The following table shows such information as is readily available:
20 Dec 1995 : Column: 1217
| LEA | School | Ballot | Constituency | Complainent | Outcome of enquiry |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ballot Irregularity Cases | |||||
| Norfolk | Acle High School | Yes vote | Mid Norfolk | LEA School | Ballot results upheld |
| Walsall | Aldridge County High School | No vote | Aldridge-Brownhills | Local Councillor | Ballot result upheld |
| Northumberland | Astley County High School | Yes vote | Blyth Valley | Registered electors school | Ballot result upheld |
| Lancashire | The Baines School | Yes vote | Wyre | LEA | Ballot result upheld |
| Kirklees | Boothroyd Junior and Infants | No vote | Dewsbury | LEA | Ballot result upheld |
| Wirral | Calday Grange Grammar School | Yes vote | Wirral West | LEA | Ballot result declared void |
| Bedfordshire | Cardinal Newman School | No vote | Luton North | Other organisation | Ballot result declared void |
| Bolton | Crompton Fold County Primary | Yes vote. | Bolton North-East | LEA | Ballot result upheld |
| Surrey | de Stafford County Secondary | Yes vote | Surrey East | LEA | Ballot results upheld |
| Kirklees | Deighton School | Yes vote | Huddersfield | LEA | Ballot result declared void |
| Derbyshire | Derby Moor School | No vote | Derby South | LEA | Ballot result upheld |
| Kent | Edenbridge Middle School | Yes vote | Sevenoaks | LEA | Ballot result declared void |
| Oldham | Failsworth School | No vote | Oldham West | Parents | Ballot results upheld |
| Birmingham | George Dixon School | Yes vote | Birmingham- Edgbaston | LEA | Ballot results upheld |
| Greenwich | Hawksmoor School | Yes vote | Woolwich | LEA another local school | Ballot results upheld |
| Kent | Hextable School | No vote | Sevenoaks | LEA | Ballot result declared void |
| Waltham Forest | Highams Park School | Yes vote | Chingford | LEA | Ballot result upheld |
| Cambridgeshire | Jack Hunt, Peterborough School | Yes vote | Peterborough | LEA | Ballot result upheld |
| Wiltshire | Kingsdown County Secondary | Yes vote | Devizes | LEA | Ballot result upheld |
| Bromley | Langley Park School | Yes vote | Beckenham | Parents | Ballot results upheld |
| Leicestershire | Manor High School | No vote | Harborough | Parent | Ballot result upheld |
| Calderdale | Moorside Junior School | No vote | Halifax | LEA | Ballot result declared void |
| Birmingham | Ninestiles | Yes vote | Sparkrook | LEA | Ballot result upheld |
| Hillingdon | Oak Farm Junior and Infant School | Yes vote | Uxbridge | LEA | Ballot result upheld |
| Bury | Peel Brow County Primary | Yes vote | Bury North | LEA | Ballot result upheld |
| Gloucestershire | Picklenash School | Yes vote | Gloucestershire West | Parents | Ballot result upheld |
| Calderdale | Ryburn Valley High School | No vote | Calder Valley | Other organisation | Ballot result upheld |
| Hampshire | St. Joseph's RC Primary School | Yes vote | Aldershot | Parent | Ballot result upheld |
| Kirklees | St. Patrick's Catholic Primary | No vote | Huddersfield | Parent | School told to hold ballot |
| Humberside | Waltham Toll Bar | No vote | Brigg and Cleethorpes | MP | Ballot result upheld |
| Rochdale | Wardle High School | Yes vote | Littlebrgh and Saddleworth | Parent LEA | Ballot result upheld |
| Dudley | Windsor High School | Yes vote | Halesowen and Stourbridge | LEA | Ballot result upheld |
| Misinformed Cases | |||||
| Lancashire | Ashleigh Primary School | Yes vote | Rossendale and Darwin | LEA | Ballot result upheld |
| Liverpool | Blue Coat School | No vote | Liverpool Mossley Hill | LEA | Ballot result upheld |
| Kent | Brockhill Park | Yes vote | Folkestone and Hythe | LEA | Ballot result upheld |
| Surrey | Burpham County Primary | Yes Vote | Guildford | LEA and Parent | Ballot result upheld |
| Derbyshire | Chinley Primary | Yes vote | High Peak | LEA | Ballot result upheld |
