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Nursery Vouchers
Mr. Spearing: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if she will, after consultation with the relevant local authority organisations, estimate the additional administrative costs to local education authorities arising from the scheme of vouchers for pre-school education. [21224]
Mr. Robin Squire: The nursery education voucher scheme has been designed to keep administration costs for local education authorities to a minimum. It is not anticipated, therefore, that such costs will be significant or that information relating to such costs will be collected.
Training and Enterprise Funding
Mr. Steinberg: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what public funds were provided to training and enterprise councils and chambers of commerce, training and enterprise in 1996-97. [21016]
Mr. Paice: The public funds made available to training and enterprise councils and chambers of commerce training and enterprise in England by my Department for 1996-97 amounted to £1.484 billion. The Department of Trade and Industry and the Department of the Environment also provide TECS/CCTEs with additional Government funding.
The responsibility for TECs/CCTEs in Wales lies with my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Wales.
Modern Apprenticeships
Mr. Steinberg: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how many people were on (a) YT/youth credits and (b) modern apprenticeships, (i) on average in the last year for which figures are available and (ii) at the last date for which figures are available. [21018]
Mr. Paice: On average in 1996, there were 225,000 on youth training youth credits in England and Wales in December 1996, there were 232,000 people on youth training youth credits.
On average in 1996, there were 41,000 on modern apprenticeships in England and Wales. In December 1996, there were 67,000 people on modern apprenticeships.
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Mr. Steinberg:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how many and what percentage of youth training trainees currently have employed status. [21019]
Mr. Paice:
In December 1996, there were 232,000 on youth training in England and Wales, of which 57 per cent. had employed status.
Mr. Chidgey:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what plans she has to allow parents of primary school children increased opportunities to view their child's school work and progress. [21023]
Mr. Robin Squire:
The Government's reforms have ensured that parents are better informed about the performance of primary schools, most recently through the publication of performance tables, and about their own child's progress at primary school. All parents must receive a written report on their child at least once a year. This must describe the arrangements for discussing the report with the teachers concerned.
Mr. John Marshall:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment (1) if she will make a statement on the increase in Barnet's education standard spending assessment in 1997-98; [21078]
Mr. Robin Squire:
Barnet's 1997-98 education standard spending assessment is £119.1 million which, after adjustments are made to take account of the nursery voucher scheme, represents a year on year increase of some £5.3 million or 4.6 per cent.
It is up to local authorities to set their education budgets within the resources at their disposal, and capping limits. Barnet's 1996-97 education budget was £126.5 million, which was 8.1 per cent. above its education SSA-- £117 million. Nationally, local authorities set their 1996-97 education budgets at an average of 4.0 per cent.
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above their education SSAs. Details of local authorities' final expenditure on education in the current year are not yet available.
Sir John Stanley:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what was education spending
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per pupil in (a) 1975 and (b) currently expressed in (i) cash terms and (ii) constant price terms. [21292]
Mr. Robin Squire:
The following table shows in both cash and real terms--1996-97 prices--the net institutional expenditure per pupil in LEA-maintained schools, in 1979-80 and 1995-96, the latest year for which data are available.
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(2) if she will make a statement on the (a) amount and (b) percentage of Barnet local education authority's education budget spent centrally; and what are the average national figures. [21080]
| Pre-primary/primary | Secondary | Combined | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cash terms | Real terms | Cash terms | Real terms | Cash terms | Real terms | |
| Year | £ | £ | £ | £ | £ | £ |
| 1979-80 | 429 | 1,128 | 607 | 1,596 | 513 | 1,348 |
| 1995-96(78) | 1,629 | 1,670 | 2,286 | 2,343 | 1,909 | 1,957 |
(78) These figures exclude grant-maintained schools.
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Special Educational Needs
Mr. Alfred Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if she will make a statement on the status of the report produced by the steering committee on the special educational needs initiative; what is her Department's policy in respect of each of the recommendations; and what action she (a) has taken to date and (b) proposes to take. [2117]
Mrs. Gillan: The SEN initiative is a consortium of local education authoritiess in England and Wales, established by the Society of Education Officers in order to facilitate a national study into the management of LEA budgets for pupils with special educational needs. The first phase report, prepared by Coopers and Lybrand in consultation with a wide range of interests, offers guidance to participating LEAs; the second phase, now under way, is focused on the management of SEN budgets at school level. The Department has contributed £5,000 in 1996 and 1997 towards the costs of the study, and is represented on the steering committee for the initiative. It is for LEAs to consider the implications of the report, but we welcome the way in which the initiative has highlighted important issues for LEAs seeking to maximise the effectiveness of the resources devoted to children with special educational needs.
National Learning Line
Mr. O'Hara: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment (1) which organisations expressed an interest in tendering for the national learning line but were not invited to do so; [21286]
- (2) which organisations were invited to tender for the national learning line. [21287]
Mr. Paice: The contract to run the national learning line is being competitively tendered. The commercial best practice adopted by the Government in such circumstances means that we cannot reveal details of the companies involved in the competition.
Expenditure, Devon
Mr. Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what was the expenditure on (a) primary schools, (b) secondary schools and (c) capital projects in Devon in each of the last five years. [21340]
Mr. Robin Squire:
The following table shows gross expenditure for LEA-maintained (a) pre-primary, primary and (b) secondary schools by Devon local education
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authority from 1991-92, to 1995-96; and capital expenditure by the LEA over the period 1991-92 to 1994-95, the latest year for which figures are available. All figures are in cash terms, and have not been adjusted for any change of function.
| £ million | ||
|---|---|---|
| Pre-primary/primary | Secondary | |
| Gross expenditure | ||
| 1991-92 | 108.246 | 121.895 |
| 1992-93 | 133.657 | 141.874 |
| 1993-94 | 123.575 | 130.781 |
| 1994-95 | 132.111 | 135.599 |
| 1995-96 | 132.679 | 133.933 |
| Capital expenditure | ||
| 1991-92 | 19.370 | 9.779 |
| 1992-93 | 10.296 | 12.762 |
| 1993-94 | 9.691 | 13.499 |
| 1994-95 | 12.099 | 9.721 |
Hunting (Jobs)
Mr. Tony Banks: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if she will estimate the number of jobs dependent on (a) fox hunting, (d) deer hunting and (c) hare coursing. [21113]
Mr. Paice: The sectors involved are very small. For that reason we can make no reliable estimates of the number of jobs dependent on fox hunting, deer hunting and hare coursing. Government statistics do not promote such detailed information. However, the Department of the Environment is a member of the standing conference on countryside sports. A study produced for SCCS estimates around 60,000 full-time jobs are directly dependent on all countryside sports and a further 30,000 indirectly.
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