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Data Collection (Postcodes)
Mr. Barnes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, pursuant to his answer of 11 February, Official Report, column 100, which formulae for the distribution of grants rely on postcodes. [19631]
Sir Paul Beresford: The information requested is not held centrally. A comprehensive answer could be provided only at a disproportionate cost. Information available on the revenue support grant, which may not be comprehensive, is given in the table. A wide range of data are used in the formulae determining the distribution of the revenue support grant. Some data which are collected by other Government Departments use postcodes. These data are aggregated to local authority level before being used in the formulae.
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Local Authority Estates (Mapping)
Mr. Congdon: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he will publish his Department's research on mapping local authority estates using the index of local conditions. [20304]
Mr. Curry: The report was published today and copies have been placed in the Libraries of the House. The desk research had two objectives: to explore the relationship between tenure and social and economic deprivation; and to identify and map the most deprived local authority estates according to the index of local conditions. My Department has commissioned a validation exercise on the results of the desk exercise.
UN General Assembly (Special Session)
Mr. Meacher: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what proposals have been put by the United Kingdom to the intersessional meeting of the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development and the first preparatory conference for the special session of the UN General Assembly; and if he will place in the Library copies of the documentation discussed at this PrepCom which is relevant to the United Kingdom. [19421]
Mr. Gummer: The United Kingdom's general approach to the special session and its preparatory meetings was set out in the consultation paper of 30 December, copies of which were placed in the Library. As a member of the European Union, the United Kingdom contributes actively to the common position of the Union, which enables us to have a significantly greater influence in UN decision making. I have placed copies in the Library of the main statements made by the presidency of the Union, at the recent preparatory meeting, on behalf of the member states, along with the co-chairman's report of the meeting. The UK has increasingly been among the leaders in the EU on environmental matters--not least on biodiversity, climate change, forest protection, and action on the marine environment.
TREASURY
Borrowing Programme
Mr. Matthew Banks: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the Government's borrowing programme for 1997-98. [20265]
Mrs. Angela Knight:
The Government today published the "Debt Management Report" for 1997-98. This report, the third of the series, includes details of the 1997-98 borrowing programme and the Government's
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remits to the Bank of England and to National Savings for 1997-98. Copies have been placed in the Library of the House.
Pupil Exclusions (Wandsworth)
Mr. Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how many children were excluded from schools in the London borough of Wandsworth in each of the last three years. [19488]
Mr. Forth: A total of 90 pupils were permanently excluded from schools in Wandsworth during the school year 1994-95. Details of exclusions in 1995-96 are currently being collected and will be available later in the year. Information on exclusions in previous years within each local education authority area is not available centrally.
Teachers
Mr. Callaghan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what was the total number of (a) males and (b) females in the teaching profession in schools in each of the last five years. [19657]
Mr. Forth: Information on teachers employed in maintained schools in England is shown in the following table.
| Males | Females | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full-time | Part-time | Full-time | Part-time | |
| 1992 | 121,896 | 9,354 | 224,664 | 57,059 |
| 1993 | 121,249 | 9,031 | 227,200 | 56,733 |
| 1994 | 120,070 | 9,567 | 229,664 | 57,931 |
| 1995 | 119,859 | 9,876 | 233,858 | 59,339 |
| 1996 | 117,997 | 10,324 | 235,041 | 60,316 |
(3) Figures exclude sixth form colleges which ceased to be classified as schools from April 1993.
Riddlesdown High School, Croydon
Mr. Blunkett: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what was the legal basis of the development by the Funding Agency for Schools of a sixth form at Riddlesdown high school in Croydon; and what were the costs. [19904]
Mr. Robin Squire: The sixth form education in question is provided by de Stafford college, Surrey on the premises of the Riddlesdown high school, the pupils being registered as pupils of de Stafford. The costs in financial year 1996-97 were £91,830.
School Budgets
Sir Teddy Taylor:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what changes have been made recently in the powers which she has to determine primary and secondary school budgets; and if she will make a statement. [19708]
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Mr. Robin Squire:
None. The budgets of local education authority maintained primary and secondary schools continue to be determined by the LEA in accordance with the provisions of schemes for the local management of schools approved by the Secretary of State. Grant-maintained primary and secondary school budgets continue to be determined by the Funding Agency for Schools in accordance with the Education (Grant-maintained and Grant-maintained Special Schools) Regulations which are laid before Parliament annually.
Sir Teddy Taylor:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what is the total amount of spending on education which has been allocated to Essex county council for the forthcoming year; what was the total for the previous year; and what was the percentage change in (a) Essex and (b) England. [19709]
Mr. Robin Squire:
Essex's 1997-98 education standard spending assessment is £571.764 million. Its 1996-97 education SSA was £566.981 million. After adjustment to take account of the nursery voucher scheme, this represents a year-on-year increase of 3 per cent. The average comparable year-on-year increase in 1997-98 education SSAs in England is 3.4 per cent. It is for local authorities to decide how much to spend on education and other services within the resources that are at their disposal.
Sir Teddy Taylor:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what estimate she has made of the expected change in the numbers of school pupils in Essex in the forthcoming year; and what allowance has been made in the spending assessments for education in Essex to take account of any such changes. [19710]
Mr. Squire:
Forecast changes in pupil numbers at national aggregate level are taken into account in setting education standard spending. The distribution of ESS among local authorities as education standard spending assessments is based, however, on latest available actual pupil numbers.
Sir Teddy Taylor:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what legal provisions are made available to county councils to seek a review of their standard spending assessments on education; what is the qualifying date for such appeals; and if Essex county council took advantage of these appeal arrangements. [19711]
Mr. Squire:
Provisional education standard spending assessments for 1997-98 were announced as part of the local government finance settlement last November. Authorities had the opportunity to make representations about their provisional education SSAs, and in particular the data used to calculate them, up to 3 January 1997. Essex county council made one representation about its pupil numbers which was accepted.
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