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EDUCATION AND EMPLOYMENT
Jobcentres
Ms Harman: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how many jobcentres there are in England. [14579]
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.
Letter from Leigh Lewis to Ms Harriet Harman, dated 6 February 1997:
6 Feb 1997 : Column: 705
The Secretary of State for Education and Employment has asked me to reply to your question about the number of Jobcentres in England. This is something which falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Chief Executive of the Agency.
I can confirm that there are currently 903 Jobcentres in England.
I hope this is helpful.
Further Education
Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment, pursuant to her answer of 3 February, Official Report, column 468, what sanctions the Further Education Funding Council is able to apply to further education colleges who are operating deficits. [14646]
Mr. Paice: The Further Education Funding College applies no sanctions to further education colleges with operating deficits. Colleges that are categorised as being in a financially weak position are, however, required to draw up recovery plans.
Mr. Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment, pursuant to his answer of 31 January, Official Report, column 397, when she last met the chairman or chief executive of the Further Education Funding Council to discuss the state of college finances. [14645]
Mr. Paice: My right hon. Friend has not met the chairman or chief executive of the Further Education Funding Council for England recently. On her behalf, as the Minister with responsibility for further education, I last met them to discuss the funding of further education on 5 February 1997.
Quantock School, Taunton
Mr. Jamieson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment when she expects to publish the Office for Standards in Education report on the Quantock school, Taunton. [14393]
Mrs. Gillan: This is a matter for Her Majesty's chief inspector of schools. I have asked Mr. Chris Woodhead to write to the hon. Member.
Schools (Capital Allocation)
Mr. Corbett: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if she will list the capital allocation bids for schools made by Birmingham city council in each of the past five years, the amount of spending approved by her Department and the percentage of the bids that this represents. [13687]
Mrs. Gillan [holding answer 31 January 1997]: Birmingham LEA's bids for capital expenditure on schools, the approved allocations and the allocations shown as a percentage of the bids in each of the past five years have been as follows:
| Year | Planned LEA expenditure | Annual capital guideline (ACG) | ACG as percentage of plans | Supplementary credit approvals (SCAs) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| £ million | £ million | £ million | ||
| 1993-94 | 27.3 | 6.25 | 23 | 1.7 |
| 1994-95 | 53.8 | 10.9 | 20 | |
| 1995-96 | 40.9 | 9.21 | 23 | 0.2 |
| 1996-97 | 59.83 | 5.38 | 9 | 1.28 |
| 1997-98 | 53.49 | 1.06 | 1.98 | 0.1 |
| £ thousand | ||
|---|---|---|
| Year | Total bid | Total allocation |
| 1993-94 | 1,516 | 1,372 |
| 1994-95 | 1,674 | 1,132 |
| 1995-96 | 838 | 422 |
| 1996-97 | 773 | 193 |
| 1997-98 | 539 | 514 |
Total allocations include the LEA's annual allocation for minor works improvement projects and committed expenditure on projects started in previous financial years, which LEAs do not bid for. Therefore, percentage of allocation compared to the bid is not calculated. Total allocation quoted is that announced in the preceding December and excludes any in-year adjustments for individual projects.
Assisted Places Scheme
Mr. David Martin: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how many available places there are under the assisted places scheme in (a) Portsmouth grammar school, (b) Portsmouth high school for girls and (c) Sir John's college, Southsea; and how many have been taken up. [13919]
Mrs. Gillan: The information requested is given in the following table.
| Number of assisted places available | Number of assisted places taken up | |
|---|---|---|
| (a) Portsmouth grammar school | 234 | 188 |
| (b) Portsmouth high school for girls | 180 | 135 |
| (c) Sir John's college, Southsea | 200 | 199 |
HOUSE OF COMMONS
Scottish Grand Committee
Mr. Wallace: To ask the Chairman of the Administration Committee if the Committee has considered if meetings of the Scottish Grand Committee in Scotland should be advertised in local and regional newspapers. [14815]
Mr. Michael J. Martin: At its meeting on 28 January, the Administration Committee considered a proposal from the Lord President that meetings of the Scottish Grand Committee held in Scotland might be advertised in regional and local newspapers.
