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NORTHERN IRELAND
Mark Gibson (Parole)
Mr. John D. Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland for what reasons the Prison Service has refused access to the notes, minutes and records of the Life Sentence Review Board's decision to defer consideration of parole for Mr. Mark Gibson, in Her Majesty's prison Maghaberry, to Mr. Gibson's solicitor.[14068]
Sir John Wheeler: It is the practice of the Northern Ireland Office, influenced by considerations of public interest and confidentiality, not to make disclosure of reports considered by the Life Sentence Review Board.
Life Sentence Reviews
Mr. John D. Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland for what reasons prisoners serving life sentences in Northern Ireland do not have the right of access to dossiers concerning their life sentence review; and in what ways this differs from the situation in England and Wales. [14069]
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Sir John Wheeler: It is the practice of the Northern Ireland Office, influenced by considerations of public interest and confidentiality, not to give disclosure to life sentence prisoners of dossiers concerning their life sentence reviews. This practice is set in the context of circumstances in which the majority of life sentence prisoners have been convicted of very serious terrorist-related offences. Both the law and practice in England and Wales is different, where prisoners are normally entitled to disclosure of papers which are put to the Parole Board.
Psychotic Diseases
Mr. Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will estimate how many people in Northern Ireland were registered sufferers of (a) Alzheimer's disease, (b) schizophrenia and (c) other psychotic diseases in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement. [14664]
Sir John Wheeler: Sufferers of mental illness are not required to be registered. Information on the total numbers of people suffering from different types of mental illness is not available.
EDUCATION AND EMPLOYMENT
Education Funding (Lancashire)
Mr. Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what (a) private finance initiative and (b) public funding went into the education system in Lancashire in each year since 1992. [13279]
Mr. Robin Squire: PFI is new to the schools sector and to date no contracts involving Lancashire schools have been signed. A number of Lancashire schools are considering PFI options, and St. Wilfrid's Church of England high school, Blackburn is taking forward a PFI project to rebuild the school on a new site.
| 1993-94 | 1994-95 | 1995-96 | 1996-97 | 1997-98 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Annual capital guideline | 11,129 | 7,948 | 8,105 | 8,166 | 5,225 |
| Supplementary credit approvals | 1,179 | 448 | 51 | 762 | 626 |
| Allocations to VA schools | 5,577 | 5,367 | 3,085 | 3,081 | 3,425 |
| Total | 17,885 | 13,763 | 11,241 | 12,009 | 9,276 |
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Policy Initiatives
Mr. Pawsey: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment to which policy initiative she has devoted most funding in each of the last five years; and if she will make a statement on progress with each initiative. [13929]
Mr. Robin Squire: The effectiveness of initiatives in education and employment does not depend solely on the funding allocated to them, and many of the initiatives of
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the Departments and its predecessors have been aimed at making better use of existing resources. Among the important measures in the last five years have been:
in 1992-93, the setting up of the Office for Standards in Education as an independent Government department; the introduction of the new further and higher education sectors and the subsequent increase in numbers and efficiency; and the publication of the first school performance tables;
in 1993-94, the introduction of procedures to deal with failing schools; the formation of the School Curriculum and Assessment Authority; and the launch of the technology colleges programme;
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- in 1994-95, the piloting of modern apprenticeships; and the setting up of the Teacher Training Agency;
in 1995-96, the launch of the improving schools programme, covering a broad range of measures to raise standards in all schools; and legislation to provide vouchers for nursery education; and
in 1996-97, the start of the national literacy and numeracy project; and the implementation of the jobseeker's allowance, which aims to improve the operation of the labour market, secure better value for money for the taxpayer, and improve the service to unemployed people themselves.
External Education (Recoupment)
Mr. Ronnie Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what steps she proposes to take to change Northumberland county council's proposed finance settlement in respect of local authority recoupment relating to children being educated outside their county of residence. [12848]
Mr. Robin Squire [holding answer 4 February 1997]: My right hon. friend has no plans to change Northumberland county council's finance settlement in respect of inter-authority recoupment relating to pupils educated outside their area of residence.
Disabled Pupils
Mr. Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what funds she provides to improve facilities for disabled children in mainstream education; and if she will make a statement. [14336]
Mrs. Gillan: The Government are providing support totalling £12 million over the next three years under the schools access initiative for projects to make more mainstream schools accessible to pupils with disabilities. Some 800 mainstream schools have already benefited from schools access initiative projects in 1996-97.
Mr. Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how many pupils with physical disabilities have been refused places in mainstream schools over the last year. [14338]
Mrs. Gillan: This information is not collected centrally. The annual report of the Special Educational needs tribunal for 1995-96 shows that, in that year, 26 appeals were registered concerning the placement of a child with physical handicap; of these, 12 were upheld. Local education authorities have a duty to secure education in a mainstream school for children with a statement of SEN, where this is what parents wish, provided the placement is appropriate for the child and is compatible with the education of other children and the efficient use of resources.
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Mr. Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how many children with physical disabilities have been refused places in Roman Catholic schools in the Leicester area over the last year. [14337]
Mrs. Gillan: This information is not collected centrally.
Equal Opportunities
Mr. Keith Hill: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how many people are employed by her Department to provide advice on the application of equal opportunities; and at what cost in the last year for which figures are available. [14465]
Mrs. Gillan: This Government are committed to equal opportunities and issued to all Departments model guidance on policy appraisal for equal treatment. This ensures that the impact on particular groups, such as women, is considered as part of the policy development and review process. Specific guidance, based on this model was issued within the Department last September.
Consequently, in addition to the personnel related functions in respect of the Department's own employees, advice on the application of equal opportunities is an important strand in a wide number of the Department's activities and apart from two specialised units, for which details are given, it is not possible to disaggregate either the number or the cost of staff involved.
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