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EDUCATION AND EMPLOYMENT

Spending Statistics

Mr. Steinberg: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what is the spending per pupil (a) in primary schools and (b) in secondary schools in each local education authority in England. [34674]

Mr. Robin Squire: The following table sets out, for each local education authority, net institutional expenditure per pupil in LEA-maintained (a) pre-primary/primary schools and (b) secondary schools in England for 1994-95, the latest year for which figures are available.

Net institutional expenditure per pupil 1994-95	(a) Pre-primary and primary	(b) Secondary
	£	£
Corporation of London	3,635	0
Camden	2,057	2,790
Greenwich	2,028	2,772
Hackney	2,249	3,138
Hammersmith and Fulham	2,482	3,316
Islington	2,055	2,657
Kensington and Chelsea	2,397	3,327
Lambeth	2,573	3,782
Lewisham	2,097	2,677
Southwark	1,898	2,681
Tower Hamlets	2,393	3,194
Wandsworth	2,268	3,053
Westminster	2,440	2,825
Barking and Dagenham	1,891	2,353
Barnet	1,763	2,415
Bexley	1,536	2,232
Brent	1,718	2,033
Bromley	1,634	2,231
Croydon	1,725	2,165
Ealing	1,969	2,457
Enfield	1,761	2,359
Haringey	2,300	2,986
Harrow	2,043	2,598
Havering	1,715	2,570
Hillingdon	1,777	2,625
Hounslow	1,931	2,582
Kingston upon Thames	1,730	2,518
Merton	1,931	2,663
Newham	1,711	2,623
Redbridge	1,678	2,553
Richmond upon Thames	1,884	2,373
Sutton	1,860	2,514
Waltham Forest	1,792	2,395
Birmingham	1,721	2,356
Coventry	1,705	2,418
Dudley	1,575	2,205
Sandwell	1,666	2,244
Solihull	1,605	2,225
Walsall	1,664	2,314
Wolverhampton	1,648	2,341
Knowsley	1,575	2,227
Liverpool	1,634	2,603
St. Helens	1,521	2,247
Sefton	1,487	2,227
Wirral	1,567	2,294
Bolton	1,646	2,261
Bury	1,492	2,032
Manchester	1,558	2,435
Oldham	1,621	2,293
Rochdale	1,552	2,225
Salford	1,507	2,151
Stockport	1,566	2,152
Tameside	1,447	2,046
Trafford	1,477	2,319
Wigan	1,474	2,130
Barnsley	1,550	2,102
Doncaster	1,444	2,025
Rotherham	1,719	2,220
Sheffield	1,612	2,110
Bradford	1,681	2,041
Calderdale	1,651	2,104
Kirklees	1,607	2,256
Leeds	1,645	2,223
Wakefield	1,590	2,046
Gateshead	1,638	2,257
Newcastle upon Tyne	1,660	2,314
North Tyneside	1,636	2,145
South Tyneside	1,623	2,062
Sunderland	1,576	2,142
Isles of Scilly	2,471	4,484
Avon	1,613	2,336
Bedfordshire	1,674	2,231
Berkshire	1,630	2,238
Buckinghamshire	1,636	2,256
Cambridgeshire	1,540	2,160
Cheshire	1,529	2,176
Cleveland	1,505	2,172
Cornwall	1,615	2,202
Cumbria	1,541	2,034
Derbyshire	1,596	2,290
Devon	1,554	2,203
Dorset	1,510	2,061
Durham	1,757	2,122
East Sussex	1,692	2,359
Essex	1,734	2,321
Gloucestershire	1,274	1,937
Hampshire	1,645	2,177
Hereford and Worcester	1,643	2,063
Hertfordshire	1,717	2,264
Humberside	1,652	2,304
Isle of Wight	1,607	2,030
Kent	1,555	2,276
Lancashire	1,661	2,345
Leicestershire	1,612	2,274
Lincolnshire	1,588	2,384
Norfolk	1,600	2,342
North Yorkshire	1,577	2,180
Northamptonshire	1,618	2,265
Northumberland	1,528	1,944
Nottinghamshire	1,692	2,396
Oxfordshire	1,680	2,285
Shropshire	1,605	2,413
Somerset	1,660	2,113
Staffordshire	1,565	2,104
Suffolk	1,690	2,182
Surrey	1,744	2,234
Warwickshire	1,665	2,349
West Sussex	1,668	2,240
Wiltshire	1,548	2,125
England	1,661	2,270

