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Nursery Vouchers
Mr. Blunkett: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what is the number and the proportion of eligible parents who have (a) received a voucher application form and (b) returned a voucher application from, in respect of provision for their four-year-old in the summer term 1997. [15958]
Mr. Robin Squire: The parents/carers of 653,746 eligible children have been sent an application form. Of those, as of 12 February 1997, a total of 511,780--more than 78 per cent.--had returned their forms to the nursery voucher centre.
Mr. Blunkett: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what representations she has received from providers in the four areas piloting the nursery voucher scheme, regarding the impact of the voucher scheme on provision for three-year-olds. [15960]
Mr. Squire: My right hon. Friend has received representations on a number of aspects of the nursery voucher scheme, including the desirability of extending the scheme to three-year-olds. As the deduction from each local education authority's standard spending assessment is only in respect of existing places for four-year-olds, it should not impact on the provision for three-year-olds.
Mr. Blunkett: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how many places for voucher-bearing four-year-olds were provided in (a) the maintained sector, (b) the voluntary sector, (c) the private sector and (d) overall in (i) the first term and (ii) the second term of the nursery voucher pilot scheme. [15955]
Mr. Squire: The table provides a breakdown of the number of places provided under the voucher scheme by type of provider for each of the phase 1 local education authority areas in the summer and autumn terms of 1996.
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Mr. Blunkett:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment when parents of four-year-olds will receive a nursery voucher in respect of provision in the summer term 1997. [15957]
Mr. Squire:
The first tranche of nursery education vouchers will arrive with parents from 24 February 1997. Thereafter vouchers will be issued to parents on receipt of a correctly completed application form.
Mr. Blunkett:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if she will publish the chief inspector's report on the findings of the inspections carried out up to the end of November, in the pilot phase of the nursery voucher scheme. [15959]
Mr. Squire:
My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has published today the chief inspector's overview report on the findings of inspections carried out in the local authority areas participating in phase 1 of the nursery education voucher scheme.
Mr. Blunkett:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what is her current estimate of the number and percentage of parents in the four areas piloting the nursery voucher scheme who have seen or heard advertising for the scheme. [15953]
Mr. Squire:
Research undertaken in March 1996 among a sample of the 16,000 eligible parents in the four phase 1 participating authorities showed that, overall,
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some 38 per cent. claimed to have seen or heard some advertising for the nursery education voucher scheme. The figure rose to 48 per cent. in Norfolk. Given that publicity had to be contained within the participating authorities, this is a very respectable figure.
No subsequent research of this nature has been undertaken, but it seems reasonable to conclude that with the advent of national advertising for phase 2 a greater proportion of parents in the four phase 1 areas are now aware of the scheme.
Mr. Blunkett:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment (1) how many vouchers have been (a) issued and (b) redeemed in respect of (i) term one and (ii) term two of the nursery voucher scheme; and what is the cash value of unredeemed vouchers; [15954]
Mr. Squire:
The following table provides a breakdown of the estimated number of children eligible for a voucher, and the number of vouchers issued and redeemed for each of the phase 1 local education authority areas in the summer and autumn terms 1996. Unredeemed vouchers do not have a cash value; they represent the potential grant that would have been paid had they been redeemed.
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(2) in respect of each of the four nursery voucher pilot areas (a) what is the number of eligible four-year-olds, (b) how many applied for a voucher and (c) how many redeemed a voucher in (i) the first term and (ii) the second term, of the pilot phase. [15956]
| Norfolk | Kensington and Chelsea | Wandsworth | Westminster | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Summer term 1996 | ||||
| Estimated children | 9,300 | 1,650 | 3,300 | 1,900 |
| Vouchers issued | 8,914 | 1,140 | 3,123 | 1,395 |
| Vouchers redeemed (full or part) | 8,331 | 1,076 | 2,798 | 1,141 |
| Nominal value of unredeemed voucher parts | £526,251 | £28,859 | £141,913 | £107,589 |
| Autumn term 1996 | ||||
| Estimated children | 9,300 | 1,650 | 3,300 | 1,900 |
| Vouchers issued | 9,128 | 1,142 | 3,147 | 1,469 |
| Vouchers redeemed (full or part) | 8,889 | 1,081 | 2,760 | 1,148 |
| Nominal value of unredeemed vouchers parts | £177,960 | £35,570 | £174,403 | £142,463 |
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Grant-maintained Status Applications
Mr. Nicholas Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what is the timetable which governs the process of application for grant-maintained status if a board of school governors recommends that such status should be sought. [16252]
Mr. Forth: If the governing body of a school passes a resolution to ballot parents on grant-maintained status, or if it receives a valid petition from parents, it must hold a ballot within 10 weeks. If a majority of those parents who vote are in favour of GM status, the governing body must publish, within four months of the ballot result, statutory proposals for acquiring GM status. There is then a period of two months during which objections to those proposals may be made. My right hon. Friend decides the proposals, taking account of any objections, as soon as possible thereafter.
Mr. Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what estimate she has made of the number of schools likely to apply for grant-maintained status within the next six months; and if she will make a statement. [16254]
Mr. Forth: There are currently some 50 schools which have published statutory proposals to become grant maintained following a yes vote in parental ballots, and nine more are in the process of balloting parents. Beyond that, the number of schools applying for grant-maintained status depends on parental choice and we do not try to predict it.
Mr. Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how many (a) primary and (b) secondary schools have begun the process of seeking grant-maintained status; in how many of those cases parents voted by a sufficient majority in favour of acquiring such status; in how many of the cases of such affirmative votes applications have so far been received by his Department; in how many of those cases of applications received such status (i) was approved, (ii) was denied and (iii) is still pending; and if she will make a statement. [16251]
Mr. Forth: The GM process starts when a school decides to ballot parents on applying for GM status. If parents vote yes, the school publishes statutory proposals to become a grant-maintained school. These are considered by the Secretary of State, who may approve or reject them. The following table gives details of ballots and their outcomes in England since GM legislation was first introduced in 1988.
| (a) Primary | (b) Secondary | |
|---|---|---|
| Number of schools holding ballots | 764 | 944 |
| Yes votes by parents | 566 | 702 |
| Statutory proposals published | 561 | 701 |
| Statutory proposals approved by Secretary of State | 494 | 654 |
| Statutory proposals rejected by Secretary of State | 50 | 39 |
| Statutory proposals under consideration | 17 | 8 |
Figures exclude special schools and schools established by promoters. Where schools have held more than one ballot, only the outcome of the latest has been included. Where schools have published proposals more than once, only the latest decision has been counted.
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Mr. Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if she will list the grounds upon which an application by a school for grant-maintained status could be refused by the Secretary of State; and in what circumstances under the relevant Act the Secretary of State could defer a decision. [16253]
Mr. Forth: My right hon. Friend considers each application for grant-maintained status on its merits and in the light of the relevant circumstances. The reasons for any decision not to approve GM statutory proposals therefore vary from case to case. The legislation does not make provision for the deferral of decisions on GM applications.
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