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EDUCATION AND EMPLOYMENT

Drug Abuse Resistance Education

Mr. Allen: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how much funding is given by her Department to promote DARE projects; what assessment she had made of the impact of DARE projects in schools; and if she will make a statement. [35907]

Mr. Robin Squire: The Department provided £80,000 of support in 1995-96 to Kirklees local education authority for an innovative drugs education project, through the grants for education support and training programme. One element of the project was the evaluation of the DARE programme in the region's schools. My right hon. Friend plans to publish an evaluation document covering all GEST innovative drugs education projects, including that in Kirklees, later in the year.

Teachers (Early Retirement)

Mr. Gerrard: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how many teachers have taken early retirement on medical grounds in each of the last 10 years. [35752]

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Mr. Robin Squire: The following table shows the latest information for England and Wales.

Teachers Superannuation Scheme members retiring on ill-health grounds(4)

Financial year	Maintained nursery, primary and secondary schools(5)	Other sectors(6)	Total
1986-87	2,060	650	2,710
1987-88(7)	1,930	620	2,550
1988-89	2,680	740	3,420
1989-90	3,260	910	4,170
1990-91	3,900	1,010	4,910
1991-92	3,580	1,050	4,630
1992-93	3,650	1,210	4,860
1993-94	4,290	1,380	5,670
1994-95	4,740	1,470	6,210
1995-96(8)	n/a	n/a	5,980

(4) Where a person was not in teaching service immediately prior to retirement, their last known sector is shown.

(5) Excludes those last recorded as: in sixth form colleges (except for 1987-88); peripatetic teachers; supply teachers; teachers providing nursery, primary or secondary education other than at school.

(6) Includes all other members of the teachers superannuation scheme, for example, those whose last service was in: special schools, further education, higher education, supply teaching.

(7) Includes a small number of teachers last recorded in sixth form colleges.

(8) Provisional. Information by sector is not available.

Nursery Voucher Scheme

Mr. Mills: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment (1) how many (a) letters and (b) other communications she has received from local education authorities opposing the nursery voucher scheme; and if she will list the local education authorities; [35717]

(2) how many (a) letters and (b) communications she has received from parents opposed to the nursery voucher scheme. [35718]

Mr. Robin Squire: My right hon. Friend has received many letters, as well as other forms of communication, from local authorities and parents. The majority have been seeking clarification and information about the nursery education voucher scheme.

Ministerial Visits

Mr. Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if she will list those constituencies she has visited in the last three months on official business and those constituencies she intends to visit in the next three months; and if she will make a statement [35760]

Mrs. Gillian Shephard: During the last three months I have visited the following constituencies on official business:

Cardiff Central
Glasgow Central
Norfolk North-west
Norfolk South
Newcastle Upon Tyne Central
Blackpool South
Dartford
Hendon South
Rochford

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Hastings and Rye
Barking
Dagenham
Southend East
Gosport
Lewisham Deptford
Norfolk Mid
Wyre Forest
Surbiton
Norfolk South-west

During the next three months, I intend to visit the following constituencies on official business:

Exeter
Bury St. Edmunds
Kingston Upon Hull East
Kingston Upon Hull North
Kingston Upon Hull West
Milton Keynes North-east
Milton Keynes South-west
Luton North
Coventry South-west
Shropshire North
Norfolk South-west

Executive Job Clubs

Mr. Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment (1) what criteria she uses to evaluate the effectiveness of executive job clubs; [36169]

(2) what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of executive job clubs in delivering job opportunities to members. [36162]

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

Letter from Mike Fogden to Mr. Barry Sheerman, dated 9 July 1996:

As the Employment Service is an Executive Agency, the Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your questions to him about Jobclubs. This is something which falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Chief Executive of the Agency.

The Employment Service currently maintains a network of 1,197 Jobclubs throughout the country. This will provide places for around 204,000 unemployed people during 1996/97. This includes a number of specialist Jobclubs for particular groups of people including a number catering for the needs of unemployed executive and professional job seekers.
There are currently 121 such which constitute some 10% of the total network.
The performance of all Jobclubs is assessed on a regular basis to provide information which will improve the effectiveness of the Employment Service in helping unemployed people back into work. Management information is collected monthly and is used to monitor the operation of each Jobclub and the programme as a whole. The latest national information shows that in 1995/96 just over 95,500 people were placed into jobs following participation in a Jobclub. Jobclubs contributed almost 15% towards the placing into work of long term unemployed people achieved by the Employment

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Service. In addition a further 24,300 Jobclub participants took up other opportunities such as training places or starting their own business.
Although regular evaluations of the programme have been carried out, none of these have specifically focused on executive Jobclubs. The criteria used to evaluate the effectiveness of Jobclubs include their success in getting people into work, whether they improve the flow of information on jobs to participants and whether participants' job search is increased.
Details of the evaluations can be obtained through the House of Commons library.
I hope this is helpful.

Education Awards Regulations

Mr. Etherington: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what plans she has to amend section 12(2)(a) of the Education (Mandatory Awards) Regulations 1995 to give local education authorities powers to consider applications on an individual basis; and if she will make a statement. [36111]

Mr. Forth: The Department has no plans to amend regulation 12(2)(a) of the Education (Mandatory Awards) Regulations.

Taxi Fares

Mr. Donohoe: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how much her Department spent in meeting the costs of taxi cab fares in the 1995-96 financial year. [36005]

Mr. Robin Squire: The information that the hon. Member requires could be provided only at disproportionate cost to the Department. The Department does not maintain this information in the form requested.

Women and Training

Ms Jowell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment when she will publish the figures in the report on women and training carried out for her Department by Hilary Metcalf and Claire Calender at the Policy Studies Institute; and when their completed report was received by her Department. [34968]

Mrs. GIllan: The Department has not yet received a version of the report from the Policy Studies Institute which is suitable for publication. It is hoped that a suitable version will be received later this year.

Local Education Authority Budgets

Mr. Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if she will publish a table, in ascending order, of the amount of each shire local education authority's education budget, which is not passed on to schools, (a) in overall cash terms and (b) as an amount per child. [36369]

Mr. Robin Squire: The following table gives the amount of total expenditure on schools in 1996-97, in cash terms and per pupil, not delegated to the governing bodies of individual schools. The figures have been derived from the local management of schools budget

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statements produced by the authorities under section 42 of the Education Reform Act 1988.

	GSB--ASB (see note below)		Per pupil
	£ 000		(£)
Isle of Wight	10,293	Staffordshire	487
Northumberland	28,581	Suffolk	487
Gloucestershire	30,785	Hertforshire	499
Somerset	33,472	Somerset	503
Cumbria	36,643	West Sussex	524
Lincolnshire	38,975	Cheshire	532
Shropshire	40,890	Isle of Wight	541
Wiltshire	41,354	Leicestershire	546
Suffolk	46,321	Berkshire	551
Dorset	48,090	Hampshire	561
Bedfordshire	50,351	Nottinghamshire	562
Northamptonshire	50,982	Essex	567
Cornwall	52,334	Devon	568
West Sussex	53,458	Northumberland	571
Hereford/Worcester	54,801	Hereford/Worcester	574
Berkshire	55,269	Northamptonshire	593
Durham	56,373	Durham	594
Warwickshire	58,374	Dorset	595
East Sussex	59,551	Gloucestershire	597
Oxfordshire	60,245	Lincolnshire	602
Norfolk	66,213	Kent	603
Hertforshire	67,163	Wiltshire	617
Cambridgeshire	68,119	Cumbria	630
Buckinghamshire	71,134	Bedfordshire	634
Surrey	75,938	Lancashire	639
Leicestershire	77,323	Derbyshire	642
Staffordshire	79,299	East Sussex	644
Devon	79,583	Shropshire	694
Essex	81,222	Norfolk	717
Derbyshire	82,089	Surrey	723
Cheshire	82,104	Cornwall	749
Nottinghamshire	93,263	Oxfordshire	760
Kent	105,615	Buckinhamshire	782
Hampshire	115,905	Cambridgeshire	799
Lancashire	135,554	Warwickshire	859

1. The amount held centrally in respect of LEA maintained schools is calculated by taking the General Schools Budget (GSB), the total planned expenditure on LEA maintained schools, and deducting the Aggegated Schools Budget (ASB) which is the amount delegated to an LEA's schools.

2. All new authorities established at 1 April 1996 under the Local Government Act, 1992 have been excluded from the table.

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