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Parliamentary Questions

Mr. Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how many answers to parliamentary questions by Ministers in her Department in the last 12 months have exceeded the advisory cost limit; and if she will make a statement. [19346]

Mr. Robin Squire [holding answer 10 March 1997]: Where the cost of answering a particular parliamentary question is estimated to exceed £450, it is the general practice for Departments to make clear that the question could be answered only by incurring disproportionate cost. Given the large numbers of questions tabled, it would be unreasonable for the Department to calculate systematically the exact cost of answering every single parliamentary question.

European Social Fund

Mr. MacShane: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what funding has been allocated to the United Kingdom under the European social fund for the period 1994 to 1999. [19077]

Mr. Paice [holding answer 10 March 1997]: The total amount allocated to the United Kingdom from the structural funds over the period 1994 to 1999 is £9,530 million and we expect that £4,344 million of this will be allocated to the European social fund: the precise allocation to the ESF will be known when the current negotiations on the objective 2 programme for 1997-99 have been completed. These figures are based on 1994 prices and an exchange rate of 1.39 ECU to £1.

Pupil to Teacher Ratios

Mr. Callaghan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what was the pupil to teacher ratio in (a) primary and (b) secondary schools in each of the last five years. [19678]

Mr. Robin Squire: I refer the hon. Member to statistical bulletin 11/96 which shows pupil teacher ratios in maintained schools by local education authority area in England in January 1996. A copy of the bulletin is in the Library.

Primary School Classes

Mr. Blunkett: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what is the number and proportion of children in primary school classes or (a) up to 25 pupils, (b) 26-30 pupils, (c) 31-35 pupils, (d) 36-40 pupils and (e) 41 and over pupils (i) in each LEA and (ii) nationally. [19259]

Mr. Robin Squire: The information requested is shown in the following table.

Numbers and percentages of pupils in one teacher classes by size in maintained primary schools in each local authority area in England January 1996

	Up to 25		26-30		31-35		36-40		41+
	Number of pupils	Percentage(3)	Number of pupils	Percentage(3)	Number of pupils	Percentage(3)	Number of pupils	Percentage(3)	Number of pupils	Percentage(3)	Total pupils
Corporation of London	23	21.5	84	78.5	0	0.0	0	0.0	0	0.0	107
Camden	1,597	18.7	6,487	76.0	410	4.8	37	0.4	0	0.0	8,531
Greenwich	6,380	36.1	9,868	55.9	1,412	8.0	0	0.0	0	0.0	17,660
Hackney	4,494	33.1	8,427	62.0	664	4.9	0	0.0	0	0.0	13,585
Hammersmith	1,935	24.6	4,880	62.2	1,036	13.2	0	0.0	0	0.0	7,851
Islington	3,107	23.3	9,243	69.3	982	7.4	0	0.0	0	0.0	13,332
Kensington and Chelsea	2,099	42.4	2,668	53.9	187	3.8	0	0.0	0	0.0	4,954
Lambeth	6,358	40.9	8,327	53.6	857	5.5	0	0.0	0	0.0	15,542
Lewisham	6,462	36.7	10,244	58.1	917	5.2	0	0.0	0	0.0	17,623
Southwark	5,957	31.0	11,223	58.4	1,979	10.3	72	0.4	0	0.0	19,231
Tower Hamlets	4,103	27.6	9,928	66.7	822	5.5	37	0.2	0	0.0	14,890
Wandsworth	4,766	33.0	7,264	50.5	1,969	13.7	342	2.4	62	0.4	14,423
Westminster	2,873	41.8	3,457	50.3	508	7.4	36	0.5	0	0.0	6,874
Barking	3,580	23.6	9,984	65.8	1,331	8.8	272	1.8	0	0.0	15,167
Barnet	4,784	22.8	14,343	68.4	1,648	7.9	152	0.7	48	0.2	20,975
Bexley	2,674	12.9	9,162	44.4	8,673	42.0	148	0.7	0	0.0	20,657
Brent	4,758	25.3	11,797	62.7	2,053	10.9	111	0.6	95	0.5	18,814
Bromley	2,401	10.3	9,151	39.1	11,664	49.8	186	0.8	0	0.0	23,402
Croydon	3,418	13.1	16,235	62.5	6,083	23.4	258	1.0	0	0.0	25,994
Ealing	5,653	25.2	11,302	50.3	5,246	23.4	218	1.0	44	0.2	22,463
Enfield	2,057	9.5	10,659	49.4	8,804	40.8	36	0.2	0	0.0	21,556
Haringey	3,654	21.8	12,130	72.5	948	5.7	0	0.0	0	0.0	16,732
Harrow	2,128	13.5	9,784	62.1	3,797	24.1	36	0.2	0	0.0	15,745
Havering	3,489	17.6	10,615	53.7	5,443	27.5	185	0.9	50	0.3	19,782
Hillingdon	5,444	29.1	8,447	45.1	4,361	23.3	418	2.2	41	0.2	18,711
Hounslow	3,336	20.2	7,483	45.4	4,996	30.3	637	3.9	41	0.2	16,493
Kingston upon Thames	869	8.6	2,160	21.3	6,610	65.3	438	4.3	47	0.5	10,124
Merton	2,392	18.7	6,459	50.4	3,560	27.8	344	2.7	51	0.4	12,806
Newham	3,111	12.9	18,694	77.3	2,177	9.0	152	0.6	52	0.2	24,186
Redbridge	1,930	11.2	6,205	36.1	8,518	49.5	542	3.2	0	0.0	17,195
Richmond upon Thames	2,453	23.7	5,609	54.1	2,309	22.3	0	0.0	0	0.0	10,371
Sutton	2,599	20.1	6,067	47.1	3,868	29.9	367	2.8	0	0.0	12,921
Waltham Forest	4,216	23.6	10,387	58.1	3,282	18.4	0	0.0	0	0.0	17,885
Birmingham	16,684	17.1	55,058	56.5	24,041	24.7	1,444	1.5	157	0.2	97,384
Coventry	5,839	21.7	13,476	50.0	7,108	26.4	530	2.0	0	0.0	26,953
Dudley	6,528	26.6	11,420	46.5	5,389	21.9	454	1.8	775	3.2	24,566
Sandwell	4,666	16.4	11,991	42.1	10,269	36.1	1,460	5.1	83	0.3	28,469
Solihull	3,427	18.0	7,247	38.0	7,488	39.3	915	4.8	0	0.0	19,077
Walsall	7,622	32.8	8,390	36.1	6,351	27.3	845	3.6	45	0.2	23,253
Wolverhampton	6,186	28.3	8,902	40.7	5,684	26.0	845	3.9	233	1.1	21,850
Knowsley	4,335	24.1	8,399	46.7	4,599	25.6	603	3.4	52	0.3	17,988
Liverpool	12,584	27.2	21,664	46.8	11,461	24.8	590	1.3	0	0.0	46,299
St. Helens	4,643	31.4	4,563	30.9	4,360	29.5	1,120	7.6	83	0.6	14,769
Sefton	5,701	22.7	8,763	34.9	9,677	38.5	993	4.0	0	0.0	25,134
Wirral	9,168	31.1	13,357	45.3	6,505	22.0	482	1.6	0	0.0	29,512
Bolton	5,160	21.9	6,712	28.5	8,924	37.8	2,260	9.6	535	2.3	23,591
Bury	2,538	15.8	6,551	40.8	6,125	38.1	843	5.3	0	0.0	16,057
Manchester	10,716	25.2	22,143	52.0	7,968	18.7	1,137	2.7	582	1.4	42,546
Oldham	3,490	16.1	8,785	40.5	8,440	38.9	816	3.8	178	0.8	21,709
Rochdale	2,032	10.5	8,992	46.5	7,687	39.7	588	3.0	41	0.2	19,340
Salford	6,098	26.7	9,754	42.7	5,750	25.2	933	4.1	314	1.4	22,849
Stockport	5,191	20.6	11,735	46.6	7,045	28.0	1,085	4.3	117	0.5	25,173
Tameside	2,534	11.7	7,670	35.3	10,552	48.6	956	4.4	0	0.0	21,712
Trafford	3,013	15.7	6,801	35.4	8,286	43.1	1,103	5.7	0	0.0	19,203
Wigan	5,001	19.2	9,970	38.3	8,702	33.4	2,258	8.7	127	0.5	26,058
Barnsley	3,618	17.7	8,203	40.0	7,926	38.7	599	2.9	152	0.7	20,498
Doncaster	5,227	19.1	12,525	45.8	7,870	28.8	1,739	6.4	0	0.0	27,361
Rotherham	5,984	25.7	11,590	49.7	5,310	22.8	422	1.8	0	0.0	23,306