| Staffordshire | Christ Church Middle | No vote | Stafford | Other organisation Parent | Ballot result declared void |
| Staffordshire | Christ Church Middle--2nd Ballot | No vote | Stafford | Parent and LEA | Ballot result upheld |
| Staffordshire | Anglesey | Yes vote | Burton | LEA | Ballot results declared void. |
| Liverpool | Croxteth Community Comp | No vote | Liverpool West Derby | School Parent | Ballot result upheld |
| Devon | Devonport High School | Yes vote | Plymouth Drake | Other organisation, Parent | Ballot result upheld |
| Somerset | Enmore Primary School | Yes vote | Bridgewater | Parent | Ballot result upheld. |
| Kent | Gravesend Grammar | Yes vote | Gravesend | LEA | Ballot result upheld |
| Ham and Fulham | Holy Cross | No vote | Fulham | School and Councillors | Ballot result upheld |
| Liverpool | King David | Yes vote | Liverpool Broad Green | LEA and Parent | Ballot result upheld |
| Lancashire | Longridge School | Yes vote | Ribble Valley | LEA | Ballot result upheld |
| Avon | Merrywood Girls School | No vote | Bristol South | Other organisation MP | Ballot result upheld |
| Leicestershire | New Parks Comm College | No vote | Leicester West | Parent | Ballot result upheld |
| Berkshire | Prospect School | Yes vote | Reading West | LEA Councillors | Ballot result upheld |
| Derbyshire | Ripley Mill Hill School | Yes vote | Amber Valley | LEA | Ballot result upheld |
| Essex | Rochford Primary | Yes vote | Rochford | Parents | Ballot result upheld |
| Manchester | St. Kentigems | Yes vote | Manchester-Gorton | LEA | Ballot result upheld |
| Buckinghamshire | Two Mile Ash | Yes vote | Milton Keynes North East | Other organisation | Ballot result upheld |
| Tameside | Two Trees High School | No Vote | Denton and Reddish | School Parent | Ballot result upheld |
| Waltham Forest | Whitefields School and Centre | Yes vote | Chingford | LEA Parent other LEAS | Ballot result upheld |
| Ballots currently under investigation | |||||
| Staffordshire | Anglesey (2nd Ballot) | Yes vote | Burton | LEA | Under consideration |
| Lancashire | Beltham Primary School | Yes vote | Blackburn | LEA | Under consideration |
| Tower Hamlets | Bethnal Green High School | No vote | Bethnal Green and Stepney | Parent | Under consideration |
| Shropshire | Castlefields | No vote | Ludlow | Parent | Under consideration |
| Wiltshire | Herod Parkway | No vote | Swindon | Parent and MP | Under consideration |
| Durham | Hurworh School | No vote | Sedgefield | Arose from press articles | Under consideration |
| Berkshire | Lynch Hill School | Yes vote | Slough | LEA | Under consideration |
| Essex | The Manningtree School | Yes vote | Colchester North | LEA--Parents Electors, | Under consideration |
| Devon | South Dartmoor Community College | No vote | Teignbridge | Parents LEA Governors | Under consideration |
| Staffordshire | St. Benedict Biscop | Yes vote | South Staffordshire | LEA | Under consideration |
| Warwickshire | Stockingford First School | Yes vote | Nuneaton | LEA | Under consideration |
| Warwickshire | Stockingford Middle School | Yes vote | Nuneaton | LEA | Under consideration |
20 Dec 1995 : Column: 1221
20 Dec 1995 : Column: 1221
Ms Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if she will arrange for all press releases and letters to hon. Members relating to every school which has been the subject of a formal inquiry by her Department into the running of its ballot on opt-out status to be placed in the Library. [5932]
Mrs. Shephard [holding answer 14 December 1995]: Press releases which have been issued by my Department relating to inquiries into the running of ballots on grant-maintained status have been placed in the Library. Letters to hon. Members concerning school ballots on grant-maintained status are between my Department and the hon. Member concerned.
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