House of Commons Hansard Written Answers for 22 Feb 1996 (pt 5)

Press Gallery Writing Rooms

Mrs. Jane Kennedy: To ask the Prime Minister which Ministers in his Department entered the writing rooms of the Press Gallery on 15 February. [16484]

The Prime Minister: If any Ministers did so, that is a matter for them.

EDUCATION AND EMPLOYMENT

Environmental Appraisals

Ms Ruddock: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how many environmental appraisals were produced by her Department using the guidance contained in the Department of the Environment's "Policy Appraisal and the Environment" in 1995; and if she will place copies in the Library. [15111]

Mr. Robin Squire [holding reply 14 February 1996]: None.

Public Bodies

Dr. Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if she will list the executive non-departmental public bodies sponsored by her Department which are subject to (a) investigation by the Parliamentary Commissioner, (b) scrutiny by the Audit Commission, (c) scrutiny by the National Audit Office, (d) statutory provisions for open government, (e) performance indicators and (f) provisions under the citizens charter. [16016]

Mr. Forth: The information requested is shown in the table:

22 Feb 1996 : Column: 223

Name of body	Parliamentary commissioner	Audit commission	National audit office	Open government	Performance indicators	Citizen's charter
Centre for Information on Language Teaching and Research	No	No	Yes	No	Yes	Yes
Construction Industry Training Board	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	No	Yes
Education Assets Board	Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes	Yes
Engineering Construction Industry Training Board	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	No	Yes
Equal Opportunities Commission	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Funding Agency for Schools	No	No	Yes	No	Yes	Yes
Further Education Funding Council	No	No	Yes	No	Yes	Yes
Higher Education Funding Council for England	No	No	Yes	No	Yes	Yes
Investors In People UK	Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes	Yes
National Council for Educational Technology	No	No	Yes	No	Yes	Yes
National Council for Vocational Qualifications	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No
National Youth Agency	No	No	Yes	No	Yes	Yes
Remploy Ltd.	No	No	Yes	No	Yes	No
School Curriculum and Assessment Authority	No	No	Yes	No	Yes	Yes
Teacher Training Agency	No	No	Yes	No	Yes	Yes

22 Feb 1996 : Column: 225

Dr. Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment which of the executive non-departmental public bodies sponsored by her Department have a statutory base and which (a) admit members of the public to all board or committee meetings

22 Feb 1996 : Column: 226

and (b) hold open meetings for the public; and whether in each case this is (i) under a statutory requirement or (ii) voluntarily. [16029]

Mr. Forth: The information requested is shown in the table:

Admit public to all meetings Hold open meetings

Name of body Statutory base Statutory Voluntary Statutory Voluntary

Centre for Information on Language Teaching and Research No No No No No

Construction Industry Training Board Yes No No No No

Education Assets Board Yes No No No No

Engineering Construction Industry Training Board Yes No No No No

Equal Opportunities Commission Yes No No No No

Funding Agency for Schools Yes No No No Yes

Further Education Funding Council Yes No No No Yes

Higher Education Funding Council for England Yes No No No No

Investors In People UK No No No No No

National Council for Educational Technology No No No No No

National Council for Vocational Qualifications No No No No No

National Youth Agency No No No No No

Remploy Ltd. Yes No No No No

School Curriculum and Assessment Authority Yes No No No No

Teacher Training Agency Yes No No No Yes

		Admit public to all meetings	Hold open meetings
Name of body	Statutory base	Statutory	Voluntary	Statutory	Voluntary
Centre for Information on Language Teaching and Research	No	No	No	No	No
Construction Industry Training Board	Yes	No	No	No	No
Education Assets Board	Yes	No	No	No	No
Engineering Construction Industry Training Board	Yes	No	No	No	No
Equal Opportunities Commission	Yes	No	No	No	No
Funding Agency for Schools	Yes	No	No	No	Yes
Further Education Funding Council	Yes	No	No	No	Yes
Higher Education Funding Council for England	Yes	No	No	No	No
Investors In People UK	No	No	No	No	No
National Council for Educational Technology	No	No	No	No	No
National Council for Vocational Qualifications	No	No	No	No	No
National Youth Agency	No	No	No	No	No
Remploy Ltd.	Yes	No	No	No	No
School Curriculum and Assessment Authority	Yes	No	No	No	No
Teacher Training Agency	Yes	No	No	No	Yes

22 Feb 1996 : Column: 225

Under-fives Provision

Mr. Blunkett: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what plans she has to allow local education authorities to continue to fund under-fives provision directly through the local management of schools formula and to redeem vouchers on behalf of local providers under the nursery voucher scheme. [16284]

Mr. Robin Squire: Officials wrote to all chief education officers on 31 January to inform them that the proposed grant for nursery education in respect of local education authority maintained schools will be paid to local education authorities for distribution through their LMS schemes. LEAs will continue to be able to spend what they consider appropriate on provision for under-fives, taking the grant and other forms of revenue into account.

