| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
Yorkshire and Humberside
Mr. Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many (a) service and (b) Ministry of Defence civilian personnel were employed at bases and establishments in Yorkshire and Humberside (i) in 1979, (ii) in 1992 and (iii) at the latest date for which figures are available. [599]
Mr. Spellar: The strengths of service and Ministry of Defence permanent civilian personnel employed at bases and establishments in Yorkshire and Humberside at the given dates are as follows:
(i) 1979--13,900 service; 10,300 civilian.
(ii) 1992--15,800 service; 5,500 civilian.
(iii) 1996--12,200 service; 3,300 civilian.
EDUCATION AND EMPLOYMENT
School Standards
Mrs. Gisela Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what action he proposes to take to ensure that schools under special measures make rapid progress in improving the standard of education they offer. [999]
Mr. Byers:
I have today written to the Chair of Governors at eighteen schools which have been under special measures for an extended period, and which are making only limited progress. I am proposing additional
20 May 1997 : Column: 27
support for these schools. First, my Department will fund consultancy help from a team of headteachers and others with direct experience of improving weak schools. Second, my colleagues and I will discuss with the LEAs responsible for these schools, and with the Funding Agency for Schools, what further action they could take to promote rapid recovery. The list of schools is as follows:
Abbey Farm Middle School, Norfolk
Ashburton High School, Croydon
Blakelaw School, Newcastle
Dulwich High School, Southwark
Earl Marshal School, Sheffield
Handsworth Wood Boys, Birmingham
Ingram High School, Croydon
Kelsey Park GM School, Bromley
Lea Green Special School, Waltham Forest
Lillian Baylis School, Lambeth
Morningside Primary School, Hackney
Mostyn Gardens Primary School, Lambeth
Our Lady of Fatima GM School, Liverpool
Rams Episcopal School, Hackney
Saint Mary of the Angels School, Westminster
South Benwell Primary School, Newcastle
Southfields GM School, Kent
Upbury Manor GM School, Kent.
Class Sizes
Mr. Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will publish for each local education authority the number of classes at key stage 1 which have 31 or more pupils. [72]
Mr. Byers: The information requested is shown in the following table.
n/a = not applicable.
(1) Figures include reception classes.
20 May 1997 : Column: 29
Civil Service (Ethnic Minorities)
Mr. Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how many civil servants at each grade within his Department were of Asian origin on 5 May. [241]
Dr. Howells: The numbers of Asian staff at each grade within the Department on 5 May are shown in the following table. For convenience the figures have been grouped into grade equivalents.
| Grade level | Number of Asian staff |
|---|---|
| Permanent Secretary | 0 |
| Director/Director general | 0 |
| Divisional Manager | (2)-- |
| Grade 6 | 0 |
| Grade 7 | 6 |
| SEO | 0 |
| HEO | 8 |
| EO | 29 |
| AO | 42 |
| AA | 17 |
(2) The number of Asian staff at Divisional Manager is less than 6 and is therefore not shown, in accordance with the Department's agreed code of conduct on the use of ethnic monitoring data.
Mr. Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what proposals he has to increase the number of employees from ethnic minorities within his Department. [242]
Dr. Howells: In recruiting staff, DFEE aims to ensure that vacancies are brought to the attention of all groups in the community, including people from ethnic minorities. To achieve this, the Department has used a range of methods including advertising vacancies in publications which are widely read by people from ethnic minorities; direct recruitment in universities with high numbers of students from ethnic minorities; and asking Job Centres recruiting on its behalf to use outreach methods to make all groups aware of vacancies, for example through local community organisations and educational institutions. The Department will continue to make appropriate use of such methods, and to monitor their effectiveness.
As a Champion of the Race for Opportunity campaign sponsored by Business in the Community, over the next year the Department will be carrying out an audit of its
20 May 1997 : Column: 30
employment practices, including recruitment and selection procedures, to ensure that they do not create barriers for people from ethnic minorities.
Mr. Forth:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what is the average annual cost of educating (a) a primary pupil and (b) a secondary pupil in England.
Mr. Byers:
In 1995-96, the latest year for which data are available, the net institutional expenditure per pre-primary and primary pupil in England was £1,687 and per secondary pupil was £2,286.[645]
Mrs. Gillan:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will list by local education authority the average annual cost of (a) a primary school place and (b) a secondary school place for the last year for which figures are available. [504]
Mr. Byers:
The following table sets out for each LEA in England net expenditure per pupil within LEA maintained primary and pre-primary schools and secondary schools for 1995-96, the latest year for which figures are available.
20 May 1997 : Column: 32
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |