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Access to Work Scheme
Mr. Alan Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what is her latest estimate of (a) the cost and (b) the number receiving assistance through the access to work scheme; and of these how many are (i) unemployed; (ii) employees and (iii) self-employed. [414]
Mr. Forth: Responsibility for the subject of the question has been delegated to the Employment Service under its chief executive. I have asked him to arrange for a reply to be given.
Letter from M. E. G. Fogden to Mr. Alan Howarth, dated 29 October 1996:
Mr. Howarth:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what is her estimate of the cost of removing the employer and self-employed contributions payable under the access to work scheme. [415]
Mr. Forth:
Responsibility for the subject of the question has been delegated to the Employment Service under its chief executive. I have asked him to arrange for a reply to be given.
Letter from M. E. G. Fogden to Mr. Alan Howarth, dated 29 October 1996:
Mr. Howarth:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what is her estimate of the cost of extending and jobfinder's grant to people receiving severe disablement allowance, incapacity benefit and income support at the time of their application. [413]
Mr. Forth:
Responsibility for the subject of the question has been delegated to the Employment Service under its chief executive. I have asked him to arrange for a reply to be given.
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Letter from M. E. G. Fogden to Mr. Alan Howarth, dated 29 October 1996:
Mr. Cohen:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment for what reasons she has not published the results of the survey conducted by an Office for Standards in Education inspector into the link between the provision of books and equipment in schools and effective teaching; and if she will make a statement. [144]
Mr. Robin Squire:
This is a matter for Her Majesty's chief inspector of schools, who heads the Office for Standards in Education. I have asked Mr. Chris Woodhead to write to the hon. Member.
Mr. John Marshall:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what was the total payment by the Further Education Funding Council to the Hampstead Garden Suburb Institute in 1995-96; which courses were supported by the Further Education Funding Council; and what is the current estimate of likely grant by the Further Education Funding Council in 1996-97. [85]
Mr. Paice:
In 1995-96 the Further Education Funding Council paid Hampstead Garden Suburb Institute recurrent funding of £125,992. The institute's recurrent funding for 1996-97 has yet to be finalised, but is likely to be around the same level as in 1995-96. Details of the courses for which the institute is funded are a matter for the FEFC. I am therefore asking the council's chief executive to write to the hon. Member.
Mr. Allen:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if she will list the provision in the national curriculum which enables the teaching of (a) citizenship, (b) social skills and (c) parenting; and if she will make a statement. [399]
Mrs. Gillan:
There is scope for schools to cover citizenship, social skills and parenting under section 1 of the Education Reform Act 1988.
Citizenship can also be covered in religious education, and within national curriculum subjects such as history and English; and social skills and parenthood can be covered in sex education, provision for which is enshrined in sections 352 and 403 to 405 of the Education Act 1993.
Sir David Knox:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how much was spent per (a) primary and (b) secondary school pupil in each of
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the local education authorities in England in the most recent year for which figures are available, at constant prices. [964]
Mr. Robin Squire:
The following table sets out for each local education authority in England the net institutional expenditure per pupil in LEA-maintained (a) pre-primary/primary schools and (b) secondary schools.
The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your question about the estimated cost and numbers receiving assistance through Access to Work, and the numbers who are unemployed, employed and self-employed. This is something which falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Chief Executive of the Agency.
For the period April to September 1996, £6.5m has been spent and a further £6m is already committed to be spent. During this period we helped 1,452 new beneficiaries of whom 666 were unemployed, 701 were employed and 85 were self employed. About 4,200 others continue to receive help agreed before April.
I hope this is helpful.
The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your question about the estimated cost of removing the cost sharing element of Access to Work. This is something which falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Chief Executive of the Agency.
It is too early to say what expenditure on Access to Work will be this year and consequently what would be the effect of returning to a situation in which the Employment Service paid all approved costs.
However, the demand for Access to Work in 1995-96 was such that, in spite of restrictions from December 1995 on the help given to employed and self-employed people, expenditure exceeded the budget by some £6 million. Growth on this scale indicated that expenditure in 1996-97 would have exceeded the budget available leading to restrictions again having to be imposed on applications. Employed and self-employed people have been eligible for help since 1 June, and the introduction of cost sharing means that this year's allocation of £19 million will ensure that help continues to be available to those who most need it.
I hope this is helpful.
The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your question about the cost of extending Jobfinder's Grant to people receiving Severe Disablement Allowance, Incapacity Benefit and Income Support. This is something which falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Chief Executive of the Agency.
Based on client information supplied by the Benefits Agency, and assuming a similar take up to that of our current target group, the maximum additional cost would be £14.3 million.
I hope that this is helpful.
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Sir David Knox: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how much was spent per pupil in Staffordshire (a) in primary schools and (b) in secondary schools in each of the past 25 years, at constant prices. [966]
Mr. Squire:
The following table shows net institutional expenditure in Staffordshire local education authority schools on (a) pre-primary and primary pupils combined, and on (b) secondary pupils from 1974-75 to 1994-95,
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the latest year for which figures are available. Equivalent figures prior to 1974-75 are not readily available centrally.
| Pre-primary/primary | Secondary | |
|---|---|---|
| £ | £ | |
| 1974-75 | 1,223 | 1,985 |
| 1975-76 | 1,230 | 2,050 |
| 1976-77 | 1,249 | 1,991 |
| 1977-78 | 1,193 | 1,868 |
| 1978-79 | 1,206 | 1,861 |
| 1979-80 | 1,221 | 1,821 |
| 1980-81 | 1,211 | 1,676 |
| 1981-82 | 1,281 | 1,748 |
| 1982-83 | 1,307 | 1,746 |
| 1983-84 | 1,352 | 1,802 |
| 1984-85 | 1,316 | 1,803 |
| 1985-86 | 1,308 | 1,861 |
| 1986-87 | 1,373 | 2,015 |
| 1987-88 | 1,448 | 2,159 |
| 1988-89 | 1,473 | 2,273 |
| 1989-90 | 1,483 | 2,296 |
| 1990-91 | 1,496 | 2,225 |
| 1991-92 | 1,561 | 2,285 |
| 1992-93 | 1,570 | 2,242 |
| 1993-94 | 1,599 | 2,166 |
| 1994-95 | 1,603 | 2,155 |
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