1 Jul 1996 : Column: 287

1 Jul 1996 : Column: 289

Kirklees Borough Council

Mrs. Peacock: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what was the amount of grant for Kirklees metropolitan council for the education revenue budget for each year since 1979-80. [34798]

Mrs. Gillan [holding answer 27 June 1996]: It is not possible to identify a portion of revenue support grant for the education revenue budget since RSG is not hypothecated to particular services. Details of the education standard spending assessment for Kirklees from 1990-91 to 1996-97 are set out in the following list. The previous system of local government finance that applied before 1990-91 was different in structure and coverage from the current system and comparable figures are therefore not available.

1990-91: £128.823 million
1991-92: £148.129 million
1992-93: £157.647 million
1993-94: £140.873 million
1994-95: £138.275 million
1995-96: £136.679 million
1996-97: £141.523 million

School Nursery Units

Mr. William O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment (1) how many nursery units have been provided at Church-aided schools through the private finance initiative; [34829]

(2) how many nursery units have been provided at local education authority schools through the private finance initiative; and if she will make a statement. [34830]

Mr. Robin Squire: We are aware that many local education authorities and voluntary aided schools are exploring the use of the private finance initiative or similar arrangements for education projects, including nursery units. PFI in schools and nursery units is at an early stage, and as yet we are not aware of any nursery units provided through the PFI.

Unemployment Benefit Rules

Mr. Redmond: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment (1) if she will list the professions where unemployed people are able to seek employment in their chosen occupation while receiving unemployment benefit without being asked to seek alternative employment; and if she will make a statement; [35003]

(2) what is the maximum time during which actors and actresses are able to claim unemployment benefit before being asked to seek alternative employment; and if she will make a statement. [35102]

Mr. Forth: Responsibility for the subject of the question has been delegated to the Employment Service Agency under its chief executive. I have asked him to arrange for a reply to be given.

1 Jul 1996 : Column: 290

Letter from Mike Fogden to Mr Martin Redmond, dated 1 July 1996:

The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your question asking for a list of the professions where people who are unemployed are able to seek employment in their chosen occupation whilst receiving unemployment benefit, without being asked to seek alternative employment.
Under the provisions of the Social Security Act 1989, people may limit themselves to seeking and accepting work in their usual occupation and at their usual rate of pay for a period of up to 13 weeks from the date they claim unemployment benefit. After this, people claiming benefit are expected to broaden their jobsearch and to accept work for which they are capable, even if that work is not in their usual field. Anyone who takes up such an offer of employment is, of course, still free to continue to look for work in their chosen occupation.
I hope this is helpful.

Barnsley and Doncaster Training

and Enterprise Council

Mr. Redmond: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if she will make a statement on the visit of a Minister from her Department to the area covered by the Barnsley and Doncaster TEC to discuss measures to reduce unemployment in the travel-to-work areas of Doncaster and Mexborough. [34984]

Mr. Paice: My noble Friend the Minister of State undertook the most recent visit of a Minister from the Department to the area covered by the Barnsley and Doncaster training and enterprise council on 8 May 1996, in his capacity as a sponsor Minister. He visited sites in the Barnsley north-east corridor city challenge area and attended the launch of the Dearne Valley college, at the University of Sheffield. The visit was not specifically to discuss measures to reduce unemployment in the travel to work areas of Doncaster and Mexborough. However, he did meet a representative of the Barnsley and Doncaster TEC during the visit. He will be visiting the Doncaster area again, on 1 July 1996, to hold a reception for excellent, good and improving schools in the Yorkshire and Humberside region identified by Ofsted inspections.

Secondary Schools

Ms Hodge: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment (1) when she last met the chief inspector to discuss admission policy for secondary schools; [34771]

(2) what advice she received from Office of Standards in Education on the re-introduction of admission by selection to secondary schools. [34772]

Mrs. Gillan: My right hon. Friend meets the chief inspector regularly, most recently on 5 June, to discuss a range of education matters.

Mr. Butcher: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if she or her ministerial colleagues have recently visited Germany to study the selection methods under which pupils are allocated to each type of secondary school in that country; and if she will make a statement. [35085]

Mrs. Gillan: No such visits have recently taken place. The White Paper "Self-government for Schools", Cm 3315, stresses the value of many different kinds of selection and specialisation in extending diversity and so giving parents more choice.

1 Jul 1996 : Column: 291

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