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General National Vocational Qualifications
Mr. Worthington: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make available the latest statistics on those taking GNVQs in what fields of study and at which type of educational institution they were studied. [20285]
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Mr. Ancram: The information for 1994-95 is as follows. The table showing the number of students following full general national vocational qualification courses was compiled from a survey carried out by the education and training inspectorate. The information about part 1 GNVQ was compiled by the Northern Ireland Council for the Curriculum, Examinations and Assessment.
| Full GNVQ courses | Intermediate (9) GNVQ | Advanced (10) GNVQ | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vocational area | Schools | FE | Total | Schools | FE | Total |
| Art and Design | 42 | 88 | 130 | 37 | 299 | 336 |
| Business | 539 | 288 | 827 | 472 | 1,649 | 2,121 |
| Health and Social Care | 304 | 248 | 552 | 107 | 845 | 952 |
| Leisure and Tourism | 104 | 204 | 308 | 62 | 895 | 957 |
| Manufacturing | 94 | -- | 94 | -- | -- | -- |
| Built Environment | 18 | 47 | 65 | -- | 173 | 173 |
| Hospitality and Catering | 8 | 44 | 52 | -- | 142 | 142 |
| Science | 32 | 21 | 53 | 37 | 75 | 112 |
| Information Technology | 7 | 26 | 33 | -- | 46 | 46 |
| Media: Communications and Production | -- | 9 | 9 | -- | 75 | 75 |
| Engineering | -- | 17 | 17 | -- | 43 | 43 |
| Total | 1,148 | 922 | 2,140 | 715 | 4,242 | 4,957 |
(9) Students enrolled on 1 November 1994.
(10) Year 1 students enrolled on 1 November 1993 (now year 2) and year 1 students enrolled on 1 November 1994.
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| Vocational area | Foundation | Intermediate |
|---|---|---|
| Business | 14 | 82 |
| Health and Social Care | 28 | 83 |
| Manufacturing | 29 | 61 |
| Total | 71 | 226 |
School Building Programme
Mr. Worthington: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what assessment and by what criteria he has made of the adequacy of the capital building programme for schools. [20287]
Mr. Ancram: My Department regularly reviews the capital needs of schools in consultation with the education and library boards and other school authorities. Each year, potential capital projects are reassessed and a priority rating of 1 to 6 is assigned to each project to ensure that available resources are directed to the highest priorities in terms of educational need.
Artistically Gifted Children
Mr. Worthington: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what provision is made for the education of artistically gifted children; and at what annual cost. [20279]
Mr. Ancram: The statutory programmes of study are sufficiently broadly couched to enable schools to teach each child, including the most gifted, at his or her own pace. Boards will continue to offer help through their curriculum support services to meet the needs of these pupils, as all others. In addition, children who are especially talented in music or dance may receive assistance to attend certain specialist schools in Great Britain. In 1994-95, my Department supported seven children through this scheme at a cost of £47,000; in 1995-96 four children were supported at a cost of £21,000.
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Supported Study Initiatives
Mr. Worthington: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what supported study initiatives his Department has taken; and what assessment he has made of their success. [20280]
Mr. Ancram: Twelve homework centres have been supported under special initiatives. These have been inspected by the Department's inspectorate and my Department is presently considering how the lessons learnt might be applied in future projects.
Surplus School Places
Mr. Worthington: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many surplus places there are within the school system in Northern Ireland. [20281]
Mr. Ancram: Based on the latest estimate in 1994-95 there are 32,000 surplus school places--15,000 in primary schools and 17,000 in secondary schools.
Integrated Education
Mr. Worthington: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what is the current provision for integrated education in Northern Ireland in terms of (a) schools, (b) cost, (c) pupil numbers and (d) percentage of children in such schools. [20282]
Mr. Ancram: There are currently 28 integrated schools in Northern Ireland catering for 5,748 pupils which represents 1.7 per cent. of the total primary and secondary school pupil population. Their total 1995-96 recurrent budget is £13.5 million.
General Teaching Council
Mr. Worthington: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what plans he has to establish a general teaching council in Northern Ireland. [20283]
Dearing Inquiry
Mr. Worthington: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what contribution he has made to the review by Sir Ron Dearing of qualifications for 16 to 19-year-olds; and if he will place it in the Library. [20284]
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Mr. Ancram: Apart from setting his remit, the Government have made no input to Sir Ron Dearing's consideration of the issues: that is a matter for him as he considers appropriate. Schools, colleges, training organisations and employers in Northern Ireland were, however, consulted on the same basis as other regions of England and Wales as part of Sir Ron's national consultation exercise, and in that context my officials offered some informal comments. The Government will respond formally when Sir Ron presents his report later this month.
Civil Service
Mr. McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (1) what discussions he held with and what notice he gave to (a) Commonwealth members and (b) the Republic of Ireland of his intention to introduce amendments to the European Communities (Employment in the Civil Service) Order 1986; and if the ban on employment will apply to the children of Commonwealth and Republic of Ireland citizens who are currently in posts but without British nationality; [20401]
- (2) what estimate he has made of the number of (a) Commonwealth citizens and (b) Republic of Ireland citizens currently employed in the civil service. [20402]
Sir John Wheeler: The amendments announced by my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster on 1 March, Official Report, column 771, and which take effect from 1 June 1996, concern civil service nationality rules, which, for the Northern Ireland civil service, are made under the Civil Service (Northern Ireland) Order 1986. The amendments are not to the European Communities (Employment in the Civil Service) Order 1991.
On the question of discussions with or notice given to Commonwealth members or the Republic of Ireland, I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to him today by my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster.
The eligibility for employment in the Northern Ireland civil service of the children of Commonwealth and Republic of Ireland citizens currently in service will depend, as now, on the nature of the civil service post concerned and the nationality of the individual at the time of application.
No estimate was made of the number of Commonwealth citizens or of Republic of Ireland citizens currently serving in the Northern Ireland civil service. This information is not recorded.
Mr. Jon Owen Jones:
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) what factors underlay his decision to omit the absent parent's right to a review in the new drafting of the Child Support Agency regulations on clean-break settlements; [17738]
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Mr. Andrew Mitchell:
There is nothing in the regulations introduced in April 1995 relating to property and capital settlements which affects an absent parent's normal review rights.
Mr. Denham:
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what estimate he has made of the number and percentage of pensioners claiming (i) council tax benefit and (ii) housing benefit and entitled to, but not receiving, income support. [19765]
Mr. Roger Evans:
The information is not readily available and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
(2) what action he is taking to reinstate absent parents' rights to review when they have applied for clean-break settlements to be taken into account in Child Support Agency maintenance calculations. [17737]
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