Sheffield	9,897	24.8	18,895	47.3	9,684	24.2	1,268	3.2	229	0.6	39,973
Bradford	6,693	20.0	15,247	45.7	9,852	29.5	1,554	4.7	43	0.1	33,389
Calderdale	3,737	20.2	8,406	45.5	5,990	32.4	296	1.6	45	0.2	18,474
Kirklees	5,614	17.3	12,451	38.4	12,402	38.2	1,854	5.7	139	0.4	32,460
Leeds	11,605	19.1	27,756	45.6	18,345	30.2	2,866	4.7	244	0.4	60,816
Wakefield	5,060	17.9	12,583	44.4	9,071	32.0	1,550	5.5	52	0.2	28,316
Gateshead	5,463	32.1	9,101	53.5	2,327	13.7	116	0.7	0	0.0	17,007
Newcastle upon Tyne	4,528	22.1	9,174	44.8	5,737	28.0	1,006	4.9	49	0.2	20,494
North Tyneside	3,604	23.3	6,944	45.0	4,322	28.0	525	3.4	50	0.3	15,445
South Tyneside	3,765	25.6	6,878	46.8	3,331	22.6	637	4.3	99	0.7	14,710
Sunderland	11,028	40.1	12,345	44.9	3,963	14.4	185	0.7	0	0.0	27,521
Isles of Scilly	151	100.0	0	0.0	0	0.0	0	0.0	0	0.0	151
Avon	14,741	19.0	36,166	46.6	25,060	32.3	1,543	2.0	44	0.1	77,554
Bedfordshire	10,321	26.5	16,829	43.1	9,269	23.8	2,116	5.4	482	1.2	39,017
Berkshire	13,121	21.9	28,517	47.6	16,895	28.2	1,368	2.3	46	0.1	59,947
Buckinghamshire	14,055	23.2	23,689	39.2	18,981	31.4	3,400	5.6	372	0.6	60,497
Cambridgeshire	11,265	19.8	27,535	48.4	17,039	30.0	1,026	1.8	0	0.0	56,865
Cheshire	17,936	20.8	36,276	42.0	28,174	32.6	3,909	4.5	142	0.2	86,437
Cleveland	15,662	26.7	29,231	49.7	11,239	19.1	2,630	4.5	0	0.0	58,762
Cornwall	9,028	22.7	15,827	39.8	13,611	34.2	1,284	3.2	41	0.1	39,791
Cumbria	11,381	28.2	17,594	43.6	10,050	24.9	1,221	3.0	111	0.3	40,357
Derbyshire	12,675	16.0	25,416	32.0	30.873	38.9	9.622	12.1	722	0.9	79,308
Devon	19,060	23.6	33,458	41.5	25,046	31.1	2,904	3.6	128	0.2	80,596
Dorset	8,134	18.4	16,377	37.1	18,294	41.4	1,274	2.9	86	0.2	44,162
Durham	8,718	16.7	23,700	45.3	17,894	34.2	1,820	3.5	167	0.3	52,299
East Sussex	9,688	19.6	18,801	38.0	19,915	40.3	1,056	2.1	0	0.0	49,460
Essex	28,872	22.9	62,239	49.5	33,937	27.0	695	0.6	109	0.1	125,852
Gloucestershire	9,703	21.9	20,387	46.0	13,616	30.7	630	1.4	0	0.0	44,336
Hampshire	24,974	19.2	60,358	46.3	42,406	32.6	2,485	1.9	47	--	130,270
Hereford and Worcester	14,782	30.4	20,658	42.4	12,087	24.8	988	2.0	150	0.3	48,665
Hertfordshire	20,122	24.9	37,216	46.1	22,667	28.1	729	0.9	0	0.0	80,734
Humberside	15,732	19.8	35,897	45.2	23,422	29.5	4,181	5.3	229	0.3	79,461
Isle of Wight	2,112	29.3	2,858	39.6	2,128	29.5	115	1.6	0	0.0	7,213
Kent	23,398	17.9	63,110	48.3	43,200	33.0	923	0.7	89	0.1	130,720
Lancashire	21,128	17.4	46,439	38.2	46,181	38.0	7,877	6.5	41	--	121,666
Leicestershire	18,945	25.1	34,810	46.1	19,238	25.5	2,322	3.1	224	0.3	75,539
Lincolnshire	12,811	25.6	23,292	46.5	12,778	25.5	1,142	2.3	42	0.1	50,065
Norfolk	18,798	31.2	28,213	46.8	12,444	20.7	737	1.2	43	0.1	60,235
North Yorkshire	17,114	29.5	22,316	38.4	16,543	28.5	1,980	3.4	140	0.2	58,093
Northamptonshire	12,915	26.1	25,440	51.5	10,477	21.2	570	1.2	42	0.1	49,444
Northumberland	4,426	22.6	6,686	34.1	7,033	35.9	1,445	7.4	0	0.0	19,590
Nottinghamshire	15,849	18.7	35,891	42.4	28,198	33.3	4,521	5.3	212	0.3	84,671
Oxfordshire	10,824	26.2	19,825	48.1	9,401	22.8	1,207	2.9	0	0.0	41,257
Shropshire	8,605	24.5	13,078	37.3	12,117	34.5	1,206	3.4	102	0.3	35,108
Somerset	8,758	23.9	14,180	38.8	12,840	35.1	768	2.1	41	0.1	36,587
Staffordshire	21,087	23.4	36,813	40.9	26,272	29.2	5,352	5.9	539	0.6	90,063
Suffolk	16,330	37.4	19,351	44.4	7,468	17.1	472	1.1	0	0.0	43,621
Surrey	21,148	29.7	35,924	50.4	13,837	19.4	315	0.4	45	0.1	71,269
Warwickshire	9,193	21.3	16,405	38.0	16,008	37.1	1,514	3.5	44	0.1	43,164
West Sussex	13,742	25.4	25,959	47.9	14,114	26.1	333	0.6	0	0.0	54,148
Wiltshire	10,168	20.7	23,856	48.5	14,355	29.2	773	1.6	0	0.0	49,152
England	891,551	22.5	1,813,871	45.7	1,130,762	28.5	120,354	3.0	9,435	0.2	3,965,973

(3) Pupils in one teacher classes of size expressed as a percentage of all pupils in one teacher classes.

-- Less than 0.05 per cent.

11 Mar 1997 : Column: 157

11 Mar 1997 : Column: 157

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