6 Feb 1997 : Column: 707
The Committee endorsed the proposal, and agreed that the Scottish Office should act as the House's agent, subject to certain guidelines:
Mr. Darling:
To ask the right hon. Member for Berwick upon Tweed, representing the House of Commons Commission, what has been the cost of the meetings of the Scottish Grand Committee in Scotland in (a) the last Session of Parliament and (b) the current Session. [14293]
Such advertisements are drafted by House officials, not by the Scottish Office;
The relevant officials from the House and the Scottish Office should liaise in order to agree which newspapers the advertisements appear in; and
The cost of inserting the advertisements should be borne by the House, not by the Scottish Office.
Mr. Beith [holding answer 4 February 1997]: Detailed costs are not currently recorded for individual meetings, but a manual check has been done of the accounting records. The approximate costs to date of the 13 meetings of the Scottish Grand Committee held in the last Session and the first three meetings in the current Session are given in the table. These may not be the final costs as some invoices and claims may still be outstanding. Excluded from these figures are staff standard hours and overtime, some Members' travel and the costs to Government Departments or others in attending the Committees.
| £ | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1995-96 Session: | 13 meetings | 114,362.00 |
| 1996-97 Session (up to 13 January 1997) | 3 meetings | 19,446.00 |
| 133,808.00 |
Mr. Donohoe: To ask the right hon. Member for Berwick upon Tweed, representing the House of Commons Commission, if he will list each meeting of the Scottish Grand Committee held in the current Parliament, its location, and in each case the cost of the meeting; what have been the total costs to date of the meetings; and what estimate he has made of the average increase in costs per session since July 1994. [13693]
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Mr. Beith [holding answer 31 January 1997]: The direct costs to date, coming within the purview of the House of Commons, for meetings of the Scottish Grand Committee held this Parliament up to 13 January 1997 are given in the table by financial year. These are not the final costs as there are still some invoices and claims outstanding. Excluded from these figures are staff standard hour costs and overtime, some travel by Members, and the costs to Government Departments or others in attending the Committees.
It has not been possible to establish a meaningful trend, as the costs of each meeting are dependent on many variables. For example, the cost of travel to different locations varies and not all local authorities charge for room hire or the provision of policing.
The average cost to date for meetings of the Scottish Grand Committee is approximately £7,500.
| Location and financial year | Date of meeting | Cost £ | Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1994-95 | |||
| Edinburgh | 5 December 1994 | 8,226 | |
| Glasgow | 19 December 1994 | 2,199 | |
| Edinburgh | 13 February 1995 | 9,685 | |
| 20,110 | 6,703 | ||
| 1995-96 | |||
| Aberdeen | 23 October 1995 | 2,771 | |
| Edinburgh | 11 December 1995 | 8,023 | |
| Glasgow | 18 December 1995 | 4,842 | |
| Edinburgh | 15 January 1996 | 11,045 | |
| Stirling | 29 January 1996 | 8,288 | |
| Inverness | 5 February 1996 | 7,576 | |
| Aberdeen | 19 February 1996 | 7,893 | |
| Kilmarnock | 4 March 1996 | 6,951 | |
| 57,389 | 7,174 | ||
| 1996-97 | |||
| Inverness | 22 April 1996 | 8,093 | |
| Dundee | 13 May 1996 | 15,439 | |
| Dunfermline | 20 May 1996 | 8,758 | |
| Ayr | 10 June 1996 | 6,539 | |
| Perth | 17 June 1996 | 7,737 | |
| Dumfries | 8 July 1996 | 13,178 | |
| Cupar | 25 November 1996 | 8,620 | |
| Hamilton | 9 December 1996 | 6,136 | |
| Edinburgh | 13 January 1997 | 4,690 | |
| 79,190 | 8,799 | ||
| Total this Parliament | 156,689 | 7,834 |
6 Feb 1997 : Column: 707
6 Feb 1997 : Column: 709
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