It will be for local decision whether LEAs participate in handling vouchers, or leave it to the schools they maintain.

Mr. Blunkett: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if she will list (a) the number of four-year-olds in maintained provision at January 1995,

22 Feb 1996 : Column: 226

(b) the potential deduction from the under-fives standard spending assessment, based on the January 1995 pupil count, (c) the actual deduction agreed with the pilot authorities and (d) the criteria used to adjust the potential deduction to reach the actual deduction, including the pupil numbers involved, for each of the pilot authorities participating in phase one of the voucher scheme. [16285]

Mr. Squire: The Department's estimate of the number of four-year-olds in maintained provision in each of the phase 1 authorities in January 1995--taken from the annual schools census--is shown in the table, with the deduction from the 1996-97 standard spending assessment in each case.

LEA Estimated number of 4-year-olds in maintained provision at January 1995 SSA deduction (£ million)

Kensington and Chelsea 800 0.7

Wandsworth 2,600 2.4

Westminster 1,100 1.0

Norfolk 6,300 6.8

LEA	Estimated number of 4-year-olds in maintained provision at January 1995	SSA deduction (£ million)
Kensington and Chelsea	800	0.7
Wandsworth	2,600	2.4
Westminster	1,100	1.0
Norfolk	6,300	6.8

The pupil numbers underpinning the deductions were adjusted to take into account local education authority comments on the January estimates and the number of four-year-olds in maintained provision in the autumn term 1994 and the summer term 1995 and the number of four-year-old pupils in maintained provision who were not resident in the LEA and who will not receive a voucher in phase 1.

22 Feb 1996 : Column: 227

Scott Inquiry

Mrs. Dunwoody: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment when she first saw the report of the Scott inquiry. [16596]

Mrs. Gillian Shephard: I first saw the report of the Scott inquiry on the morning of Monday 19 February.

Mr. Tony Banks: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if she will list the members of her Department who saw the report of the Scott inquiry before it was presented to the House; and when each saw the report. [16520]

Mrs. Shephard: No members of my Department saw the report of the Scott inquiry before it was published.

Mr. Madden: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment at what hour and minute of which day the report of the Scott inquiry was delivered to her office. [16493]

Mrs. Shephard: The report of the Scott inquiry was delivered to my office at 2pm on Friday 16 February.

Press Gallery Writing Rooms

Mrs. Jane Kennedy: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment which Ministers in her Department entered the writing rooms of the Press Gallery on 15 February. [16486]

Mrs. Gillian Shephard: If any Ministers did so, that is a matter for them.

School Premises Regulations

Mr. Simon Coombs: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if she will make a statement on the progress of the revised school premises regulations. [17173]

Mrs. Gillan: Following my answer on 10 January--Official Report, column 274--I can confirm that new school premises regulations have been laid before Parliament today.

The new regulations will come into force on 1 September this year, when the transitional arrangements of the 1981 regulations expire.

The Government will publish an explanatory circular and two sets of guidance during the summer. The circular will explain the regulations in layman's terms; one guidance document will cover accommodation in schools and nurseries, the other will cover school grounds.

Cash Limits

Mr. Hawkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what changes she plans to cash limits on votes within her responsibility for 1995-96. [17174]

22 Feb 1996 : Column: 228

Mrs. Gillan: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State announced on 1 February 1996 that the cash limit for class x, vote 1, schools, research and miscellaneous services will be reduced by £75,000 from £735,483,000 to £735,408,000. The cash limit will now be reduced by a further £900,000 to £734,508,000. The reduction will be used to offset an increase in the non-voted cash limit for local authority capital for school building projects--DFEE/LACAP. The local authority capital cash limit, DFEE/LACAP, will therefore be increased by £900,000 from £46,898,000 to £47,798,000.

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