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Teachers (Redundancy)
Mr. Barry Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what measures he proposes to introduce to reduce the number of teacher redundancies. [15834]
Mr. Jonathan Evans: Local education authorities and schools are responsible for decisions relating to the employment and deployment of individual schools teachers. The local authority settlement announced recently should enable those local authorities who attach the same high priority to education as my right hon. Friend and I to have sufficient resources to meet the needs of schools.
Health Authorities (Allocation of Resources)
Sir Wyn Roberts: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he has reached a decision concerning the allocation of resources to health authorities in Wales for 1997-98. [16854]
Mr. Hague: I announced on 12 December 1996, Official Report, columns 405-09, that I shall be providing an additional £94 million for the NHS in Wales in 1997-98. This will bring total spending to £2,368 million; £1,658 million of this will fund the hospital, community and family health service.
Within this amount, the five health authorities, general practitioners and general practitioner fundholders will receive revenue funding of £1,505 million, £52 million or 3.5 per cent. more than in 1996-97 plans. In real terms, this is an overall increase of 1.5 per cent. Within these resources, I have been able to give health authorities £49 million, which represents a 3.5 per cent. cash increase on discretionary purchasing power, and £3 million to cash limited general medical services, which is a 5.6 per cent. cash increase.
I am expecting health authorities and trusts to continue to generate efficiency savings and in 1997-98 these should amount to at least 2.7 per cent. This will release some £40 million which, together with the new money, will be available to meet inflationary and other pressures, and to increase investment in patient care.
Health authorities and trusts will also receive £105 million to fund capital development. Included with this is some £9 million of new provision in order to fund the package of urgently needed capital development that I set out in my budget statement. The rationalisation of services between the Cardiff royal infirmary and the university hospital of Wales, the new link road to the hospital site and work on the new cancer centre in north Wales can now begin next year. These developments complement the capital schemes worth £40 million that are currently subject to the private finance initiative and I fully expect to see some successful outcomes in 1997-98. The private finance initiative offers a unique opportunity to bring forward capital developments which are funded outside public expenditure.
Officials have today informed health authorities and trusts of the provisional allocations to health authorities and trusts' external financing limits. I have placed a copy of the letter in the Library of the House.
18 Feb 1997 : Column: 455
Sir Michael Shersby:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if she will make a statement on the relationship between the level of funding and education standards in maintained primary schools in the London borough of Hillingdon. [16235]
Mr. Dicks:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if she will make a statement on the relationship between the level of funding and education standards in maintained primary schools in the London borough of Hillingdon. [16237]
Mr. Robin Squire:
There is no simple relationship between levels of funding and education standards.
Mr. Gordon Prentice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if she will take steps to assist further education colleges running operating deficits to restore their financial health without jeopardising the quality and scope of the education offered. [16102]
Mr. Paice:
Colleges are independent, autonomous bodies and are responsible for managing their own financial affairs. The Further Education Funding Council has effective arrangements in place for identifying colleges in financial difficulty and for working with them to recover their financial health.
Mr. Clifton-Brown:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what is the ratio of computers to secondary school pupils in (a) the United Kingdom, (b) the United States of America and (c) Japan in the last five years for which figures are available. [16143]
Mr. Robin Squire:
Comparative data are not readily available. A recent international report by Research Machines on information technology provision in schools, covering countries in the group of 7, indicated that in 1996 the ratio of computers to secondary school pupils in the United Kingdom was one per 8.5 pupils, in the United States of America one per 12 pupils and in Japan about one per 25 pupils.
Mr. David Nicholson:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how many schools by local education authority have been deemed by Office for Standards in Education inspectors to be failing to provide a satisfactory standard of education. [16171]
Mr. Robin Squire:
The information requested on the 243 failing schools, as at 31 January 1997, is given in the following table. In addition, I have placed in the Library a coloured map containing the same information.
For completeness, I should add that 18 schools have already been restored to health as a result of the special measures policy and 12 have closed.
18 Feb 1997 : Column: 456
1. Independent
Colbrook Independent Special School, Shropshire. Talbot Independent Special School, Northumberland.
2. GM Schools
Southfields Secondary, Kent 1.
St Hugh's Secondary, Lincolnshire 1.
Upbury Manor Secondary, Kent 1.
Aston St. Peters Primary, Bedfordshire 1.
Our Lady of Fatima Sec, Liverpool 1.
Kelsey Park Secondary School, Bromley 1.
St. Margaret's Special School, Bedfordshire 1.
Hayes Manor Secondary School, Hillingdon 1.
18 Feb 1997 : Column: 457
Special Needs
Mr. Peter Griffiths:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how many children of school age, who are the subjects of statements of special educational needs, are being educated in (a) private schools specialising in such children, (b) maintained
18 Feb 1997 : Column: 458
special schools, (c) special units within maintained schools and (d) mainstream classes in maintained schools. [16438]
Mrs. Gillan:
Schools' returns to the Department showed that in January 1996, 4,992 pupils with statements were educated in non-maintained special schools, 5,810 in independent schools, 87,458 in maintained special schools, 1,826 in pupil referral units, and 127,238 in maintained nursery, primary or secondary schools. Information on whether pupils with statements in mainstream schools are taught in general classes or separately is not collected centrally.
Mr. Griffiths:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how many (a) boys and (b) girls of school age are the subjects of statements of special educational needs; and how many of these have (i) special learning difficulties and (ii) behavioural problems. [16435]
Mrs. Gillan:
Schools' returns to the Department showed that in January 1996 a total of 227,324 pupils had statements. Information by gender, or by type of special educational need, is not collected centrally.
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