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Hampstead Garden Suburb Institute
Mr. John Marshall: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment when she received the report by the inspector into the proposed compulsory purchase order in respect of the institute, London NW11, and when she expects to make a decision. [10807]
Mr. Robin Squire: The Department received the inspector's report on 4 November 1996. A decision on the inspector's recommendations will be made as soon as possible.
Assaults on Teachers
Mr. Thurnham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what information she has collated concerning the number of assaults on teachers (a) by children and (b) by parents in the last five years. [10832]
Mr. Forth: This information is not collected centrally.
Ministerial Visits
Mr. Spearing: To ask the secretary of State for Education and Employment if she will name those schools to which she has made official visits in 1996, and to date in 1997, in which standards of space, heating and sanitary provisions (a) were represented to her as inadequate and (b) did not meet statutory standards; and what action she has taken or intends to take in each case. [10899]
Mrs. Gillan: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State visits a large number of schools each year in the course of her official duties. Any matters of concern raised during such a visit, including standards of accommodation, are noted at the time and dealt with on an individual basis, usually through correspondence between officials in the Department and the school or local education authority involved.
The responsibility for ensuring that school premises comply with the standards laid down in the Education (School Premises) Regulations 1996 falls to the LEA for LEA-maintained schools, and the governing bodies of grant-maintained schools.
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Mr. Key:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how many teachers in Wiltshire local education authority schools in the year 1995-96 were granted early retirement (a) with and (b) without enhancement; and under which budget head the financial consequences for each school are recorded. [10334]
Mrs. Gillan:
The number of teachers granted premature retirement in Wiltshire LEA schools in 1995-96 was 26 without enhancement and 36 with enhancement. Payments in respect of premature retirement compensation cannot normally be treated by LEAs as a charge on the budgets of individual schools. Nor, where they are so charged, need they be separately identified in the LEAs' statutory local management of schools financial statements or in any other statement or return collected by the Department.
Mr. Key:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if she will list for (a) Ridgeway school, Swindon, (b) Greendown school, Swindon, (c) Westwood St. Thomas school, Salisbury and (d) Malmesbury school, the (i) numbers on the roll, (ii) social needs budget, (iii) grants for education support and training, (iv) flat rate allowance, (v) age weighted pupil unit, (vi) devolved total 1 budget, (vii) amount retained by the local education authority from devolved 1 budget, (viii) devolved 2 budget total and (ix) total budget for each school for years April 1996 to March 1997. [10335]
Mr. Robin Squire:
The information in the following table is taken from the local management of schools budget statement for 1996-97 published by Wiltshire local education authority under section 42 of the Education Reform Act 1988, now section 122 of the Education Act 1996. This statement does not contain, nor is it required to contain, the information requested at items (iii) and (vi) to (viii) of the question. The figures in the last line of the table represent the delegated budgets allocated to the schools and do not include GEST--grants for education, support and training--or other devolved funding.
| The Ridgeway School, Wroughton(2) | Greendown Community School, Swindon | Westwood St. Thomas' School, Salisbury | Malmesbury School | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number on roll | 1,412 | 847 | 823 | 931 |
| Amount allocated through social needs factor | £0 | £13,856 | £2,965 | £0 |
| Flat rate allowance | £170,950 | £146,500 | £170,950 | £170,950 |
| Amount allocated by age weighted pupil numbers | £2,482,875 | £1,386,910 | £1,659,525 | £1,651,518 |
| Budget share | £2,820,030 | £1,653,823 | £1,924,713 | £1,997,945 |
(2) Incorporated as a grant-maintained school on 1 September 1996.
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Office for Standards in Education Inspections
Mr. Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how many schools have been inspected by Ofsted; and how many teachers have been graded in each of categories one to seven since 1 April 1996. [10911]
Mr. Robin Squire: This is a matter for Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Schools. I have asked Mr. Chris Woodhead to write to the hon. Member.
Investors in People
Mr. Bryan Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what proportion of organisations with 200 or more employees are (a) recognised as and (b) committed to investors in people in each English region and in Wales. [11249]
Mr. Paice: The latest available data for Government Office regions in England are provided in the following table. Responsibility for Investors in People in Wales is a matter for my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Wales.
| Region | Percentage of employers recognised | Percentage of employers committed | Total percentage of employers covered |
|---|---|---|---|
| North-east | 18 | 40 | 58 |
| North-west | 14 | 59 | 73 |
| Yorkshire and Humberside | 13 | 48 | 61 |
| Merseyside | 24 | 50 | 74 |
| West Midlands | 18 | 55 | 73 |
| East Midlands | 15 | 62 | 77 |
| Eastern Counties | 12 | 58 | 70 |
| South-west | 23 | 53 | 76 |
| South-east | 18 | 71 | 89 |
| London | 9 | 50 | 59 |
| Total England | 15 | 55 | 70 |
The agreed baselines are the numbers of organisations of the relevant size eligible for separate Investors in People recognition as counted by English training and enterprise councils in spring 1996.
TRANSPORT
Heavy Goods Vehicles
Mr. Chidgey: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if the road damage calculations quoted in the recent consultation document, "Lorry Weights", are based upon static conditions on a level surface; and what estimates have been made of road damage characteristics associated with typical dynamic conditions taking account of speed, uneven road surfaces and the variable quality of vehicle suspensions. [10906]
Mr. Watts: The dynamic effect of a given axle weight is dependent upon a number of factors including road surface, axle spacing, tyre and suspension type. The fourth
15 Jan 1997 : Column: 244
power rule was derived from a series of dynamic tests in which different types of lorries were run repetitively over sections of road surface. The best approximation between road wear and lorry weight was found to be the fourth power of the static axle load.
Further work has been carried out in Germany and at the Transport Research Laboratory to take greater account of vehicle suspension and road types. But these effects are relatively small and static axle load remains the dominant factor. The TRL is currently participating in a European programme to determine the road wear effects of different tyre types.
Mr. Chidgey:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what provisions there are to seek an extension of the derogation from EC directive 96/53 admitting 40-tonne lorries to Britain; and what plans he has to do so. [10904]
Mr. Watts:
None. Under the terms of the original directive, 85/3/EEC now consolidated as 96/53/EEC, the United Kingdom would have been obliged to accept 40-tonne lorries on international journeys from July 1986. The Government negotiated a derogation from this requirement which expires on 1 January 1999.
Mr. Chidgey:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has had made of how much greater damage will be caused by the drive axles of 40-tonne lorries to road pavements when fully laden than is caused by 38-tonne lorries. [10905]
Mr. Watts:
The 11.5 tonne axle weight of 40-tonne lorries would cause about 45 per cent. more road wear than the 10.5 tonne drive axle weight of 38-tonne vehicles, assuming in both cases that the axles are fully laden.
Mr. Spearing:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list the estimated overall capital cost of the Jubilee line extension (a) at the time of Royal Assent to the Bill, (b) updated following the indexation of prices adopted by his Department for (i) 1996, (ii) 1997 and (iii) 1998; and if he will list the estimated deficit against the original estimate at 1997 prices, indicating from what source he expects this sum to be defrayed. [10877]
Mr. Bowis:
At the time of Royal Assent the estimated overall cost of the Jubilee line extension was £2.1 billion in cash terms. The 1996 estimated outturn cost of the project was £2.6 billion in cash. That remains the estimated outturn cost. The difference between the two figures will come from London Transport's total resources, which include substantial amounts of Government grant. Additional grant has been made available specifically in respect of cost overruns related to delays arising from the new Austrian tunnelling method collapse on the Heathrow express project.
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